As an American born to Guyanese parents, I’ve had the pleasure of eating all the foods from both cultures growing up. One day, I would have a NYC pizza and the next curry and rice for dinner. On weekends, we would get roti for breakfast with whatever was made the night before. This was probably how it was for many first generation American children.
I started helping my mom flip rotis standing on a chair at the stove when I was around 8 years old. By the time I was in high school, I could knead the flour and cook it from scratch on my own. As an adult, even though I rarely cooked roti because it was time consuming compared to other meals I made, the skills were still there, ingrained from childhood. While I am by no means an expert at roti making, I can share what I do know with you.
Simple Chicken Curry
Gluten free, Dairy free
Serves 2
Total prep and cook time: 30 min.
1/4 onion chopped
2 cloves garlic
1 tsp whole cumin seeds or ground cumin
4 boneless chicken thighs or 1 1/2 lbs. other chicken chunks thawed
1 1/2 tbs. Curry powder mixed with 3 oz. Water
1/4 tsp. Each of Parsley, thyme, oregano, basil
1 bay leaf (optional)
Salt to taste
Light sprinkle of black pepper
1/2 tsp. Tomato paste
Add onions, garlic, and cumin seeds to a lightly oiled pot or saucepan on medium heat. When onions start to brown, add curry mixture and stir. Add chicken and coat with curry sauce. Cover and let cook for three minutes. Then stir chicken. Add 1 cup of water. Add the rest of the ingredients, stir, and cover. Let it cook on low heat for 15-20 minutes or until meat is cooked through.
Paratha Roti
Makes about 5 roti
Total prep and cook time: 1 hour
2 1/4 cups all purpose flour + 3/4 cup for rolling
1/4 tsp. baking powder
6 oz. Lukewarm water
3 oz. Vegetable oil, olive oil or ghee
Special Equipment: griddle or skillet, rolling pin, spatula, silicone brush or 2” x 4” piece of paper towel
Mix dry ingredients. Gradually add water to the flour mixture and knead into dough. Do not over knead. Let rest for 10-15 minutes. Divide dough into three equal balls. Dunk the balls in the remaining flour and set aside. Take one ball and flatten by hand. On a lightly floured surface roll dough into 8-10 inch circle. Results may vary. Oil the rolled out dough. Cut in half. Pick up one half and roll it up onto itself. Tuck the ends into the center. Dip in flour and set aside. Repeat with the other half. Take another dough ball and repeat the above process of rolling out, oiling, cutting, and wrapping, until all the dough balls are finished.
Heat skillet or griddle. Coat with oil. Pick up one of the wrapped pieces of dough and roll it out. Flip once and roll again. Place roti on the griddle. When small bubbles form, about 30 seconds, flip and oil the surface. Flip immediately after oiling and oil the other side. When small brown spots appear on each side, the roti is done cooking. Take off the heat. Fold roti in half and clap roti immediately after removing from heat or else it will get stiff (see video demonstration). When the surface of the roti is broken it is finished. Roll out the next roti and repeat the cooking process.
Serve roti hot with curry of your choice.
