ROTI PRATA

Serves 6

Roti prata is a crisp pastry traditionally served with lamb or dhal curry, but many stalls selling this dish offer variations today such as roti prata with banana slices, drizzled with chocolate or strawberry sauce, roti prata with ice cream or roti prata with a sprinkling of cheese. As a child, I enjoyed eating roti prata with coarse-grain sugar or sweetened condensed milk. Roti prata is Singapore’s version of Tamil Nadu’s parota which is slightly thicker, although some believe thatroti prata originated from Punjab.

Plain (all-purpose) flour 500 g (1 lb 1½ oz)
Salt 1 tsp
Margarine 2 Tbsp
Sweetened condensed milk 1 Tbsp
Warm water 170 ml (5⅔ fl oz)
Melted ghee 100 ml (3½ fl oz)

1. Sift flour and salt into a large bowl. Add margarine and stir until mixture looks crumbly.
Slowly add condensed milk and warm water and mix well into a dough.
2. Knead dough without adding extra flour until it pulls away from the sides of the bowl and
forms a soft ball. Continue kneading until dough is slightly sticky, about 10 minutes.
3. Cut dough into 8 pieces and roll each piece into a ball. Coat balls lightly with melted ghee
and place in a bowl. Cover and set aside for 3 hours.
4. Oil the work top and hands to avoid dough from sticking.
5. Flatten each ball into a very thin sheet using your palms and finger tips. Stretch the
dough and thin it further by pulling the edges. If the dough sticks to your fingers or work
top, add more oil to prevent sticking.
6. Oil the surface of stretched dough and fold it into a square.
7. Heat a frying pan and place folded dough on it. Cook until browned in spots before
turning over to cook other side. Prata should be crispy.
8. Using the palms of both hands, crush the hot prata to fluff it up. Serve immediately with
curry, sugar or sweetened condensed milk.

NOTE
• Roti prata stalls in Singapore also serve roti prata with egg as a variation to the plain prata.
To make egg roti prata, break an egg on the surface of the stretched dough at step 5, puncture
the egg yolk and spread the egg before folding it into a square. Continue with steps 6 and 7.
• Another method of making roti prata is to thin out the dough, then oil and roll it up like a coil
before flattening it. Repeat to coil and flatten the dough at least twice before frying the prata.