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Making Roti Jala

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I’ve just made Roti Jala so I thought I’d post in more detail about this. This is a Malaysian lattice pancake that is used to soak up the sauce of a meal. Tonight we ate it with a Chicken Kapitan Curry and some stir-fried vegetables.

We first ate Roti Jala when we visited Malaysia in 2013. When I returned I was desperate to get a roti jala cup, and tried in a few directions, ending up with three! The metal one was brought back from Malaysia by my friend Titus on his first home visit there in years. If you can’t get a cup, the roti gurus just use one cone with a small hole in it! Or you could make holes in a tin can.

I have two quite different recipes for the batter. The first came on the packet of one of the pouring cups.

2 eggs
2 cups of flour
1/2 tsp salt
2 1/2 cups coconut milk
1/2 -1 tsp turmeric powder

Sift the flour, salt and turmeric powder together. Whisk the eggs, then gradually beat them into the flour. Slowly add the coconut milk, beating to get a smooth consistency.

Strain the mixture. Test it with the cup and add more water or flour until you get a smooth flow through the nozzles.

Recipe #2 has more eggs and less coconut and it is here. It comes from Ong Jin Teong’s “Penang Heritage Food.”

You can decide whether you like your roti with more coconut or egg.

You’ll see from the video below that it is easiest to keep something under the roti cup. The mixture will settle, so keep stirring it before you fill the cup each time, otherwise you will need to thin the batter with water towards the end.

Here’s a short video of me from the other night.

 

Making Roti Jala from Craig Mitchell on Vimeo.

I will confess that on this occasion I bought a jar of curry paste. It was a good decision as the curry was excellent and transported us back to Malaysia. It gave me a better idea of what to aim for when I make the curry from scratch in future.

Good luck hunting for a roti jala cup!

Nonya Chicken Curry

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malay-curry-paste

Nonya Chicken Curry
 
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This dish is similar to food that we ate in Malaysia in November 2013. We bought a few Malaysian cookbooks while in Penang. This is from "Nonya Flavours" by Debbie Toh and Julie Wong, Star Publications, 2010.
Recipe type: Main
Cuisine: Asian
Ingredients
  • 4-5 tbsp Oil
  • 1 Star anise
  • 2 Cloves
  • 1 Cinnamon stick
  • 30 g Dried chillies (soaked)
  • 200 g Shallots
  • 15 g Garlic
  • 20 g Belachan (toasted)
  • 2 tsp Turmeric
  • 3 tbsp Coriander seeds
  • 1 tsp Cumin
  • 1 tsp Fennel
  • 1.5 kg Chicken pieces
  • 300 g Potatoes (peeled)
  • 500 ml Coconut milk
  • 1 tbsp Salt
  • ½ tsp Sugar
Instructions
  1. Using a food processor, mix together chillies, shallots, garlic, belachan, turmeric, coriander, cumin and fennel. Add a little oil if needed.
  2. Heat oil on medium low heat in a frypan. Saute star anise, cloves and cinnamon stick for 2 mins. Add spice paste stir fry for 3-4 minutes. Add s 2-3 tbsp coconut milk.
  3. Add chicken and fry to brown for 1-2 minutes. Add potatoes and 400 ml coconut milk. Simmer until chicken is tender and potatoes are cooked.
  4. Add remaining coconut milk and season to taste with salt and sugar. Continue to simmer gently until gravy has thickened. Serve with Roti Jala.

nonya-chicken-curry

Roti Jala

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roti-jala

Here’s our second attempt a Roti Jala with a new and different cup (spouts on side) and a different recipe. The Malaysian chicken curry recipe that accompanied it will follow shortly.

Roti Jala
 
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Author:
Recipe type: Main
Cuisine: Asian
Serves: Lots!
Ingredients
  • 600 g Plain Flour
  • ½ tsp Salt
  • 6 Eggs
  • 100 ml Coconut milk
  • 850 ml Water
  • Oil
  • Paper Towel
Instructions
  1. Sieve flour into mixing bowl. Add salt. Whisk eggs with ½ cup of water. Using a food processor on low speed, add egg mixture slowly to flour to mix well. It should form a thick paste. Next add the coconut milk gradually, stirring to make a smooth paste. Add remaining water gradually to make a smooth batter. Strain the batter. Test the batter through the Roti Jala cup. If it doesn't pass smoothly, add more water. If it seems too running, sift some more flour into the mix.
  2. Heat a non-stick frypan and wipe it with a paper towel dipped in oil. Place the roti jala cup over a bowl so it doesn't drip everywhere. Add the batter. Hold the bowl in one hand and the cup in another above the frypan. Take the cup and move it in a circular motion around the pan. Return the cup to the bowl. The Roti Jala is ready when it starts to separate from the pan. Remove with an egg slice and fold crepes in halves, then quarters, then eighths. Use the paper towel after every few roti to oil the pan.

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Making Roti Jala

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We learned about Roti Jala on our recent trip to Malaysia, although we didn’t see it or eat it there. It’s a lacy crepe made with flour, egg and coconut milk. A cup with several holes in the bottom or side is used to pour the mixture into a pan. The roti is then folded in half twice.

Roti Jala is usually eaten with curry. We used it as a kind of tortilla with chicken teriyaki and salad fillings.

Here’s the first recipe that we’ve tried…. 

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