Roti canai
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Roti_prata.jpg
The dish comprises of dough consisting of copious amounts of fat, egg, flour and water. The form of fat used is usually clarified butter (ghee). The entire mixture is kneaded thoroughly, flattened, oiled and folded repeatedly. It is then allowed to proof and rise and the process is repeated. The final round of preparation consists of flattening the dough ball, coating it with oil and then cooking on a flat iron skillet with a lot of oil. The ideal roti is flat, fluffy on the inside but crispy and flaky on the outside.
One of the characteristics of roti canai and its derivatives is that it can be eaten with solely with just the hands, without the need for utensils. This makes it a convenient dish to consume, while being filling. This characteristic makes it a dish of choice as breakfast or as supper (the fourth meal of the day, generally eaten after nightfall).
Traditionally it is served with dhall (lentil) curry, which in North India is known to be similar to channa. It can sometimes be taken with sugar or condensed milk. In more recent times however, various improvements on plain roti have been devised to suit the more adventurous taste buds of more affluent Malaysians and Singaporeans. Generally the newer forms of roti are denoted by using a prefix of roti attached to the additional ingredient used. One of the most common derivatives is roti telur or roti with fried eggs (telur being the Malay word for egg). Other variations include roti tisu (tissue bread, a paper thin and flaky roti), roti jala (net bread, a latticed roti) and roti bom (bomb bread, a smaller but thicker roti).