Flatbread with Layers (South Indian Parotta)

This layered flatbread finds its roots in Kerala, Tamil Nadu and India's neighbor, Sri Lanka, and is often confused with the north Indian paratha as both flatbreads share similar attributes (think crispy flakiness and layers). However, there are subtle differences between the two: the parotta, unlike the paratha, is made with maida flour, which has a higher gluten percentage. The result is a silkier, doughier flatbread. It is said that the roti prata that we know and love is derived from this South Indian favourite. Malaysians know the flatbread as roti canai, which is believed to be a nod to its Chennai roots. The bread is traditionally served during breakfast or lunch with a dal, but has recently seen numerous modern updates - stuffed with onions, sardines and slices of cheese, or served sweet with condensed milk, Nutella and bananas.

4 cups maida, plain flour or all-purpose flour, unbleached
1 tsp. sea salt
1 tsp. sugar
1/3-½ cup oil
water

In a bowl, add maida, salt and sugar and mix well. Slowly add water and make a soft dough. Add a Tbsp. of oil and mix into the dough. Cover the dough with a lid and allow to rest for at least 2-3 hours.

Grease your work surface and your hands with oil and pinch dough to make smooth round tennis sized balls. Place the balls on the greased work surface and grease the balls with oil.

Take each ball and roll it like a thick roti (approx 4-5") in diameter using a rolling pin and place the rolled out rotis on the greased work surface. Place them each next to each other. Grease the thick rotis well. Allow to rest for 10 minutes.

Take a rolled out thick roti and spread it out thin using a rolling pin or using your palms and fingers to stretch out into a thin sheet. The key is to spread it out super thin and as large as you can. Keep smearing oil as your spread the sheet. The shape is really not important. Even if there are a couple of tears, it is completely fine.

Now using the fingers, slowly lift up one end of the sheet and make pleats moving towards the other end.

Once it’s pleated hold one end of the long strip and roll it towards the other end to create a rosette and tuck the end under the rosette. Prepare with the rest of other thick rotis and keep the rosettes greased at all times. Allow to rest for 10 minutes.

On the greased work surface, place each rosette and roll into a thick parotta, smearing oil as your roll out. Ensure the parottas are well greased.

Heat a tawa on high flame. Once the tawa heats up, place the thick parotta on the tawa and cook on both sides till golden brown on medium high flame. Drizzle oil as your roast them on the hot tawa.

Prepare parottas with rest of the rosettes in a similar fashion. Now take each parotta, place on the work surface and using both your hands, crush them together similar to clapping action. This helps to open up the layers of the parotta.

Repeat this action with all the roasted parottas. Serve parotta with vegetable salna or chicken salna.

Cook’s Notes:

• At every stage, the shaped out dough - tennis sized balls/rolled out thick rotis/thin sheets/rosettes/rolled out parottas should be well greased at all times.
• Allow to rest for at least 10 minutes at each stage of the parotta making process.
• Crushing the hot off the stove roasted parotta is essential step that is not to be missed.