A couple of weeks ago my husband and I had lunch at a Malaysian Restaurant. Not really being familiar with Malaysian food, I had no idea what to expect. I fell in love the moment the Roti arrived at the table. If you thought dipping warm French bread into olive oil was a treat, just wait until you dip your first piece of Roti into curry dipping sauce. The soft yet crispy warm flat bread dripping with flavorful curry sauce will have you skipping the main dish all together! I have included a ton of pictures to show you how to form the dough. Don’t be afraid, it is really easy! After the first one, you won’t even need to look at them. The total time also includes the two 15-30 minute sessions when the dough is resting. It’s great by itself, but even better with my Curry Dipping Sauce.
Combine wet and dry ingredients to form a soft dough.
Divide dough into four or eight balls.
Roll individual balls out as thin as possible.
Meet one of my new best friends! It takes the heat in the kitchen without smoking.
Brush dough with Ghee before rolling and forming into a ball.
Make a cut from the center to the edge and begin rolling dough for the flaky layers in the final product.
Roll all the way around the circle.
Some corners can get tricky, just try and keep it rolled evenly like rolling up a scroll.
Once you have finished rolling the dough, it will look like this.
Push both open ends in towards the center creating a “belly button” on both ends.
Make sure to push excess edges from the layers into the center.
Now let it rest before rolling out one last time.
Put in the pan and brush with another layer of Ghee.
Flip and brush the other side with Ghee.
Push edges in towards center with spatulas to create a messy looking blob that you will transfer to the serving plate.
- 4 cups All purpose flour
- 4 teaspoons baking powder
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- 1¾ cups water
- 6 tablespoons Ghee, (clarified butter) You can make it or buy it at Trader Joe's which I do
- Sift flour into a large bowl.
- Add baking powder and salt, mixing to combine.
- Add water to dry ingredients and mix to incorporate.
- At this point you may use a mixer or knead the dough by hand. (it wont take long, so I just do it by hand)
- It will become a very soft dough.
- Using flour to keep from being too sticky, divide the dough into eight balls.
- Let them rest for 15 minutes.
- On a lightly floured surface, roll out one ball as flat as you possibly can without it just sticking to the work surface.
- Microwave the Ghee to liquefy it, and using a pastry brush spread a thin layer of ghee on the entire surface.
- Make a cut from the center of the circle to the edge. (see above photos)
- Now begin rolling the dough from one side. You are effectively rolling it up like a scroll. (see above photos)
- Continue rolling all the way to the end.
- Your next step is to literally push the ends into itself. One side will be easier than the other. When finished, for lack of a better way to describe it, it will look like a ball with two inny belly buttons on opposite ends. 😛
- Let the balls of dough rest another 15-30 minutes. (the longer you can let them rest at this point, the better)
- Now, you will for the last time roll the dough out on a lightly floured surface. Roll it to fit the size of the pan that you will be cooking it in.
- Coat the hot pan with the ghee. Using the pastry brush here makes easy work of it.
- Place the disc of dough into the pan and again using the pastry brush, brush ghee on the top of the dough. Once complete, flip it over using a spatula. This is very easy to do.
- Spread ghee onto this side as you did before.
- The roti should have a nice golden brown speckling when ready to turn over once more.
- Watch the bottom side for color and once cooked, begin breaking up or "ripping" the roti with two wooden spatulas by pushing the bread from the outside edge in to the center. You are literally folding it in like an accordion a few times and releasing.
- Once you have ripped it up a bit use the two spatulas to push in on both sides and transfer it just like that (basically in a blob) to a serving plate.
- Use your fingers to rip the bread apart, dip and enjoy!
Go here for the Curry Dipping Sauce .
Divide dough into 4 or 8 balls depending on size of pan you will cook it in
