I like to think of roti canai as a cross between pancake and croissant: the former for its taste and the latter for the texture and mouthfeel (not to mention the butter — croissant may have more, but less messily so). As its name suggests, this popular Malaysian/Indonesian flatbread originated in the Indian subcontinent. In some respects, it is similar to the lavash that I favor for pizza crust these days.
Although roti canai is unleavened (without yeast), it’s pliantly soft, pillowy, and deceptively light (like I said, it has a lot of ghee/clarified butter). Most people eat it with some kind of curry, but since I’m no big fan of that, I treat it like pancake, if a pleasantly crustier/crunchier one: with sugar or maple syrup, often with more butter on top.
What can I say? Like rice, roti pairs well with anything (if you haven’t tried cold rice with brown sugar and water, you should). It’s suprisingly easy to make, too. This recipe gave me good results. Never mind all those holes as you roll out the dough — trust me, absolutely no one will notice (or care), especially after you have scrunched up the bread to make it look properly rustic. Jenny sure didn’t. As I was serving her her second roti (my fourth), she suddenly straightened up. “This won’t do,” she said. “Something this good needs Coke to go with it.” She was right, of course. A helping of ice-cold liquid sugar on the side, and maybe just a sprinkle more on top. Whee.
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