How to make Roti

Roti is made and sold in the markets of Mauritius. It's a local favourite and is eaten with a sauce called Uguy (a spicy tomato sauce) and Butterbean curry. It's an Indian recipe and is also really popular in the Caribbean. My M-i-L tells stories of eating it in the market for a yummy snack when she was young and that she would only pay about 5 cents which is about half a penny.

Roti is simple and delicious with the sauces but does take some time to make. We made some yesterday when my M-i-L came over and this is how we did it.

Ingredients:
3 cups of white plain flour
6 tbsp sunflower oil
1.5 cups of warm water
Pinch of salt

Step 1: Sieve the flour and add the salt.Add the oil to the flour and mix in. Slowly add the water and mix in using your hands. Knead the mixture until you have a soft dough.

Separate the dough into balls about the size of your palm.







Step 2: Roll out the dough until you have a nice square shape. About 20 x 20cm and about 3 mils thick.

Step 3: Brush the dough with some sunflower oil.

Step 4: Fold the dough into itself by a third either side. This is done to get the layered pastry effect that everyone loves so much about roti.

Step 5: Roll the dough into a ball.












 Step 6: Repeat with all the dough balls and then set aside for 30 mins.

  

Step 7: After 30 mins, roll out the coiled balls into rounded square shapes again.















Step 8: Heat some oil in the pan and fry the roti until it bubbles up.

Serve warm with curry sauce. Recipes for the sauces to come.







This is also a good film of a Mauritian Auntie making fresh roti. (Thanks to Shamsulrosunally)