June 2, 2006

Roti Canai revised - (Mini Spiral Roti)

A couple of weeks ago, Pinky and I hopped over to the local Malaysian restaurant down to the street to satisfy our cravings for freshly made roti canai. I was given a delightful surprise when a fellow classmate of mine from Uni popped out of the kitchen! I thought to myself; SCORE! Now I can get someone to teach me how to make good roti! I casually dug for a couple of roti tricks and tips from him over the week and decided it is time to revise my roti skills.
For those who have no idea what I'm going on about....click here to have a peek at my past roti escapades. I used the same roti recipe; from Kuali; by Amy Beh.
  • 400g plain flour, sifted
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 20g sugar
  • 40g margarine
  • 1 egg, lightly beaten
  • 1/2 cup milk
  • 1/2 cup water

  • Put flour, salt and sugar in a mixing bowl. Rub in margarine and mix egg and the rest of the ingredients well to form a soft dough. Leave to rest for 20-30 minutes.
    Instead of folding the corners in this time, I rolled the thinly stretched roti dough; starting off from one corner, into a long cyclindrical shape. I then cut them into short 1 inch pieces and stood them spiral design facing up.
    Leave them for about 20 minutes before you handle them again. Heat up the skillet/flat based pan and smear it with a drizzle of margarine. Take a little chunk of rolled dough and flatten it into a 6cm circle from the top. I used a tiny rolling pin to help flatten it evenly. Fry them till golden on both sides. After removing it from the pan, lay them flat on your work surface and get them crisp and fluffy by giving them a couple of smacks! (new trick i learnt). Imagine clapping you hands with an open palm with a roti in the middle. They turned out yum; a little too tiny though. I personally feel the mini-roti's are absolutely adorable! I could pick them up with two fingers and dunk them straight into delicious curry! Definitely better than my last attempt.

    8 comments:

    Anonymous said...

    Suyin, these are absolutely adorable! I love love love roti canai, and have been so sad since I moved away from New York and can't find them anymore. Do you have a good recipe for the chicken curry you dunk them into? I've tried to approximate one, but can't quite get it right.

    By the way, I found your blog through Nic's (bakingsheet) and have been reading all your archives--you are really talented and everything looks delicious! :)

    Su-Yin -Décorateur said...

    hey lara...thanks for the compliments, really made my day!
    Where do you live now btw? It shouldn't be too difficult to find roti canai in any part of the world...they usually sell them at asian supermarkets (usually Malaysian ones) in the frozen department.It wouldn't be labled, Roti Canai, It'll be Roti Paratha. This is waht the SIngaporeans call it! :)
    I'll probably be making curry again soon....this time, i'll make an effort to note down what goes into my curry! haha...my cooking is usually done 'freesytle'

    Anonymous said...

    yay--thanks for the tip about roti canai in supermarkets! I didn't even think of that. I live near San Francisco so I'm sure I can find some if I look around.

    I'll be looking forward to the next time you make curry :)

    Anonymous said...

    ..good job !!.. this actually my first time attempting to make roti canai( well iam doing research on it right now). after a few friend took me out to a Malaysian restaurant last night.it's the first time( well its also the first time i've been to a malaysian resturant.. this one was newly open) i actually taste something like this, it's was so good sorta like crispy and flaky on the out side and soft and chewy on the inside.. i did'nt even dip em in any sauce i ate the whole this befor a friend told me that iam supposed to dipped em in the curry sauce .. i had some coconut rice too that was pretty good and some seafood soup.. kinda spicy

    anyway thanks for sharing your experience and recipe !!


    sincerely
    otto of canada

    Anonymous said...

    glad I am not the only roti canai addict who has gone through the pains of trying to master authentic homemade ones.

    What an ordeal... but worth it

    I will try your mini ones, they look like a great idea. great website by the way, well done!

    so foodie, where did you come by your passion for food, I inherited mine from my mother

    JOCELYN said...

    On my one and only trip to Malaysia I ate roti canai much of the time. It was the one good dish I could rely on.

    I too wish I could get it here instead of all the fast junk foods available.

    Anonymous said...

    hi there,

    for some years now we can also buy these frozen roti canai from the local chinese toko (how we call it in holland) ...
    they are quite pricy so i dont buy them too often, lately i am trying to make them by myself and cook the curry myself also :)

    in one of the supermarkets here, they sell these malaysian curry in a small package, filled with currypowder and a bag of coconutspowder ... all i need is, add water( if you really want to make it good, add meat, add some onions, garlic) add the content of the package and in merely 10 minutes you have a very very yummy authentic malaysian curry ....

    i have tried alot of these curries from malaysia, this is one of the best i ever tasted.

    damn i get hungry by talking food :)


    jorenchong@gmail.com

    Anonymous said...

    As i got a tip from a mala chef, he said the most important thing to make a soft roti canai is to rest the dough as long as possible.