Rotis

Serves: 8-10

Preparation time: 45 minutes (plus resting time in refrigerator)

Cooking time: 20 minutes

• 500ml flour

• 5ml salt

• 2.5ml baking powder

• 250ml hot water

• 125g soft butter or ghee

• oil for frying

1 Sift the flour, salt and baking powder together in a bowl. Add just enough water to the dry ingredients to form a soft, manageable dough. Knead the dough for a few minutes until it’s soft, smooth and elastic.

2 Place the dough in a greased bowl, cover with clingfilm and refrigerate for about half an hour.

3 Sift a little flour onto a clean work surface and roll the dough into a rectangle, about 5-8 mm thick. Spread the butter or ghee over the dough and roll it up to form a sausage shape.

4 Cut the rolled-up pastry into 4 cm-long pieces (you should get about 8-10). Press and roll each piece until you get a longer length and then loosely knot each piece of dough. Cover again with greased clingfilm and leave for an hour or two in the fridge.

5 Gently flatten the knotted dough pieces with a rolling pin on a floured surface. Now roll out the dough into flat circles so they look like pancakes, and cover so they don’t dry out. Heat oil in a frying pan and fry the rotis, one at a time, until golden brown on both sides (about 1-2 minutes on each side). Remove the roti from the pan and crumple it like you would a piece of paper. It’s important to do this while the roti is still hot – use paper towel if it burns your hands. This is done so that you have a flexible, manageable roti that can be easily rolled and folded. Keep the rotis warm while you fry the others.