Prep time: 10 minutes + 4.5 hours resting time and 30 minutes shaping, depending on your experience. Cook time 2–3 minutes per roti.
Using a stand mixer with a dough-hook attachment or a large bowl, combine the salt, sugar, condensed milk and 350ml (12fl oz) of warm water. Stir for 1 minute until the sugar and salt have dissolved. Add the flour and use your hands to mix everything together until the liquid and the flour have combined. Add the butter or margarine gradually in teaspoonfuls and keep mixing until a shaggy dough forms.
In a mixer (for 2–3 minutes) or by hand (for 4–5 minutes) keep bringing the mix together until the dough is smooth. If you’ve been using a stand mixer, now start working by hand. With well-oiled hands, work the dough in a circular motion, smoothing it out. The dough should be completely smooth and rounded with a shiny surface.
Cover with a coating of oil or butter and leave to rest for 30 minutes at room temperature. Divide the dough into 10 equal-sized pieces, each weighing approximately 70–75g (2½ –3oz) – you can roll the dough into a sausage shape and then cut it into portions, weighing each one on scales as you go to ensure they’re equal. Roll each piece into a smooth ball.
Use your hands to coat each ball in vegetable oil, then place them on a baking sheet, cover with cling film (plastic wrap) and leave to rest for at least 4 hours, or overnight, in the fridge. At this point, you could also wrap the dough balls individually in cling film and freeze for later use.
After the dough has rested, cover your work surface with a generous amount of oil – you really want to grease up the surface and your hands. This will help to stop the dough sticking to the surface or your hands. The following instructions need to be completed per ball of roti – you can either prepare and cook each roti one at a time or prepare all/half the balls ready to cook, leaving the remaining roti balls covered in the refrigerator – see pages 30–34 for step-by-step photographs of the method. Take the first ball and start to use the palm of your hand to push the dough in an outward motion. It’s really important that you only use the palm of your hand and do not apply much pressure, or you’ll create holes. The oil will help your hand to glide over the dough smoothly. The dough needs to be of a consistent thickness and remain in a roughly circular shape (it doesn’t need to be a perfect circle as you’re about to throw it). Keep adding oil so that there is no friction between your hands and the dough. You are aiming to carefully stretch the dough to about 35–40cm (14–16in), becoming thinner without creating any holes.
This step is the one to practise using a wet dish cloth. When you’re ready to start with the real thing, consider the first few rotis to be further practise! Hold the edge of the dough nearest to you between the thumb and index finger of one hand, with the rest of your fingers resting on top of the dough. In a smooth, confident motion, pick up the edge of the dough with your other hand (a little further away from the hand already holding it), then quickly lift up the dough with both hands and slap it down on the work surface. Repeat this at least six times, moving your hands a little each time to rotate the dough after each slap, widening and stretching it in all directions. If you’re struggling with the slap, try carefully stretching the dough by peeling the sides off the surface, lifting gently and stretching out the dough towards you a little at a time or see the shortcut below. Don’t worry too much if the dough tears around the edges a little.
When the dough is as thin as you can get it, fold in the sides to make a square shape, roughly 25cm (10in). Fold each side quickly, trapping as much air as you can in the fold to create air pockets and bubbles. Then leave the folded roti to rest for 2–3 minutes while you heat the pan. You can either take all the roti you want to cook to this point and leave the prepared roti to rest on the surface, or cook one at a time.
Heat a large frying pan over a high heat and add ¼ teaspoon of oil. As the pan heats up, place the roti on the counter and stretch the dough back to a 15–20cm (6–8in) circle. Once the pan is hot, add the dough and you should hear a ‘cracking’ sound – this is important; if you don’t hear it, the pan isn’t hot enough. Once you hear a ‘cracking’, wait at least 30 seconds before flipping the roti over, flipping it four times in total. Each roti will take 2–3 minutes to cook if the pan is hot enough. It should be covered in brown spots as it cooks and you should see the roti puffing up.
Remove from the pan and put the cooked roti back onto your oiled countertop. Clap your hands together on either side of the roti and rotate it a few times as you do so. Do this 3–4 times and the roti will go from flat to flaky. Perfect!
SHORTCUT: If you are struggling with step 6 and the slap is not working for you, as well as using your hands to stretch out the dough on the surface, you can also use a rolling pin. Make sure the rolling pin is well oiled and after you have smoothed out the dough with your hands in step 5, simply use the rolling pin to stretch out the dough as thinly as you can.
