Roti canai, or roti chenai, also known as roti cane and roti prata, is an Indian-influenced flatbread dish found in several countries in Southeast Asia, including Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore. It is usually served with dal or other types of curry, but can also be cooked in a range of sweet or savoury variations made with a variety of ingredients such as meat, egg, or cheese. Roti canai is a popular breakfast and snack dish in Malaysia, and one of the most famous examples of Malaysian Indian cuisine. It is said that the dish was brought over from India by Indian Muslims, also known as "Mamaks" in Malaysia, and is served in Mamak stalls located in both rural and urban Malaysia. It is considered as a variation of parotta but it does not exist in India. The closest kin to roti canai is believed to be Malabar parotta.
Etymology
Roti means bread in Sanskrit, and most other Indian languages. There are different suggestions for the origin of canai: it has been claimed that canai refers to Chennai, the Indian city formerly known as Madras; or from channa, a Northern Indian dish made with boiled chickpeas in a spicy gravy, with which this type of bread was traditionally served. The Oxford English Dictionary, however, states that it came from the Malay word canai, meaning "to roll thinly". In Southern Malaysia and in Singapore the dish is known as roti prata, similar to the Indian paratha or parotta. The Hindi word paratha means "flat".
Description
Roti canai is made from dough which is usually composed of fat, flour and water; some recipes also include sweetened condensed milk. The dough is repeatedly kneaded, flattened, oiled, and folded before proofing, creating layers. The dough ball is then flattened, spread out until paper thin, and gathered into a long rope-like mass. This "rope" is then wound into a knot or spiral and flattened, so that it consists of thin flakes of dough when cooked., West Sumatra. Up until the 1970s, it was common for cooks to form a spiral with the "rope", but this is no longer the case, probably because the amount of dough used per roti is about half of what it used to be. When making varieties with fillings, however, the fillings are spread or sprinkled on the thin sheet of dough, which is then folded with the fillings inside.
Regional variations
Malaysia
Plain roti is often referred to as roti kosong. Traditionally, roti canai is served with dal curry. It may also be served with the following curries:
Different varieties of roti canai served in Malaysia are listed below:
Murtabak, a very thick roti filled with a mixture of egg, meat, onions and spices. In Malaysia and Singapore it is usually prepared on a griddle like roti canai, but in Indonesia, it is often deep fried in a wok and very oily. In Thailand, it is called "Mataba". In Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand murtabak is made using the same dough used to make roti canai, and on the same equipment in the same shops. Most murtabak in Malaysia tend to have less minced meat and more egg than Singaporean murtabak or Johorean Murtabak. Murtabak cheese is a variation with added mozzarella cheese.
Roti telur, with an egg.
Roti jantan, roti telur with an extra egg.
Roti bawang, with onions.
Roti telur bawang, with eggs and onions.
Roti boom , a smaller but thicker roti, with the dough wound in a spiral. Served sweet, with sugar, and with margarine, or served with curry.
Roti planta, stuffed with margarine and sugar.
Roti sardin, stuffed with canned sardinewith/without egg and sometimes mixed with ketchup or sambal, similar to murtabak
Roti pisang, stuffed with sliced bananas.
Roti sayur. stuffed with shredded or sliced vegetables.
Roti salad, raw shredded vegetables rolled up with a piece of roti.
Roti tissue / roti tisu, a tissue paper-thin and flaky roti, usually with sprinkled sugar and condensed milk. Also called roomali roti, from roomal.
Roti tsunami, topped with curry sauce, sambal, and soft-boiled eggs.
Indonesia
In Indonesia, roti canai is also called roti cane, roti konde or roti maryam, and is usually served with kari kambing. Roti cane came into Indonesia via the influx of Muslim Indian migration to Aceh Sultanate in Northern parts of Sumatra circa 17th century, and later to the rest of Dutch East Indies in early 19th century. Roti canai is more prevalent in Sumatra, especially in Aceh, North and West Sumatra. Roti cane has been adopted by the Malay cuisine of Sumatra, Acehnese cuisine and Minangkabau cuisine. Consequently, there are Malay, Aceh, and Minangkabau restaurants that serve roti canai with mutton curry in Indonesia that are operated by ethnic groups other than Indians. This Indian-origin dish has been so well-integrated into Aceh cuisine that it is considered their own. In Ampel, an Arab quarter in Surabaya, it is known as roti maryam, while common Javanese called it roti konde after its similar shape to a hairbun. Despite having different names, their recipes are quite similar, and they are influenced by Indian paratha.
Singapore
Roti prata is a fried flatbread that is cooked over a flat grilling pan. It is usually served with a vegetable- or meat-based curry and is also commonly cooked with cheese, onions, bananas, red beans, chocolate, mushrooms or eggs. Roti prata is prepared by flipping the dough into a large thin layer before folding the outside edges inwards. The dough is cooked on a flat round iron pan measuring about three feet in diameter. The cooking process lasts two to five minutes. Many of the roti canai variations found in Malaysia are also popular in Singapore.
Thailand
In Thailand, roti is commonly sold from street carts, usually by Muslims, and is usually Halal. Roti thitchu is Thai roti canai that is fluffed up by clapping it between two hands inside a dry cloth after frying, served with a Thai-Muslim style beef curry. Unlike in Malaysia, Singapore or Indonesia, variations in Thailand tend towards the sweet rather than the spicy or savoury. Popular variations include mango, banana, sugar, condensed milk, jam, peanut butter and Nutella roti, although egg roti is also available. Some stalls sell mataba, though this is usually found in restaurants that sell Indian Muslim food such as Biryani rice rather than at roti stalls.
