After a delightful dinner at a local Malaysian restaurant last week, I was determined to make roti chanai, the incredible bread served with delicious homemade curry as an appetizer. Below is the recipe I used, along with tips I used from this article on how to get it just right!
Roti Chanai
3 cups plain flour
Pinch of salt
Pinch of sugar
1/2 cup milk
1/4 cup water
1/5 cup extra water
Combine dry ingredients in a medium sized bowl.
Add the liquids (milk and initial portion of water) gradually to flour, working mixture with your hands. Knead until the dough is smooth and elastic – kind of like play-dough. You will probably have to add some of the extra water while you are kneading to get the dough to the play-dough like consistency. Flours differ so you won’t know exactly how much water you need until you start kneading and can feel the dough.
Form the dough into a roll then pinch the the roll into six pieces.
Oil your hands with peanut oil then form each piece of dough into a ball, ensuring the surface is lightly oiled all around. Put the oiled balls back in the bowl. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap then place in a warm place and leave for 5 hours.
After dough has rested, oil your counter top or a marble slab. Oil your hands again. Place a dough ball on the surface and flatten as much as possible (should be roughly dinner plate sized).
Add a little oil and oil a rolling pin. Roll out pastry until very thin (1/8″). It might break but that is ok.
When thin enough fold the sides in to form a rectangle. Fry each side on in a well buttered pan until pastry puffs up and becomes golden – about 1-2 minutes. Repeat with other dough balls. Serve while warm.
Enjoy!
Gosh, it sounds simple. I’ll give it a try sometime soon!
Oh, yummy! That looks gorgeous!
Cheers,
Rosa
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Wow, you make it sound so easy! But I love love love Roti Canai, so I think I may have to give it a try!
Thanks!
Ohhh, this is one of the best snacks in the entire world. My brother and I now dream about this stuff after being intro’d to it by my Malaysian best friend. We usually gobble it down at Penang (the chain), but their portions are small and we always want more. Your recipe looks fantastic – just like Penang’s roti! – and I can’t wait to try it. I’m just wondering, however, how you made the chicken curry dip? Might you please post a recipe for that, please? Thanks so much!
any malaysian overseas student with a wordpress account would view to click this featured article just to get a view of that photo.
it sounds so easy to make for such a heavenly delight!
That looks quite appetizing. Maybe I’ll try it.
Wow yum! Could you please post the recipe for that curry?
MMG SEDAP
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Nice site. Thank you.
I love roti canai dip in curry sauce.
Can you share the recipe for the curry dipping/suace for the roti canai?
I would appreaciate if you can email it to me. Thanks.
It’s been years since we had our delicious roti prata. The taste of this wonderful roti chanai is still intact somewhere in me.
I wish I could have some of those now.
looks good, check uot my version athttp://3hungrytummies.blogspot.com/2009/10/murtabak-with-goodies.html
Do you also have a recipe for the traditional curry gravy that goes with it?
thats look yummy… I wanna try to eat
I loved Roti Chanai every time I visted Malaysia, especially the local dishes served in Butterworth. Does your recipe fluff up like in the picture. I’d kill for the fish head curry they used to sell at the Air Force base asian kitchen, we used to have it every morning for breakfast!
Loved this dish when we lived in Penang. Am also wondering if you could please post the recipe for the curry sauce. Thank you.
Can I ask for the recipe of the curry dip that looks so yummy beside it… =)
Vegetable curry sauce
You can leave the vegetables out if you like
INGREDIENTS :
• 2 potatoes, cut into 8 each
• 2 carrots, cut ½ inch
• 2 zucchinis, sliced thick
• 1½ cups cauliflower florets
• 1 green bell pepper, cut into inch squares
• 1 cup green beans, cut 1½ inch
• 2 tomatoes, skin removed, quartered
• 2-3 green Serrano or Jalapeno peppers [optional], kept whole, make 1-2 slits
• 3 tbsp Malaysian fish curry powder
• 2 tbsp or to taste, chili powder
• 1 tsp turmeric powder
• 1 cup coconut milk
• 1½ cups chicken stock, vegetable stock or water
• 4 tbsp ghee [clarified butter] or vegetable oil
• salt
• 3-4 curry leaves [optional]
• 2 medium onions (grounded)
• 4-6 cloves garlic grounded)
• 1-inch fresh ginger, peeled grounded)
To Prepare :
Using a mortar & pestle or blender, grind chili paste, onions, garlic, ginger into a paste
In a small bowl, combine fish curry powder and chili powder and turmeric powder with a little water to make a thick paste
In a wok or pot, heat ghee or vegetable oil, fry the ground paste for a2-3 mins
Add curry paste, stir-fry on low heat until quite toasted and oil starts to ooze from paste – do not burn!
Add coconut milk, chicken stock [or vegetable stock or water], tomatoes and season with salt
Gradually bring to a to boil, then reduce heat to simmer uncovered until sauce thickens, about 15 mins
Add each vegetable in order – those that take longer to cook are added first
Simmer until just tender, or to your liking of crispness, remove from heat promptly
Serve hot with bread, Roti or steamed rice
Cook’s Note : Substitute fish curry powder with a meat curry powder. The difference is – the fish curry powder has a slight ‘tangy’ taste, preferred for a vegetable curry.
Variation : Use any of your favorite vegetables such as Eggplant, Peas, Cabbage, Mushrooms, Squashes, Daikon, Snow peas, Okra, Spinach, Broccoli, Jicama and Chayote.
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