COPPERRoti recipe
Trinidad's everyday sada roti: a thick baking-powder flatbread cooked on a tawa until it puffs, its edges toasted over the open flame, eaten with curry.
Ingredients
- 500 g all-purpose flour
- 4 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp salt
- 300 ml water
How to make Roti
- Mix 500 g flour, 1 tsp baking powder and 1 tsp salt. Make a well, pour in about 300 ml water and knead to a soft, smooth dough.
- Cover with a damp cloth and rest 1 hour.
- Divide into 4 balls (loyah), shape them smooth, cover and rest another hour.
- Heat a tawa or heavy flat pan over medium heat. Roll each ball on a floured surface into a round about 1 cm thick.
- Cook on the tawa 2 to 3 minutes until the top bubbles and the underside browns in spots, then flip and cook 2 minutes more.
- Lift the roti with tongs and hold its edges over the open flame, turning, until it swells and the rim is cooked through.
- Wrap in a clean cloth to stay soft and serve hot with a curry, such as curried channa, bodi or chicken.
What is Roti?
Roti is a traditional dish from Trinidad and Tobago, and takes about 2 hours and 30 minutes from start to finish. It is built around all-purpose flour. The recipe below uses 4 ingredients and is written out step by step.
How long does Roti take?
At 150 minutes it is slower than 61% of the 586 dishes in Copper's atlas. Copper's atlas has 40 dishes built on all-purpose flour. The method runs to 7 steps, the longest being 3 minutes.
Any tips for making Roti?
Give the dough its two one-hour rests and finish each roti over the open flame so it swells and the rim cooks through.
Cooked with the same thing elsewhere
Other traditional dishes built on baking powder, from other countries.
- Lamingtons 🇦🇺 Australia
- Conch fritters 🇧🇸 Bahamas
- Fish and chips 🇬🇧 United Kingdom
- Baleada 🇭🇳 Honduras
- Conch fritters 🇰🇳 Saint Kitts and Nevis
- Cassava bread 🇱🇷 Liberia
Copper documents Trinidad and Tobago alongside 197 other countries. Every recipe is free to read, with the full ingredient list and every step.