I was watching MasterChef Australia and was inspired to make Roti Jala as one of the participants did, but of course with a Persian touch! To begin with, one might wonder what Roti Jala is.
Roti Jala is originally from Malaysia and is also known as Roti Kirai or Roti Renjis. I think a suitable name in English would be “Lace pancakes”.
This is incredibly popular snacks in Malaysia and is often served with some kind of curry.
I just wanted something to have with my coffee and this lace pancake was just very suitable.
There are also special molds for this dish but I do not find it necessary. All you need is a bowl, frying pan, and a plastic squeeze bottle. The recipe below is sufficient for 10-12 medium pancakes or 20 smaller pieces. In Malaysia, they use turmeric in the recipe, but here I have refined the recipe and have saffron and cardamom instead.
Ingredients
100 grams of wheat flour
1.2 dl coconut milk (I mixed coconut cream and regular milk 60 ml each)
45 grams of sugar
1 egg
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground cardamom
1 teaspoon saffron
1 teaspoon sesame oil (goes well with neutral oil as well)
1 dl of warm water
Method:
- Mix ground saffron with 1 dl warm water, set aside to cool for 10 minutes.
Now measure up and mix in all other ingredients, mix well. - Pour the pulp into a plastic squeeze bottle.
- Heat a frying pan to medium with a little oil in.
- Squeeze out a pattern using the squeeze bottle so that the pulp forms a
lace-like pattern in the frying pan. Cook 40 seconds on one side, then turn and let it fry for 15 seconds. Roll it up immediately and serve.
Serve it as it is with coffee or tea, or together with some ice-cream of your choice.
Enjoy!
