Skip to content
FriendsPantry

Malaysian · Singaporean

Roti canai

Contains egg (no meat or fish)

A soft dough stretched paper-thin, folded and griddled into a flaky, crisp-edged flatbread, eaten with dhal or curry in Malaysian mamak shops.

Roti canai is a Malaysian bread, ready in about 5 hours 5 minutes and made with all-purpose flour and ghee. It serves 8 and is rated advanced to cook.

Start cooking

No licensed photograph of this dish yet.

Prep
40 min
Cook
25 min
Rest
4 h
Total
5 h 5 min
Serves
8
Level
Advanced
Calories
366

At least 4 hours resting; overnight in the fridge gives the most elastic dough.

Ingredients

8 flatbreads

Equipment

Method

  1. Step 1

    Mix the flour, salt and sugar (opens in a new tab). Beat the egg (opens in a new tab) with the condensed milk (opens in a new tab) and water, add to the flour and knead for 10 minutes into a very soft, smooth dough.

    • 15 min
    Hands kneading dough on a floured surface
    How it looks · Photo: Klaus Nielsen on Pexels

  2. Step 2

    Divide into 8 balls, coat each generously in oil and place in an oiled dish. Cover and rest for at least 4 hours.

    • 5 min

  3. Step 3

    Oil the work surface. Flatten a ball, then stretch it outward with your fingertips (or by flipping) until thin enough to see through. Spread with a little ghee (opens in a new tab).

    • 2 min

    Small tears are fine; they add to the flakiness.

  4. Step 4

    Fold the edges in to make a square, or roll into a rope and coil it into a snail and flatten. Repeat with the rest.

    • 15 min

  5. Step 5

    Cook on a hot, lightly greased griddle until golden and crisp on both sides, about 2 minutes per side. Scrunch the hot roti between your hands to separate the layers.

    A flatbread cooking on a hot griddle
    How it looks · Photo: Muhammad Khawar Nazir on Pexels

About this dish

Origin
Malaysia · Commonly attributedBrought by South Indian Muslim communities; called roti prata in Singapore.Also popular in Singapore, IndonesiaMore food from Malaysia
Dish
Breakfast · Snack · Dinner · Breads & flatbreads · Street food
Cooking method
Pan-fried
Taste
buttery, mild, savoury
Diet
Vegetarian (lacto-ovo) · No nut ingredients
All labelsVegetarian (lacto-ovo) · Eggetarian · Pescatarian · Flexitarian-friendly · No nut ingredients · Alcohol-free · Pork-free · Beef-free
With the listed swaps: Vegan, Plant-based, Lacto-vegetarian, Ovo-vegetarian, Dairy-free, Egg-freeWorked out from the ingredients. How labels work
Good for
Make-ahead · Street food
Cook more with
All-purpose flour · Ghee · Sugar · Egg · Sweetened condensed milk
Techniques
Pan-frying · Kneading

Allergens

  • Contains, can be adapted: Milkfrom sweetened condensed milk, ghee
  • Contains, can be adapted: Eggsfrom egg
  • Contains: Wheatfrom all-purpose flour
  • Contains: Glutenfrom all-purpose flour

Based on typical versions of these ingredients and not verified allergen-free. Brands differ and cross-contact happens, so always check labels. For severe allergies, follow your clinician’s advice.

Nutrition

366 kcal per serving

Calculated

1 serving ≈ 116 g · recipe makes 8

Where the energy comes from

  • Protein 8%
  • Carbohydrate 56%
  • Fat 36%
Nutrition per serving and per 100 g
NutrientPer servingPer 100 g*
Energy366 kcal316 kcal
Protein7.4 g6.4 g
Carbohydrate50.6 g43.7 g
Net carbohydrate48.9 g42.3 g
Sugars3 g2.6 g
Added sugars——
Fibre1.7 g1.5 g
Fat14.5 g12.5 g
Saturated fat5.5 g4.7 g
Trans fat——
Cholesterol43 mg37 mg
Sodium451 mg390 mg
Salt equivalent1.1 g1 g
Vitamins & minerals per serving
Potassium
85 mg
Calcium
23 mg
Iron
3 mg
Magnesium
16 mg
Vitamin A (RAE)
75 µg
Vitamin C
0 mg
Vitamin D
0.1 µg
Vitamin B12
0.1 µg
Folate (DFE)
185 µg

How these numbers were made

  • Calculated from USDA FoodData Central (SR Legacy) per-100 g values and the listed quantities.
  • *Per 100 g of combined raw ingredients; the cooked dish may weigh more or less.
  • “—” means the value isn’t known for enough of the ingredients; it is never zero by default.
  • Values are estimates for guidance, not for medical dosing. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central, 2019. fdc.nal.usda.gov.

Good to know

Tips

  • The dough must be very soft and well-rested or it will tear when stretched.

Common mistakes

  • Skimping on the resting time — the gluten fights back and the roti will not stretch.

Serve with

  • Serve with dhal, chicken curry and a glass of teh tarik.

Storage

  • Shaped, uncooked roti can be frozen between baking paper for 1 month.

Reheating

  • Cook from frozen on a medium griddle.

Variations

  • Roti telur: Crack an egg onto the stretched dough, fold it into a parcel and griddle.

Original editorial recipe · FriendsPantry editorial · Not yet independently reviewed · Added · Updated

Recipe DNA

How this dish is built

Grouped by each ingredient’s role in the dish. Each band’s width is its share of the dish by weight. Choose a component to see what it does.

What the dish is built around

Main ingredient

Used in steps 1, 3

Baker’s notes

Customise in Bread & Bakery

Timeline and readiness cues

  1. Mix and knead · about 40 min

    Knead until smooth and soft; it should feel like an earlobe.

  2. Rest · about 4 h

    Covered so it doesn't dry out; relaxed dough rolls and shapes without springing back.

  3. Bake · about 20 min

    Puffed with golden-brown spots on both sides.

  4. Start to finish: about 5 h. Times are a guide — warmth changes everything; follow the cues.

The dough

The dough in baker's percentages. Flour = 100%.
IngredientRoleWeightBaker’s %
All-purpose flourFlour500 g100%
WaterWater230 g46%
EggEgg50 g10%
Sweetened condensed milkSugar19 g3.8%
SugarSugar13 g2.5%
SaltSalt9 g1.8%
Total flour
500 g
Hydration
46%
With milk, eggs…
53.5%
Wholegrain
0%

Hydration = water ÷ flour × 100. Milk is about 87% water and eggs about 75%, so they’re shown separately as “with milk, eggs…”.

  • Stiff dough (under 55% hydration) — firm, easy to roll; typical of bagels, pretzels and many flatbreads.
  • Milk, eggs and other liquids add about 8 points of extra water, so it handles like a 54% dough.
  • Salt 1.8% — normal for bread.

If something goes wrong

  • Pale crust

    Likely causes

    • Oven too cool
    • Too little sugar or no milk/egg for browning
    • Over-fermented (yeast ate the sugars)

    What to do

    • Check the oven with a thermometer
    • Brush with egg wash or milk
    • Shorten the fermentation
  • Burnt bottom

    Likely causes

    • Tray too close to the heat
    • Dark tray absorbs more heat
    • Too much sugar in the dough

    What to do

    • Bake on the middle shelf
    • Double up trays or use a light-coloured one
    • Lower the temperature 10–15 °C and bake a little longer
  • Tough or chewy flatbread

    Likely causes

    • Dough too stiff
    • Not rested
    • Cooked too slowly on too cool a pan

    What to do

    • Add water until the dough is soft and slightly tacky
    • Rest 20–30 minutes covered so the gluten relaxes
    • Cook on a very hot tawa or pan — quickly

Reviews & corrections

Reviews come from signed-in cooks and appear after a moderator checks them. We never show made-up ratings.

You might also like