Roti canai is a type of circular flatbread found in Malaysia, often sold in mamaks. It is known as roti prata in the south of the country and Singapore, and it resembles the Indian porotta. In Chinese it is sometimes called ‘flying bread’ (飞 饼 fēibǐng), because of the way it is prepared.
Learn how to make a Roti Canai with this simple and easy recipe!
Roti Prata or Roti Canai
4
servings45
minutes5
minutesRoti Prata or Roti Canai is one of those appetizers that I have to order every time I go to a Malaysian Restaurant.
There’s something so satisfying about that light and flaky flatbread that goes so well with a curry dipping sauce.
You know what i’m talking about, it’s so good! I’m going to show you how EASY it is to make on your own and the best part of all is that you can have it just about anytime!
Ingredients
3 cups plain flour
1 tsp of salt
2 tsps of sugar
2 tbsp of melted ghee (or substitute with vegetable oil)
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup water
vegetable oil for greasing
Directions
- Combine all of the dry ingredients in your mixer’s bowl.
- Then add the the melted ghee, milk and ¼ cup of water gradually to the flour, and then you want to work the mixture with your hands.
- Now put the dough into a mixer and using the dough hook attachment, start kneading it on low speed and then slowly add the rest of the water, a tbsp at a time.
- Knead the dough for about 5 -7 minutes until the dough will become smooth and elastic. The texture will feel somewhat like play dough: kind of stretchy but not sticky.
- Then take the dough and cut it into small golf ball sized pieces.
- Now, rub your hands with a little bit of vegetable oil and form each piece of dough into a ball, about the size of a golf ball.
- Make sure each ball is slightly oiled all around so they don’t stick together.
- Put the oiled balls into a bowl and cover it with a lid or plastic wrap and now, let it sit for about 3 hours to overnight so the dough can rest and develop more flavor. I like it best when it’s left overnight though.
- When the dough is ready, oil your hands and your work surface. Now take a dough ball and start flattening it out with your fingers.
- There’s this really cool swinging trick that the “prata men” in Malaysia do. They basically take the dough and then they swing it kind of like a matador’s cloth. But if you’re not comfortable with that, you can stretch it out with your hands or use a rolling pin to roll it out instead. You want it really thin, almost translucent. It might have some holes in it, but don’t worry about it.
- Now we’re almost ready to fry. You can either roll it up into a dense circular plate or you can fold it like an envelope to give it a lighter and flakier texture.
- Take a heavy bottomed skillet and then oil it liberally and heat it up on high. Now pan fry each side for about 1- 2 minutes until it puffs and it develops this beautiful golden crust.
- Your Roti Prata or Roti Canai is ready! When you tear it apart it’s going to have all these fluffy layers. I love to have curry dipping sauce with my Prata.
