SKINNYASIA: Roti Canai

Prepare dough

Thermo cooker

• Add flour and salt to mixer bowl. Combine for 5 sec/speed 4/MC on.
• Add hot water to mixer bowl and blend for 5 sec/speed 4/MC on.
• Add room temp water and ghee. Combine for 20 sec/speed 4/MC on. Allow to rest with lid on for 30 min.
• Knead dough for 3 min/kneading function/MC on until smooth. If dough is too sticky, add a little more flour and if it feels too hard add a little water, knead until smooth.

Conventional

• Add flour and salt to large mixing bowl and mix to combine.
• Slowly add hot water first while mixing with a fork. Then room temp water and ghee. Once dough forms, start kneading with hands.
• Keep kneading until dough is soft and not sticky. If dough is too sticky, add a little flour and if it feels too hard add a little water. Cover with a tea towel and rest for 30 min.
• Knead dough for 3 min or until smooth and pliable.

Resting dough

• Lightly grease bench, a dish and hands with ghee or oil. Divide into 8 smooth balls, rub each ball with a little bit of ghee and place in dish.
• Cover with cling wrap and allow to rest on the bench for 1–3 hr. For best results allow to rest overnight in the fridge, remove from fridge 30 min–1 hr prior to use for a final rise. You can use this dough, room temperature and split into 12–16 balls to make a quick chapati in a roti maker or follow the below for the ultimate roti.

To roll Roti

• Lightly grease bench. Take 1 ball and use your palm to press flat. Begin slowly thinning the dough by pushing lightly from the centre out with your palm. Continue to thin it out by moving around the edge of the dough with your fingers, slowly pulling outward. Don’t be concerned with any holes. See video above to watch how to roll.
• Once the dough is paper thin, brush lightly with ghee and roll it up like a tight sausage.
• Start at one end and roll it up to create a scroll, tucking the end bit under. Using your palm and fingers, stretch the scroll out to be a thin roti. Repeat for remaining dough.

To cook

• Heat a frypan to medium heat. In the meantime, take a roti and stretch it out again to be approx. 15 cm or 5.9".
• Add 1 tsp oil to frypan, cook roti until golden brown on both sides.
• When cooked, place roti in a clean tea towel. Scrunch the roti up inside the tea towel to separate the layers. Set aside in a thermoserver or covered by a tea towel and repeat with remaining dough.