Roti Canai (Roti Chennai)

Roti Canai is a form of puffed bread served hot with curry or dhal often sold in Mamak stalls.Taste best when taken for breakfast or morning tea; usually eaten with the hand.

Roti canai or roti chennai is a dish unique to Malaysia, which has its origins lost in the Indian community of those countries. Roti means bread in Hindi, Urdu, most other Northern Indian languages and Malay. The term 'canai' comes from 'channa', a mixture of boiled chickpeas in a spicy gravy from Northern India which it was traditionally served with.

There are two ways to make roti canai that is either to twirl it until the dough becomes a very thin sheet and then folded into a circular shape or to spread out the dough as thinly as possible before being folded. Then the folded dough is grilled with oil. The first method is more popular and faster than the second. The term 'roti paratha' in Malay means 'plate bread'.

In English and in Chinese, roti canai is sometimes referred to as "flying bread" (飞饼 fēibǐng), a term that evokes the process of tossing and spinning by which it is made.