Horribly Misshapen but Still Delicious Roti Chanai

Ever had someone tell you that Jesus loves all the little children, even the ugly ones?

All childhood scarring aside, that’s how I feel about this roti. I kneaded and put all my love into it, and then Montreal’s environment and my horribly cold hands didn’t get along with the gluten in the dough. So it didn’t stretch properly…no matter (you’re actually supposed to throw it against the counter-ytop to stretch it…there’s a technique – and video instructions), I just took it and stretched it by hand, and so instead of having beautiful cracked layers after folding it over itself twice, I had a single, thick layer of doughy goodness. Wrap it around some eggplant, some fennel, some sambhar, some dahl, some squash – the options are endless – and you almost forget about how poorly you (I) made it. Until the squash starts oozing out of the holes in the dough. Ah well, that’s the fun of it.

The recipe is from my favourite cooking podcast/show, Poh’s Kitchen. I’m a little in love with Emmanuel, the adorable Frenchman, but this Kuala Lumpur Chef is also pretty good. He teaches Poh how to throw roti which, in my opinion, makes him a hero. I am not as good a good pupil as Poh, but the chef did not make my dough for me either…