Roti Canai

Roti canai is a flaky, layered flatbread, pan-fried until crisp and usually served with dhal or curry as a popular Malaysian breakfast. It is sold at many Malaysian stalls and restaurants, and in Singapore the same dish is usually called roti prata. Its exact origin is disputed. It is widely traced to the flatbreads of South India, and it is closely linked to the Indian Muslim mamak stalls of Malaysia, where it became a standard morning order.

What it really is

Plain wheat flour is mixed with water, egg and salt into a soft dough, which is kneaded and rested. The dough is stretched thin, folded and pressed into layers, then fried on a hot griddle with ghee until golden and crisp outside while the inside stays soft and flaky.

Roti canai has no meat in its dough. The bread is made from flour, egg, salt, water and ghee. The dhal or curry it is served with is a separate dish and may contain meat, fish or seafood.

How it's served

• Hot off the griddle, folded or torn into pieces with the fingers.
• With a bowl of dhal or curry for dipping, served alongside and not part of the bread.
• As a breakfast order, most often at a roadside or mamak stall, usually with a hot drink such as teh tarik.

How to write it on the menu

• Name the main ingredient and the version: plain roti canai, or roti telur if an egg is folded into the bread.
• Flag wheat, egg and milk. Milk is included because ghee is made from butter. If margarine or oil is used in place of ghee, say so, since the milk flag then changes.
• Name the dhal or curry separately and state whether it contains meat, fish or seafood, because the accompaniment carries most of the other allergens.
• State that the bread on its own is vegetarian, which helps guests who ask.