Roti canai
One of Malaysia's favourite breakfasts, served at mamak stalls run by Indian Muslims. Balls of soft dough soak in ghee for hours, then are stretched on the worktop so thin you can see through them, and folded into a square. In the pan the bread turns golden, crisp outside and soft inside, full of fine layers. Once fried, it is scrunched between the hands to separate the layers. It is served with lentil curry for dipping. Stretching takes practice, but even uneven ones are delicious.
Your own work in that: 55 min.
- Kneading 15 min
- Resting 15 min
- Dividing into balls 10 min
- Soaking in ghee 240 min
- Stretching and folding 30 min
- Frying 30 min
Step by step
0 / 8 doneKnead a smooth dough
Mix the flour with the sugar and salt, add the water, egg and condensed milk. Knead 10–15 minutes until very smooth, soft and elastic. This decides whether it stretches without tearing.
Ingredients: 500 g plain flour · 230 ml lukewarm water · 1 pcs egg · 2 tbsp sweetened condensed milk · 1 tsp sugar · 1½ tsp salt
Rest the dough
Cover the dough and rest 15 minutes, then knead another 2–3 minutes. It becomes smoother still.
Ingredients: 500 g plain flour · 230 ml lukewarm water · 1 pcs egg · 2 tbsp sweetened condensed milk · 1 tsp sugar · 1½ tsp salt
Divide into balls
Divide the dough into 10 pieces of about 80 g and shape into smooth, tight balls.
Ingredients: 500 g plain flour · 230 ml lukewarm water · 1 pcs egg · 2 tbsp sweetened condensed milk · 1 tsp sugar · 1½ tsp salt
Soak in ghee at least 4 hours
Set the balls in a dish, pour over the ghee and turn them to coat all over. Cover with film and leave at room temperature 4 hours (or overnight in the fridge, taking them out an hour before stretching). The dough relaxes and becomes very stretchy.
Ingredients: 150 ml ghee or oil
Balls in ghee — the dough turns stretchy.Stretch until translucent
Grease the worktop with ghee. Flatten a ball by hand, then stretch it with your fingers from the centre outwards until so thin you can see through it, about 40 cm across. Small holes do not matter.
Ingredients: 150 ml ghee or oil
Thin enough to see through — small holes are fine.Fold into a square
Fold the edges in from four sides to make a square of about 15 cm. Inside are countless thin layers with fat between them. Rest the folded breads 10 minutes.
Ingredients: 150 ml ghee or oil
Fry until golden
Heat a flat pan over medium heat with a little ghee. Fry the breads one at a time, 2–3 minutes per side, until spotted golden and crisp. Two pans at once is quickest — then all of them take about 30 minutes.
Ingredients: 150 ml ghee or oil
Golden spots on both sides.Scrunch and serve
Lift off the hot bread and quickly scrunch it from the sides with your hands (or two spatulas), like clapping — the layers separate and the bread puffs. Serve at once with lentil or chicken curry.
Ingredients: 150 ml ghee or oil
Before you start
How much fat stays
Some of the soaking fat stays in the dish — use it for frying. The nutrition values count about half the ghee, as roughly that much ends up in the breads.
Roti telur
A popular version is roti telur: an egg is cracked onto the stretched dough, spread, scattered with onion and folded into a square. Fry it a little longer, until the egg has set.
Making ahead
Freeze the folded, unfried breads interleaved with baking paper. Fry them straight from the freezer over slightly lower heat.
