Southeast Asia

Roti Canai: Malaysia's Flaky Flatbread with Dal Curry

Name: Roti Canai: Malaysia's Flaky Flatbread with Dal Curry
Prep time: 2 h
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 2 h 20 min
Yield: 4 servings
Cuisine: Malaysian
Ingredients: 300 g Bread flour; 180 ml Water (lukewarm); 4 and 2/3 tbsp Ghee (clarified butter); 1 tbsp Sweetened condensed milk; 1 tsp Salt; 4 tbsp Neutral oil (for resting the dough); 150 g Lentils (red or yellow); 1 (finely chopped) Onion; 1 (roughly chopped) Tomato; 2 cloves (finely chopped) Garlic; 1 knob (grated) Ginger; 1 tsp Turmeric; 1 tsp Ground cumin; 1/2 tsp Chili powder; 100 ml Coconut milk; 2 tbsp Neutral oil; 1 tsp Salt; 500 ml Water

How to make Malaysian roti canai at home: a stretchy dough rested in oil, folded with ghee into dozens of crisp layers, cooked on a hot skillet and served with a lentil dal curry.

Published: October 24, 2026Total: 2 hr 20 minLevel: Intermediate

Cooking flow

Cooking steps

STEP 11 / 10

Knead the dough

10 min

Smooth roti dough brushed with ghee, a glossy, springy ball — Brush well-kneaded dough with ghee. Ideally the surface is glossy and springy, and the dough is soft and smooth at this stage

Put 300 g bread flour and 1 tsp salt in a large bowl and mix well. Make a well in the center and pour in 180 ml lukewarm water, 2 tbsp melted ghee and 1 tbsp condensed milk. Mix roughly with chopsticks or a spoon, then knead firmly by hand for 5 minutes. It's ready when the dough is smooth and pulls away from the bowl's sides.

Guide: if the dough springs back when pressed with a finger, enough gluten has formed. If it's sticky, add flour 1 tsp at a time. If it's too stiff, add lukewarm water 1 tsp at a time.

STEP 22 / 10

Divide the dough and rest it

at least 2 hours

Roti canai dough balls resting in oil — Rest for at least 2 hours with oil coating each dough ball so the surface doesn't dry

Divide the dough into 4 equal pieces and shape each into a ball. No heat here; the goal is a smooth, taut surface. Pour 4 tbsp oil into a deep container and arrange the dough balls so they sit in the oil. Cover with plastic wrap and rest at room temperature for at least 2 hours. During this rest the gluten relaxes and the dough becomes remarkably easy to stretch.

Making it the day before is best

Professional mamak cooks prepare the dough the night before and let it rest overnight. Dough rested for 12–24 hours stretches far more easily than dough rested for 2 hours, and the layers come out cleaner. If you want freshly cooked roti for breakfast, make the dough the night before and refrigerate it. Bring it back to room temperature 30 minutes before using.

STEP 33 / 10

Stretch the dough thin

3 min per piece

Stretching roti dough thin, as translucent as paper — Pull the dough paper thin. If light shows through, you've succeeded. This is the basic technique that creates the layers of roti canai

This is the highlight of making roti canai. Spread a thin layer of oil on the work surface (no dusting flour; use oil). Take out a dough ball and press it flat with your palm.

Pinch the edge of the dough with both hands and slowly pull it outward. Once you're used to it, you can toss it into the air and spin it like a mamak cook, letting centrifugal force thin it out. The goal is thin enough to see through to the other side. Don't worry if a few holes appear, or if it isn't a perfect circle.

STEP 44 / 10

Fold the dough

2 min per piece

Folding thin dough brushed with ghee and rolling it into a spiral — Spiral the folded strip to trap layers of ghee inside

Spread 1 tsp ghee over the surface of the thin dough. Fold the left and right sides toward the center to make a long, narrow strip. Then roll the strip up into a spiral from the near end to the far end, and press lightly from above to flatten it into a disc.

This cycle of "stretch, brush with ghee, fold, roll" is what produces the many thin layers of roti canai. Make the finished spiral about 6–7 cm in diameter, soft enough that the layers shift slightly with ghee when pressed. Then stretch it lightly once more to a circle 18–20 cm across (don't make it too thin or the layers will collapse, so this time keep it thicker).

STEP 55 / 10

Cook on the griddle

4 min per piece

Roti canai cooking golden on a griddle, the layers visible — Roti canai in a skillet. The ghee sizzles and the surface turns crisp and golden. Edges of the layers lifting is a good sign

Preheat a skillet (cast iron if possible) over medium heat for 2 minutes. Brush it with 1 tsp ghee and lay the shaped dough in the pan. Cook 2 minutes over medium heat, until the bottom is golden, then flip and cook another 2 minutes.

Doneness guide: mottled patches of golden and brown are ideal. If some areas remain evenly white the heat is too low; if the whole surface is dark brown the heat is too high.

STEP 66 / 10

"Clap" the roti to finish

30 sec

Clapping freshly cooked roti canai to separate its layers — Clapping the cooked roti. This one extra step loosens the inner layers for a crisp, fluffy texture

Take the roti off the heat when it is golden on the surface and clap it between both hands for about 30 seconds. If the layers fluff open, you've succeeded. This "clapping" step is the biggest secret of roti canai. Clapping separates the inner layers and creates the crisp, airy texture. Without it the layers stay stuck together and you end up with a plain thin bread.

STEP 77 / 10

Simmer the lentils

20 min

A pot of lentils simmering with turmeric — Turn off the heat when about half the lentils have broken down and some grains remain

Rinse 150 g lentils lightly in water and put them in a pot with 500 ml water. Add 1 tsp turmeric and simmer over medium heat for 20 minutes. The ideal is lentils that are soft and about half broken down. Turn off the heat and leave them in the pot.

STEP 88 / 10

Fry the aromatics

5 min

Frying curry leaves, onion, garlic and ginger in oil — The onion is translucent and the curry leaf aroma has gone into the oil

Put 2 tbsp oil in a separate pot and heat over medium heat. If you have them, add 5 curry leaves (or 2 bay leaves if not); they will crackle (watch for splatter). Add the garlic and ginger and fry for 1 minute, then add the chopped onion and fry for 3 minutes, until translucent.

STEP 99 / 10

Add the tomato and spices

5 min

Tomato and spices cooked down into a red sauce — Cook until the tomato's edges collapse and a wooden spoon leaves a trail on the pot bottom

Add 1 tsp ground cumin and 1/2 tsp chili powder and fry for 30 seconds, then add the chopped tomato. Cook over medium heat for 3 minutes, until the tomato breaks down and softens and the sauce thickens lightly.

STEP 1010 / 10

Combine with the lentils

10 min

The finished dal curry of lentils and coconut milk — When scooped with a spoon it should flow slowly and cling to the roti

Add the cooked lentils with their cooking liquid to the spice pot and pour in 100 ml coconut milk. Simmer over low heat for 10 minutes and season with 1 tsp salt. The ideal consistency is a thick soup. If it's too thin, simmer to reduce; if too thick, add hot water.

0 / 0

Ingredients

1 / 2

Roti dough

Ingredient	Amount	Substitutes & notes
Bread flour	300 g	All-purpose flour works. The more gluten, the easier it stretches
Water (lukewarm)	180 ml	35–40°C (95–104°F). Adjust to the season
Ghee (clarified butter)	4 and 2/3 tbsp	2 tbsp for the dough, 4 tsp for brushing and 4 tsp for cooking. Melted unsalted butter works as a substitute
Sweetened condensed milk	1 tbsp	Optional. Adds a faint sweetness and softness to the dough
Salt	1 tsp	None
Neutral oil (for resting the dough)	4 tbsp	Brushed on the dough's surface to prevent drying

2 / 2

Dal curry (accompaniment)

Ingredient	Amount	Substitutes & notes
Lentils (red or yellow)	150 g	Red lentils break down faster
Onion	1 (finely chopped)	None
Tomato	1 (roughly chopped)	100 g canned chopped tomatoes works
Garlic	2 cloves (finely chopped)	None
Ginger	1 knob (grated)	None
Turmeric	1 tsp	None
Ground cumin	1 tsp	None
Chili powder	1/2 tsp	Adjust for heat
Coconut milk	100 ml	Optional, but adds an authentic taste
Neutral oil	2 tbsp	None
Salt	1 tsp	Adjust to taste
Water	500 ml	None

0 / 0

The flatbread that gets Malaysia moving in the morning

It is 4 a.m. in Kuala Lumpur, before dawn. In a dark back alley, smoke rises from a griddle and a rhythmic slapping sound rings out. This is a mamak, an all-night eatery run by Indian Muslims in Malaysia. Behind the counter, the cook tosses thin dough into the air, spins it out as thin as paper, folds it and lays it on the hot plate. That one piece is roti canai.

Roti canai is a flatbread made by folding wheat dough in layers with ghee (clarified butter) and cooking it on a griddle. It's crisp outside and chewy inside. Tear it by hand and it peels into many thin layers, which you dip generously into dal curry (a lentil curry). It's a staple of the Malaysian breakfast, a late-night snack and a national dish.

Roti canai is still less well known outside Malaysia than nasi lemak (in Japanese) or laksa (in Japanese), and detailed home recipes are not easy to find.

What is roti canai?

In Malay, "roti" means bread. The origin of "canai" is debated: one theory derives it from the Malay "canai," meaning to roll out dough thin, and another from eating the bread with chickpea stew, "channa." Its ancestor is the Indian paratha, and it was adapted to local food culture by Indian Muslims who settled on the Malay Peninsula in the 19th century. In Singapore it's called "roti prata."

This article walks through the techniques of Malaysian mamak cooks, from making the dough to cooking it, so you can recreate them in a home kitchen. As with pad thai or banh mi, we hope roti canai lets you enjoy Southeast Asian street food at home.

Ingredients (makes 4 pieces)

Sourcing and substituting ghee

Ghee is sold at Indian grocery stores and online. If you can't find it, melt unsalted butter and use only the clear top layer for a similar flavor.

About curry leaves

Malaysian dal curry needs curry leaves (Murraya koenigii). They are not the source of "curry powder" but fresh leaves with a distinctive citrus-like aroma. Look for them at Indian grocery stores or online, fresh, frozen or dried. Dried curry leaves have a weak aroma, so frozen leaves are recommended. If you truly can't find them, substitute 2 bay leaves, though the flavor will differ.

An orange plate of roti canai with curry sauce, the roti's layers broken apart — The typical way roti canai is served: tear it by hand and dip it in curry. The orange plate is a mamak restaurant classic

Instructions

Part 1: Roti dough

Part 2: Dal curry

Cooking tips

A wetter dough is the right dough

Compared with bread-baking instincts, the right roti canai dough is quite sticky and soft. If you think "this is a bit too sticky," that is the ideal state for stretching it thin. Too much flour makes the dough stiff and impossible to stretch thin. Aim for a dough softer even than an earlobe.

The pan matters

A cast-iron skillet is best for roti canai. A nonstick pan will cook it, but cast iron holds high heat better and gives a nicer color. A tawa (flat griddle) like those used in Indian restaurants is ideal; otherwise a cast-iron skillet of 26 cm or larger is fine.

Don't be afraid of the clapping

Some people hesitate to clap hot roti, but without it the roti canai isn't finished. If you worry about burns, use a kitchen towel. The key is to clap within about 5 seconds of cooking. As it cools, the layers set and are harder to separate.

Adjusting the dal's thickness

The dal curry at a Malaysian mamak is somewhere between a soup and a sauce. It's thick like a potage but fluid enough to coat the roti when dipped. Longer simmering thickens it and adding hot water thins it, so adjust to taste.

Variations

Roti telur (with egg)

The most popular variation in Malaysia. Pour 1 beaten egg onto the stretched dough, then fold and cook. The egg adds richness and makes it much more filling. On a mamak breakfast menu, this is the next most ordered after plain roti canai.

Roti tisu (tissue roti)

A showpiece roti where the dough is stretched to the extreme and cooked into a giant cone. It is eaten as a dessert drizzled with condensed milk and sugar. Watching a huge cone being made in front of you is a sight, and some shops put it on as a showpiece.

Roti pisang (with banana)

Lay 1 thinly sliced banana over the stretched dough, sprinkle with 2 tsp sugar, then fold and cook. The banana's sweetness blends with the ghee's flavor, making it ideal for a snack or dessert. A drizzle of chocolate sauce makes it even more indulgent.

Roti bom (the dense version)

A version where plenty of ghee and sugar are tucked into the middle of the dough, which is shaped into a thick round and cooked. It's much heavier than ordinary roti canai, crisp outside and moist inside. It is a popular Malaysian snack and pairs perfectly with teh tarik (milk tea made with condensed milk).

Miso dal curry roti (a fusion twist)

Add 2 tbsp white miso to the dal curry and use 5 shiso leaves in place of the curry leaves. The fermented richness of miso goes well with the savory depth of the lentils. You can also knead 1 tbsp ground sesame into the roti dough.

Roti canai-style bread and kari kambing arranged on a table, Aceh Indonesia style — Roti cane and kari kambing (goat curry) from Aceh, Indonesia. A relative of Malaysian roti canai, showing how deeply flatbread culture is rooted across Southeast Asia

The background of this dish

From India to the Malay Peninsula: the journey of roti

The ancestor of roti canai is the South Indian paratha. In the 19th century, under British colonial rule, large numbers of Indian immigrants from South India's Tamil Nadu and Kerala traveled to the Malay Peninsula to work in tin mines and rubber plantations. The paratha techniques they brought are thought to have adapted to the ingredients and culture of the peninsula and become today's roti canai.

The biggest difference from Indian paratha is how it's made. In India, paratha is typically cooked fairly thick on a tawa (flat griddle), while Malaysian roti canai is characterized by the technique of tossing the dough into the air and spinning it, stretching it as thin as possible before folding. This creates more air layers and the distinctive crispness.

Mamak culture: the 24-hour "second living room"

All over Malaysia there are eateries called "mamak" run by Indian Muslims, and many are open late into the night or around the clock. Mamak restaurants are known for roti canai and teh tarik (milk tea made with condensed milk, poured from a height to froth it), and are social spaces often called Malaysians' "second living room."

Mamak restaurants are also described as places where people gather regardless of ethnicity or religion. A mamak where Malay, Chinese and Indian Malaysians sit together eating roti canai is a symbol of harmony in multiethnic Malaysia.

People eating roti canai at a food court in Malaysia — People eating roti prata at a food court in Malaysia. Mamak restaurants are deeply rooted in daily Malaysian life

Roti canai vs. roti prata: Malaysia and Singapore

It is "roti canai" in Malaysia and "roti prata" in Singapore. They basically refer to the same dish, but thickness and texture differ from shop to shop.

Some are thin with many layers, others a little thicker and chewy. For home cooking, start by pulling and stretching by hand to build the layers, then work toward thinner dough as you get used to it; this leads to fewer failures.

Nutrition (per piece of 4)

Calories vary greatly with the amount of ghee

Mamak-restaurant roti canai uses plenty of ghee, so one piece can come to around 500 kcal. At home you can control the calories by adjusting the amount of ghee.

Nutrient	Amount
Calories	420 kcal
Protein	9 g
Fat	18 g
Carbohydrates	56 g
Fiber	2 g
Sodium	480 mg

Roti canai alone is mostly carbohydrate and fat, but paired with dal curry it gains a good deal of protein and fiber from the lentils. As with South Asian biryani (in Japanese), Malaysian food wisdom naturally balances a staple with protein.

What to cook alongside

How to make nasi lemak (in Japanese) - Coconut rice served with sambal, a Malaysian breakfast staple.
How to make laksa (in Japanese) - A spice and coconut noodle soup.
How to make bak kut teh (in Japanese) - Bone-in pork simmered with white pepper and garlic in a soup.

FAQ

FAQ: six questions about roti canai

Questions often asked by first-time roti canai cooks, from dough tips to storage.

Q1. My dough won't stretch thin. What should I do?

The most common cause is not resting the dough long enough. Rest it at least 2 hours, ideally overnight. If the rest is short, the gluten stays tense and the dough shrinks back when you try to stretch it. Another cause is too little water. A dough soft enough to be sticky is correct; aim for more moisture than you would in ordinary bread-making.

Q2. I'm cooking it in a skillet but the layers don't show. Why?

There are three likely causes. (1) The dough isn't stretched thin enough. It needs to be thin enough to see through. (2) Not enough ghee. Brushing plenty of ghee before folding is what lets the layers separate. (3) Skipping the "clapping" after cooking. That step loosens the inner layers.

Q3. Can roti canai be frozen?

Yes. Freezing the shaped, uncooked dough works best. Stack the pieces with parchment between them, put them in a freezer bag and freeze for up to 1 month. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator before cooking. Cooked roti loses texture when frozen, so we recommend eating it freshly cooked.

Q4. What goes well besides dal curry?

In Malaysia, fish curry, chicken curry and sambal (chili paste) are standard. For sweet versions, condensed milk plus sugar and kaya, a jam made from coconut milk and eggs, are popular. A curry made with a store-bought butter chicken sauce also goes well. Using Indonesian rendang (in Japanese) as the dipping sauce is also superb.

Q5. Can I make it with a wheat allergy?

Replacing the wheat flour is difficult, but rice flour plus tapioca starch (7:3) gives a similar texture. Without gluten, though, it's hard to stretch thin and the crisp layers can't be reproduced. If you accept it as a gluten-free flatbread, cook it thicker and enjoy the chewy texture.

Q6. How do I make teh tarik (Malaysian condensed-milk tea)?

Brew strong black tea (Ceylon), add 2–3 tbsp condensed milk, and pour it back and forth between two mugs from a height 3–4 times to froth it. This "pulling" (tarik) motion works in air and makes a creamy foam. Roti canai and teh tarik are the golden pair of the Malaysian breakfast.

Explore more Southeast Asian flavors

If roti canai has caught your interest, try other signature dishes from Malaysia and the rest of Southeast Asia.

Nasi lemak (in Japanese) - Malaysia's other national dish. Rice cooked in coconut milk served with sambal, a breakfast staple
Laksa (in Japanese) - Malaysia's spicy coconut curry noodle soup
Nasi goreng (in Japanese) - Indonesian fried rice, a leading Southeast Asian street dish
Som tam (in Japanese) - Thai green papaya salad, a great introduction to the bold seasoning of Southeast Asia

Sources

Yi Jun Loh, "The Indian Roti That Became Malaysia's National Bread," TASTE (22 May 2019; Tamil immigrants and mamak, the technique of stretching in the air; accessed 22 October 2026)
Wikipedia, "Roti canai" (theories on the name's origin, Singapore's roti prata; accessed 22 October 2026)
Dictionary.com, "roti canai" (etymology; accessed 22 October 2026)
Gourmet Traveller, "Roti canai" (home recipe; accessed 22 October 2026)
Hutton, Wendy. The Food of Malaysia. Tuttle Publishing. (A general guide to Malaysian cooking)