Roti Prata

- Makes 4
​Call it Singapore Roti Prata or Malabar Parotha, who doesn’t like dunking layers of this crispy pastry into your favorite curry. If you’ve ever been to Singapore, Malaysia or the South of India, you’ve probably already seen local prata chefs throwing layers of stretchy dough into the air to make these golden-crispy beauties. The home chef may not be able to put on a show like that, but can easily achieve restaurant like results at home. The only trick is let the dough rest enough at regular intervals, so as to give the gluten a chance to relax, before stretching out the dough as thin as you can. The end result, I promise, will be as good as what you’d get at your favorite prata place.

Ingredients for Roti Prata

225g all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
25g sugar
50g warm milk
90g warm water
Oil for coating the dough balls prior to shaping (or ghee)
Melted ghee, as needed for frying and shaping the dough

Recipe
  1. Place flour in an electric mixing bowl. Add salt, sugar, warm milk and warm water, and knead with a dough hook on medium for 9 minutes until dough is shiny and elastic.
  2. Shape into a ball, oil the surface and place into a bowl. Cover with cling wrap and let it sit for at at least 1-2 hours.
  3. Divide into 4 equal portions and shape into smooth balls. Oil the surface and cover to let rest for another 10 minutes.
  4. With oiled hands, pat the balls down into 10” diameter discs. Rub generously with oil and stack the oiled discs on top of each other on a plate. Cover with cling wrap and rest of another 30-40 minutes. Resting the dough at every step gives the gluten in the dough time to relax, therefore making it easier to stretch.
  5. When ready to shape, oil your hands and the discs. Flip the dough by slamming it against the table to stretch the dough. Alternatively, stretch the dough by pulling it outward using your fingers or using a rolling pin until very very thin.
  6. When the dough is really thin and the edges are thin too, dab some ghee/oil on the surface of the dough.
  7. Carefully fold the dough into thirds on either side, then lift one end to form a long curly rope. Place the bottom tip on the counter and coil it into a circle tucking the tip under the coil.
  8. Cover with cling wrap and let the spirals rest for another 30-60 minutes.
  9. Pre-heat a skillet on medium heat. When ready to fry, flatten the dough with the palm of your hands into a relatively thin disk. Alternatively, use your hands to pat it down before using a rolling pin to thin it out, before frying.
  10. Season the skillet lightly with oil. Place prata on the skillet and roast until lightly golden on both sides, flipping every 15-20 seconds. Spoon a teaspoon or more of ghee all over and spread it gently using a spatula. Continue to fry the prata until crispy golden on both sides - keep flipping every 15-20 seconds.
  11. Place hot prata on the counter and let it rest for about a minute, then fluff the prata up by slamming your hands together in a cupping motion. Serve warm with your favorite curry.
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