ROTI CANAI - Penang Street Food

Roti Canai is a national favourite in Malaysia. An Indian-Muslim style flat bread, the Roti Canai makes the perfect base for spicy curries. 

The Roti Canai is soft, buttery and fluffy on the inside but crispy and flaky on the outside, very much like the Danish pastry. Made from wheat flour, eggs, water and vegetable fat, the dough undergoes an intense process of kneading before it is tossed and spun in the air until it becomes a very thin sheet. Then it is folded into a circular shape. 

Sometimes, the Roti Canai is referred to as "flying bread" due to the act of tossing and spinning. It is then fried on a hot iron skillet with lots of oil or butter until the outer layers are crispy and golden. 

Incidentally, the word 'canai' means to knead in Malay. Roti Canai is normally served with either dhal, a deliciously thick lentil stew, chicken curry or even anchovy sambal. For an explosion of taste, try the combination of dhal and anchovy sambal with your Roti Canai. 

A plate of plain Roti Canai with curry costs around RM1.00. This is a halal dish.