Roti Canai/Veechu Barotta/Trinidad Basup shots (parathas)

Today I tried the Malaysian roti canai. It is called veechu barotta in Tamil Nadu and of course my recipe is the eggless one and not to be confused with kothu barotta. The barotta is usually eaten with salna if you eat meat or with veggie kuruma if you are a veggie in Tamil Nadu. In Malaysia it is eaten with curry sauce and is called Roti Canai. In Trinidad it is called paratha/Basup shots and is served with curry. So Naz and Anjalie usually get their curried chicken to accompany their rotis (recipe for curried chicken can be found at rice, dhal and curried chicken post). Here is the step by step method for making the roti. Be warned that it takes a while to make it and is high in calories. But the effort is worth it and can be enjoyed once in a while by the whole family.

Roti Canai served with curried chicken

 You will need:

4 cups all purpose flou

2 tbps of oil to knead the dough

1 cup of oil for spreading and cooking

water/milk to mix the dough.

salt to taste

Mix all purpose flour (maida), vegetable oil and milk/water into a smooth dough.

Divide the dough (8-10) and roll out small thick puris. Make sure the work space is oiled and also your rolling pin is well greased. Do not use flour...

Roll out the puris into thin rotis as thin as possible

 Here comes the difficult part... Throw the roti a couple of times to make it even more thin

It is called veechu barotta for a reason. In Tamil Veechu means to throw... It will take a few tries before you get the hang of it.

now pick the thin cloth-like roti on one edge and give it a shake and start rolling it around starting from one end and finishing by tucking the other end on the oil smeared counter.

It looks like this...

Roll them out again using oil to grease the rolling pin and work station 

 Put them on a greased griddle or tawa and cook until golden on both sides on medium heat

 Enjoy! For veggie option, the roti can be accompanied by any of your favorite curry, potatoes or my personal favorite, Potato Sagu, which is a spicy gravy with onions & potatoes (recipe to follow soon).