What's for breakfast?

I'm going to make a statement here and then I'll probably be bombarded with emails and comments about why I should have this important meal but before you do, please read the column right through to the end, then let's talk :)

I do not like breakfast. There, I've said it. I have a variety of quirks about this meal such as the time I want to eat it, what kind of dishes I should be served and when I want to have it. You can read all about it here.

What I will say here is that I only like savoury dishes for breakfast, keep the scones, jams, jellies, marmalades, tea-rings, buns, muffins and sweet breads for afternoon tea. (lol) Here are some of the foods I enjoy whenever I decide that I want to have breakfast-which is not often.

Breakfast sausages, bacon, eggs and homemade hashbrown potatoes rule the day!

I always attack the sausages first.

Then there are times I just like to opt for fried eggs but they must come served with lots of green onions and hot chilies!

Bakes, I love the bakes made in Guyana and known as floats in Trinidad & Tobago. They can be stuffed with anything, but are most frequently eaten with fried saltfish cooked with lots of tomatoes and onions.

Sada roti for breakfast is another favourite of mine. I like it hot, sliced in half and buttered! Or served with tomato choka or eggplant choka.

You can email me for any of the recipes for the dishes featured in this post.

A Roti called DHAL PURI

In Guyana, as in Trinidad & Tobago, there are a variety of roti(s) and the other popular roti is called Dhal Puri - a roti dough stuffed with seasoned split peas. And that is the topic of this week's column. The dhal puri can be eaten as is or with curry as it's often done. Like our paratha roti, the dhal puri is held up to a very high standard in terms of one's ability to make it. Click here to read more.

I continue to perfect my dhal puri-making and it's a pleasure to share with you how I make it. Click here for a slide demo. Please do not hesitate to email me and I'll send you the recipe.

Is Making Roti Stressful?

Here in the Caribbean when we talk about roti, we refer primarily to three types: paratha (oil roti, buss-up-shut), sada roti or dhal puri. For more, see Chennette's Musings on roti.

Several weeks ago, a regular reader of my column asked me to tell her how to make roti. I thought that I'd send her an email with a recipe, clearly outlining the steps I learnt from the women in my family. However, for the past few weeks, I've noticed some my fellow Dining Hall members commenting on various blogs about getting their parathas rolled perfectly round. I learnt also that their parathas (a wide variety) are different from what we refer to as a paratha roti. It has and continues to be such a joyful, delicious education.

One of the things that struck me is that we all shared the drama of getting the paratha roti rolled round. I particularly liked Coffee's suggestion, "Roll a huge chapati then take any round thing which can work as your template, put it on the chapati, and make indentations, remove the excess dough from the side. What you get is a perfect round chapati!!!!!!!"

Where was this brilliant idea back when I was struggling to roll the roti round?!

So this week in my column, I share with you my trials and experiences of making roti. You will laugh and perhaps identify with some of my frustrations or enthusiasm of making roti.

Go on, read the column. Be sure to come back and share your roti-making experiences.

For my demonstrated step-by-step roti-making process, click here.


This is one of the dishes, I made to eat with my paratha roti - sauteed pumpkin with onions, garlic, thyme, pepper, salt and a pinch to sugar to bring out the sweetness of the pumpkin. Enjoy.

Recipe - Paratha/Oil Roti

Yields 8

Ingredients

5 cups flour
1 ¼ tsp baking powder
¼ tsp salt
1 tsp sugar
1 ½ tbsp oil plus additional oil for oiling and cooking roti
Water to knead dough

Method

• In a large bowl, thoroughly combine flour, baking powder, salt and sugar
• Drizzle oil in flour and incorporate
• Add water and knead dough
• Lightly rub the dough with oil so as not to form a dry film
• Cover dough and let rest for at least 30 minutes
• Knead rested dough for about a minute and then cut into small pieces – like the size of a small orange
• Form into a round disk and roll dough – at this stage the shape does not matter
• Brush the rolled dough with oil
• Using a knife or spoon, cut the dough from the center to the end and roll the dough to make a cone-cup shape
• Insert the loose end of the dough into the bottom where all the layers are visible
• Placing the dough on a surface, use your index finger and push in the pointed top of the dough
• Set oiled dough aside and repeat until all the cut dough is rolled and oiled
• Cover with a damp cloth to prevent dry film on dough. You can dab the dough with a little oil and cover with plastic if you prefer
• Let oiled dough rest for at least 30 minutes
• Heat tawah – medium low
• Form a round disk of oiled dough
• Roll into a round circle – turn at 90-degree angles and turn the dough over as you do so (rolling into a circle will take practice so if you can’t get it that way, just concentrate on the cooking.)
• Place rolled dough on tawah and cook roti (it’s almost like toasting)
• When you think the first side is cooked, (it should puff up) turn it and brush with oil, do the same for the other side
• Remove roti from tawah and clap it. 3 quick claps will do.
• Fold roti and place in basket covered and continue making the other rotis until done
• Serve hot or at room temperature with your favourite curry or vegetables or with just a dab of butter

Click here for demonstration

All you have to remember is the ratio of baking powder to flour, ¼ tsp baking powder to 1 cup flour. Add the other ingredients using your judgement based on this recipe.

Leafy paratha roti

Coming full circle

It is ironic that in this week's column the topic is about my love for rice but my blog post is about something made with flour. (You'll understand the irony when you read the column.) This post is about something that my mom used to make for us all the time but I never liked as a child. Fast forward years later, and this turns out to be one of those things I get a craving for every now and then, besides, it's so easy to make.


In her musings on roti, last week, Chennette mentioned that her grand mother would usually make an egg roti for her mom "... was really like a pancake, with nutmeg and cinnamon etc." Her mom's egg roti reminded me of the sweet roti my mom used to make for us which was similar, like a pancake also. Mom calls it chotah (not sure of the spelling). It is made with flour, an egg, cinnamon, sugar and water. The sweet roti or chotah is soft and light. I like mine hot with a dab of butter that melts. With a cup of tea, this is such a filling treat. See recipe below.

Sweet Roti

Yields 6

• 1 1/2 cups flour
• 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 2 tbsp sugar (you can put 3 if you like)
• A pinch of salt
• 1 egg, lightly beaten
• 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
• Enough water to form batter (some people use milk instead of water)

Method

• In a medium-sized bowl, combine all the dry ingredients and mix thoroughly.
• Make a well in the center and stir in lightly beaten egg and enough water to form a batter - pouring consistency (but not watery).

If you are using a tawah, you will need to lightly rub the surface with some vegetable oil.

• Heat the tawah or pan to medium.
• Using a ladle, dip some of the batter and pour in the middle of the pan. Using the bottom of the ladle, gently spread the batter to form a circle. When the surface is covered with bubbles, it is time to turn the roti, using a spatula.
• As you flip the roti, it may end up to the side of the pan - leave it, don't try to move it, it will cook just fine. You can gently press the edges if you like.
• Within a minute, the other side should be cooked.
• Remove and repeat the process until the batter is finished.

An Unlikely Combination

It was not deliberate when I made an Indian and an Italian dish for a meal. Actually, no thought was given to the combination at all. All I was interested in was having a starch and a protein for a meal. I made potato roti (aloo paratha, aloo roti) and Italian meatballs using the recipe of New York Times' Kim Severson. Email me if you need the recipes.

Seasoned mashed potatoes to be stuffed in roti dough. I sauteed my aromatics before adding them to the mashed potatoes and instead of garam masala, I used ground cumin (geera).

Roti dough stuffed with seasoned mashed potatoes before they are rolled and cooked.





This is what I cook my roti on, a tawah. It is also known as a flat iron-griddle.




Cooked potato roti (aloo roti)

I used regular all-purpose white flour instead of whole-wheat flour which many recipes call for.

Seasoned mixture for meatballs

Italian meatballs

Roti/Dhal Puri Dough

Can anyone tell me if the dough that is made for roti (regular paratha or oil roti as we say) is the same dough that is kneaded for dhal puri? I'm asking because when I make dhall puri with the same mixture I use for roti, the finished product does not feel or look the same like the ones we would get from a snackette or other people who make it regularly - which is usually paper thin.