Canai bread

Etymology

Roti canai is attested in Malay since at least 1970. Roti is borrowed from the Sanskrit "रोटिका" (roṭikā), meaning "bread" in English. Canai probably comes from the Malay word "canai", which carries the meaning "to roll dough thinly". Less likely theories suggest that the name comes from the Indian city of Chennai or from the Hindi chana, meaning "chickpea" or "chickpea stew", which it often accompanies. This traditional Indian-derived food is popular throughout Southeast Asia under various names. In Singapore, the dish is known as roti prata, from the Indian paratha or parotta. Within Indonesia, the dish is either referred to as roti cane, roti konde, or roti maryam.

History and background

Since being introduced to Southeast Asia around the 19th century, roti canai has become a popular breakfast and snack dish and is one of the most common South Indian foods in the region. It is said that Indians brought the dish during the era of British Malaya, where it was served in street mamak stalls located in both rural and urban areas. Within Southeast Asia, it can often be found in settlements that have populations of Indian descent, especially in Malaysia, Singapore, Brunei, Indonesia, and Thailand. It has also been theorised that the dish had been introduced by Indian traders to the Indonesian province of Aceh, in northern Sumatra, in the 17th century, under the name roti cane, from where it spread throughout the Dutch East Indies by the early 19th century. It can nowadays be found in various parts of Indonesia, especially in North Sumatra, West Sumatra, and Riau, where the Indian Indonesian community is concentrated. Singapore and Malaysia, which split in 1965, both claim it as a speciality of local cuisine. In 2024, Malaysia successfully nominated it, along with nasi lemak and teh tarik, for United Nations recognition as intangible cultural heritage.

Regional variations

Plain roti is often referred to as roti kosong ("empty bread" in the Malay language). Traditionally, roti canai is served with dal (lentil) curry but may also be eaten with the following types of curries:

Kari ayam – chicken curry

Kari daging – beef curry

Kari kambing – mutton curry

Kari ikan – fish curry (mostly served with stingray)

Kari campur – mixed curry

Kari kacang kuda – chickpea curry

Brunei, Malaysia, and Singapore

Different types of roti canai are served in Brunei and Malaysia:

Murtabak, a very thick roti filled with a mixture of egg, meat, onions, and spices. In Brunei, Malaysia, and Singapore, it is usually prepared on a griddle like roti canai, but in Indonesia, it is often deep-fried in a wok. In Thailand, it is called mataba. In Malaysia, Singapore, and Thailand, murtabak is made using the same dough used for roti canai and on the same equipment, in the same stalls. Most murtabak in Malaysia tends to have less minced meat and more egg than Singaporean or Johorean variants. Murtabak cheese is a variation, with added mozzarella cheese

Roti telur, with an egg (telur) stuffing

Roti jantan, roti telur with two-egg stuffing

Roti bawang, with onion (bawang) stuffing

Roti telur bawang, with eggs and onions

Roti boom (or bom; 'bomb bread'), a smaller but thicker roti, with the dough wound in a spiral. It is served with sugar and margarine, or with curry

Roti planta, stuffed with margarine (often Planta brand) and sugar

Roti sardin, stuffed with canned sardine, with or without egg, and sometimes mixed with ketchup or sambal, similar to murtabak

Roti pisang, stuffed with sliced bananas (pisang)

Roti sayur, stuffed with shredded or sliced vegetables

Roti salad, raw shredded vegetables rolled up with a piece of roti

Roti tisu, a tissue-paper-thin and flaky roti, usually with sprinkled sugar and condensed milk. Also called roomali roti, from roomal (Hindi, meaning "handkerchief")

Indonesia

Roti cane is thought to have come to Indonesia via Muslim Indian migration to the Aceh Sultanate, in the northern parts of Sumatra, around the 17th century, and later to the rest of the Dutch East Indies, in the early 19th century. It has since been adopted into the Malay, Acehnese, and Minangkabau cuisine of Sumatra. Consequently, there are Malay, Acehnese, and Minangkabau restaurants serving the dish with mutton curry that are operated by ethnic groups other than Indians. Two types of popular roti cane dishes include sweet roti cane, served with various toppings such as cheese, chocolate sprinkles, and chocolate syrup; and savoury roti cane, served with curry sauce. In Indonesia, roti cane is often associated with Acehnese cuisine, despite its Indian origin.

In Ampel, an Arab quarter in Surabaya, the dish is known as roti maryam, while the Javanese call it roti konde, after its shape, which resembles a hairbun (Javanese: konde). Despite having different names, each variant is derivative of the Indian paratha and is similar in preparation. Indian-influenced roti is typically served with Mutton curry.

Thailand

In Thailand, roti (with variations on spelling such as ro tee) is commonly available from street carts, usually halal, sold by Thai Malay Muslims. Roti thitchu (Thai for "tissue") is Thai roti canai that is fluffed up by clapping it between two hands inside a dry cloth after frying, and served with a Thai Muslim-style beef curry. In some parts of Thailand, roti is also commonly eaten with mango, banana, sugar, condensed milk, jam, peanut butter, or Nutella, although plain egg roti is also available.

Preparation

Roti canai is a flatbread made from unleavened dough that is composed of fat (usually ghee), flour, and water; some recipes also include sweetened condensed milk. The dough is repeatedly kneaded, flattened, oiled, and folded, creating layers. The dough ball is then flattened, spread out until paper-thin (usually by "tossing" it on a flat surface), and gathered into a long rope-like mass. This "rope" is then wound into a knot or spiral and flattened, so that it consists of thin flakes of dough when cooked. When making varieties with fillings, the fillings (eggs, chopped onions, etc.) are spread or sprinkled on the thin sheet of dough, which is then folded with the fillings inside.