Roti canai or Roti Chennai (known as Roti prata in Singapore) is a dish found in Malaysia, Singapore, Kerala (India) and Pakistan. The pronunciation porotta is unique to Tamil and Malayalam; that pronunciation is derived from the North Indian word paratha. New versions of Roti include Roti Telur, Roti Bawang, Roti Bom, Roti Planta, Roti Pisang, Roti Tissue, and Roti Sardin.

Roti means bread in Urdu, Hindi, and Malay. The term “canai” comes from “channa”, a mixture of boiled chickpeas in a spicy gravy from Northern India which it was traditionally served with. The term “channa” is also used in Pakistan. In English, roti canai is sometimes referred to as “flying bread,” a term that evokes the process of tossing and spinning by which it is made.

The dish is composed of dough containing copious amounts of fat, egg, flour and water. The form of fat used is usually ghee (clarified butter). The entire mixture is kneaded thoroughly, flattened, oiled and folded repeatedly. It is then allowed to proof and rise, and the process is repeated. The final round of preparation consists of flattening the dough ball, coating it with oil and then cooking on a flat iron skillet with a lot of oil. The ideal roti is flat, fluffy on the inside but crispy and flaky on the outside.

One of the characteristics of roti canai and its derivatives is that it can be eaten with the hands, without the need for utensils. This makes it a convenient dish to consume, while being filling. This characteristic makes it a dish of choice as breakfast or as supper (the fourth meal of the day, generally eaten after nightfall).

Traditionally, it is served with dal or ‘dhal’(lentil) curry, which in North India is known to be similar to chana. It can sometimes be taken with sugar or condensed milk. In more recent times, however, various improvements on plain roti have been devised to suit the more adventurous tastes of more affluent Malaysians and Singaporeans. Generally the newer forms of roti are denoted by using a prefix of roti attached to the additional ingredient used. One of the most common derivatives is roti telur or roti with fried eggs (telur being the Malay word for egg). Other variations include roti tisu (tissue bread, a paper thin and flaky roti), roti bawang (onion bread) and roti bom (bomb bread, a smaller but thicker roti) also popular is the roti planta which is roti stuffed with margarine and sugar. It is also interesting to note that most plain roti are round while those with fillings are square in shape due to the folding of the roti.

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