Method
- Mix flour, salt, egg, ghee and condensed milk in a bowl. Add warm water gradually, kneading by hand for 8 minutes until the dough is very soft, slightly sticky and elastic.
- Divide into 6 equal balls. Coat each thoroughly in ghee. Submerge in a wide oiled bowl. Cover and rest at least 4 hours, ideally overnight. The long oily rest is what allows the dough to stretch dramatically thin.
- Set up the working space: a smooth surface generously oiled (a glass table or steel sheet ideal), a hot griddle or wide pan, ghee for cooking. Have all six rested balls within reach.
- Take one rested ball. Press flat on the oiled surface, then begin to slap and stretch — slap one edge against the surface and pull outward, rotating, until the dough is paper-thin and translucent across a 60cm diameter.
- Quickly fold: bring the four edges in toward the centre to form a square pillow. Then fold once more to a smaller square. Place seam-side down.
- Heat the griddle to medium-high with 1 tbsp ghee. Cook the folded prata 90 seconds per side, pressing with a spatula. The layers will puff and the surface turn deep golden. Smack the cooked prata between your hands to crackle the layers — this is the prata theatre. Serve hot with fish curry, dhal, or condensed milk for the sweet variation.
Common questions
Can Roti Prata be made ahead?
Roti Prata is best made and eaten the same day, but the components can be prepped earlier — chop and measure the ingredients up to a day ahead, refrigerated separately. Final cooking takes about 25 minutes.
Is Roti Prata spicy?
Roti Prata as written is mild to mildly warming — the heat comes from aromatics rather than chili. Add fresh sliced chili or chili oil at the end if you'd like to push it spicier.
Is Roti Prata vegetarian or gluten-free?
This recipe is suitable for most diets. If you have specific restrictions, the substitutions section in each ingredient note covers the most common swaps.
How hard is Roti Prata to make at home?
Roti Prata is more demanding — total time around 385 minutes plus marinating/resting where noted. Specific technique (knife work, wok hei, fermentation) makes the difference between a passable result and the real thing.
Can Roti Prata be scaled up or down?
This recipe is written for 6 servings. To scale, multiply each ingredient proportionally; the cooking times stay the same up to about double the volume. Beyond that, expect to cook in batches because of pan size and heat distribution.
Cultural Note
Roti prata is Singapore's name for what Malaysians call roti canai — the same dish, slightly different cultural context. The Indian-Muslim community in Singapore (particularly the Tamil-Muslim merchant families) brought it from south India. Singapore prata varies more with toppings than Malaysian: prata with egg, prata with cheese, prata with banana, prata with onion — a contemporary expansion the purists question. The Mustafa-area pratas in Tekka or the long-established stalls along Race Course Road are the benchmarks.
