Roti Canai

Method

1. Mix the flour, salt and sugar in a large bowl. Stir the condensed milk into the lukewarm water, then pour it in a little at a time and bring everything together into a dough. Knead on the worktop for 10 min, pushing and folding. It starts sticky but becomes soft and smooth, like an earlobe. Add only a tiny bit more flour if it keeps sticking to your hands.

   Add in this stepPlain flour 200 gSalt ½ tspSugar 2 tspSweetened condensed milk 2 tspLukewarm water 110 ml

2. Divide the dough into 4 equal pieces and roll each into a smooth ball. Pour the oil into a container, add the balls and turn to coat them well, then cover and rest at room temperature for at least 2 h. The longer the rest, the more the gluten relaxes and the thinner the dough stretches. For an overnight rest, refrigerate and take it out 1 hour before cooking.

   Add in this stepVegetable oil (for coating and frying) 3 tbsp

3. While the dough rests, make the dhal. Rinse the lentils until the water runs clear, put them in a 18 cm pot with the dhal water, turmeric and the potatoes in 2 cm cubes. Simmer on medium heat with the lid ajar for 22 min, stirring now and then, until the lentils have broken down and thickened and the potatoes are tender. Add a little water if it gets too thick.

   Add in this stepRed lentils 80 gWater (for the dhal) 550 mlGround turmeric ¼ tspSmall potatoes 1

   medium heat

4. Heat the dhal oil in a small pan on medium heat and add the mustard seeds. When they start to pop, add the curry leaves, the dried chillies broken in half and the thinly sliced shallots and garlic and fry for 3 min, until the shallots are golden. Add the curry powder and chopped tomato and fry 2 min more until the tomato collapses, then tip everything into the lentils and stir. Season with salt. Curry leaves spit when they hit the oil, so stand back.

   Add in this stepVegetable oil (for the dhal) 1 tbspBrown mustard seeds ½ tspCurry leaves 8Dried red chillies 1Shallots 2Garlic cloves 2Curry powder 1 tspTomato 1Salt (for the dhal) to taste

   medium heat

5. Oil the worktop generously, put a ball on it and flatten it with your palm. With your fingertips, gently pull the edges outwards, working round, until the dough is thin enough to see the worktop through it. A few small holes are fine. Brush with a thin layer of ghee, fold the top and bottom to the middle, then the sides, to make a palm-sized square.

   Add in this stepGhee or melted butter 1¼ tbsp

6. Heat a 24 cm pan on medium-high heat, add a little oil and ghee and lay in a folded roti. Cook for 1 min 30 sec until puffed with brown spots, then flip and cook the other side for the same time. Cook them one at a time; stretch the next roti while one is cooking to save time.

   Add in this stepVegetable oil (for coating and frying) 2 tbspGhee or melted butter ¾ tbsp

   medium-high heat

7. Put the cooked roti on a board and clap it between your hands from the sides 2 or 3 times; the layers open up and it turns fluffy inside. Serve straight away with the warm dhal.