ROTI CHANAI

It was 30 years ago when I first tried Roti Chanai. I was backpacking in Singapore and had these thin flaky flat breads for breakfast with a curry dipping sauce. Now I usually don't go for curry for breakfast but these breads were sensational.
Ten years later I introduced R to them. We had just arrived in Penang after an overnight boat trip from Medan, Sumartra. The sun was just thinking about rising as we staggered, bleary-eyed off the boat, loaded down by our packs. The path from the dock lead through a food market were I spotted a stall selling them. I suggested to R that we have breakfast and it was lust at first bite. She spent the rest of our time in Penang fretting about were she would get her next Roti fix. If it wasn't for all the other food delights Penang had to offer it would have been Roti for breakfast, dinner and tea.
Back in Coburg there has been a serious lack of good Roti. Frozen ones that you can reheat in the microwave have been around for quite a while but this is not the same as freshly made Roti.
More recently a couple of south Indian restaurants have opened up selling delicious Roti, so the harmony of the universe has been restored.
Better still C's recently acquired Madhur Jaffrey cookbook has a recipe.
The thought of freshly made roti for late breakfast was just too much so I decided to give it a go.
The recipe is pretty simple, mix 300g plain flour with 4tbsp sweetened condensed milk, 4 tbsp oil and 1 egg, lightly beaten. Add 120ml warm water to make a soft dough. Knead for 10 mins, divide into 12 balls. cover with a bit more oil, then put on a plate covered with cling wrap and into the fridge over night. I can do all that.
Next morning roll the dough balls out on an oiled surface until paper thin. Pick up the edge of the dough and stretch them further if possible. Roll the sheets of dough up into tight snakes and coil them onto a board. Cover with cling wrap and leave for 30 mins.
Roll the out again until very thin and plonk onto a hot cast iron pan with a little oil. cook for about 10 secs and flip over. Cook each side twice fro 10 secs and service with hot curry sauce.

The verdict: Well the local Indian restaurant needn't panic just yet. Although very nice for a first attempt the other layers weren't as flaky as the best roti. The dough needed to be a bit softer as it was too elastic to be able to stretch out properly. Next time I'll try adding a bit more water.