photo by A. Davey

I have mentioned in prior posts that I once read the New York Times Magazine's food column, but have since given up.  One of the main drivers that chased me towards the travel section was the addition of a series called "Cooking With Dexter".  The series centers on a young cook, maybe 4 or 5, that has more annoying foodie street cred than some of the bloggers I've read.  I have a kid the same age, and other than making play dough, I can't imagine him ever showing the slightest glimmer of the overly precocious Dexter's behavior.

I was poking around the interweb, learning about African street food, when I caught some mentions of Dabo Kolo.  The only African food I cook on a regular basis are Moroccan tagines, so its time I learned more.  One post in particular got me thinking about whether drawing the kid into cooking would be a good idea.  Seems like a simple recipe and very kid friendly.

The short answer is it was a total failure.  The Dabo Kolo turned out great, but the kid kept insisting we use his recipe, which had more to do with assembling everything in the pantry into a grey mush and cooking it.

The optional part of this recipe is the pepper.  If you include the chili, I use the same reshampatti chili I use in Indian recipes, the end result is going to have a bite kids won't like.  If you want to go the kid friendly route, cover the pieces with a little butter and cinnamon sugar while they are still warm.

Dabo Kolo

1 cup flour

1 Tbsp sugar

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp hot red chili

1 Tbsp melted butter

1/2 cup warm water

Directions

1. Mix all the ingredients together.  Add the water slowly and mix together, making sure the dough is not too sticky.


2. Knead on a floured surface.


3. Pull off a ball of dough the size of a golf ball, roll out to form a strip of dough.


4. Cook in a skillet with no oil until each piece is golden brown.  Turn regularly.

photo by craigemorsels

The first time I had roti canai, I recognized its source.  Without knowing the name, I knew I had been served something very similar in southern India.  At the time, I didn't realize just how important this would be to some of the things I started cooking from India.

Turns out Roti Canai is closely related to Kerala Porotta, which like most Indian breads, has been impossible for me to get right.  Kerala Porotta is particularly frustrating, as I have many friends that tell me how they or their family members make great Kerala Porotta, and here I am banging away my miserable attempts.  The last step of making Kerala Porotta is clapping the bread together between your hands to break the bread up.  Try as I might, I either couldn't get the breaking right or wasn't making the dough right.  Either way, what I ended up with never matched my memory or expectations.

Making Roti Canai is different for a couple reasons - the dough is sweeter, and more importantly, easier to finish.  This recipe makes a bunch of breads - probably too many if you are having a small meal.  The dough keeps for a couple days in the fridge if you decide to make it all.

There is of course a more authentic way of flattening the dough than using a roller.  There are some great videos on YouTube that show the process in detail.  I've tried them, but to be honest, they make a bit of a mess.  Using a roller is not that difficult, so I just stick with that method.

This recipe helped me learn how to make Kerala Porotta, so eventually I will post that recipe too...

Roti Canai

3 cups flour

1 tsp salt

1 Tbsp sugar

1 cup warm water

1 egg

olive or vegetable oil (I use olive oil)

Directions

1. Mix the flour, salt and sugar in a bowl.

1. Beat the egg with the water and add to the flour mixture.

1. Knead the dough until it is smooth.


2. Oil your hands and divide the dough into balls.  This will leave the dough balls covered in oil.


3. Let the dough balls rest overnight or for a couple hours.


4. When ready to make the breads, oil a roller and roll each ball out until it is very thin, about 1/8". 


5. Cook the breads on a hot flat iron skillet until light brown.


6. Take each bread as it comes off the skillet and crunch it together in your hands, which will lighten the bread.

A visit to India always includes fantastic food, and every meal seems to include bread.  I learned early in my travels that if you don't understand the menu, you can simply order "some meats, some gravies and some bread" and things won't turn out entirely wrong.

  photo by diametrik

Making the bread, however, has proved elusive for me.  I have never come even close to recreating the bread served at Lazee's in Bangalore, even though I am pretty sure it is a Kerala Porota.  Below is a simple recipe that I rarely do wrong.  It is my general purpose Roti.

Roti

2 cups whole wheat flour

1/4 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

3/4 cup milk

Directions

1. Mix the dry ingredients in a bowl.


2. Put out a board and dust with a good amount of flour.


3. Add the milk and mix into a sticky dough


4. Knead the dough on the board, adding more flour until it is worked into a stiff dough


5. Divide the dough into 4 balls.  Roll each ball out flat, cover them in oil, reform into a ball and let sit for 30 minutes.


6. Roll each ball out to a very thin pancake.  Fry each side with just a little bit of oil.