Soft Butter Roti
Soft Butter Roti are a South African flatbread often served with spicy Durban curry or channa masala, but I find they are so delicious and light that they can go with so many more dishes. We often eat them with Indian Chicken Tikka, Middle-Eastern inspired kebabs or grilled haloumi.
These Soft Butter Roti are easy to make - much easier than many other flatbreads. They are very soft and keep their softness if stored in a ziplock bag overnight. They also freeze really well and remain soft when re-heated. To re-heat wipe a little water over the surface with your hands and heat in the oven (180ºC) for about 45 seconds.
This recipe makes about 10 roti. I would recommend 2-3 roti per person as part of a meal.
EDIT: I have now included instructions on using a dough mixer in a separate section below.
- 270 g plain flour
- 1 tsp salt
- 25 g butter
- 1 tbsp vegetable oil
- 250 ml just boiled water
Place the flour and salt in a mixing bowl.
Add the butter and blend with your fingers and thumb to incorporate the butter and flour.
Add the oil and stir to mix it into the flour.
Pour in the just boiled water and quickly mix with a spoon. As soon as you are able use your hands to knead the dough for 3-5 minutes until a smooth dough is formed.
Be very careful as the fat from the butter heats easily and can burn.
Pull off small pieces of the dough and roll to form balls.
Place the balls on a plate and cover with cling film. Leave to rest at room temperature for at least 1 hour.
When ready to cook sprinkle some flour on a flat surface. Roll a ball of dough into a thin circle less than half a cm thick.
Heat a dry flat-bottomed pan over a medium heat. Place the dough circle in the pan and cook for 2-3 minutes until there are brown spots on the bottom.
Flip the bread and cook for 2-3 more minutes until cooked through. The bread should puff up but don't worry if it doesn't puff too much.
Wrap the cooked bread in a clean kitchen towel and then continue cooking the rest of the breads.
Serve warm with your favourite curry or kebab.
Place the flour, salt, butter and oil in the bowl of the dough mixer.
Add the just boiled water and then turn the mixer on to a medium low speed - I used level 4
Continue mixing the dough for 3-4 minutes until the dough forms a soft warm ball.
At this stage, the instructions can be followed from the hand-made instructions above from stage 5.