ROTI PRATA OR ROTI CANAI?
(Photo by Dr. Kamaruzaman)Above, in the foregound is a plate of roti prata/paratha. Further back is a bowl of mutton kimma that goes very well with roti prata.
In the song that you have just listened to, Zaharah Agus alluded that roti canai and roti prata are both made from flour and gave the impression that there is no difference between roti canai and roti prata. Apparently, there is.
I have never tasted roti prata before. There was no shop in Kuala Terengganu that sold roti prata, at least none that I can remember. There were (and still are) plenty of joints offering roti canai all over Terengganu. There were places that sold roti tempayan (naan)and there were places where you can get murtabak.
When I visited Singapore I found places that offer roti prata. Not just the garden variety but cheese prata, tomato prata , onion prata and sardine prata. Back home, I have tried roti canai sardine and roti telur. It is not until last Sunday that I got to taste roti prata at Pakistani eating shop along Jalan Ipoh (next to a RHB Bank branch and across the road from a Shell Station). The restoran is called MEHRAN. The signboard is Pakistan green.
The prata there is different from roti canai. On roti canai you can discern the "coils" of the dough but on this flatbread, it is flat. It is bigger too. You do not get dhall here but chickpeas (kacang kuda) in gravy, free. You have to pay for the mutton kimma though which is worth every sen. The prata is less oily than roti canai and I was told that they use a different flour too.
Prata, like naan, I have been told, came via the Muslim conquerors of India, the Mughals. It is higly likely that roti chanai originated in Madras (now Chennai). Somebody has to confirm that roti canai can be found in Chennai because my friends told me that they could not find air sirup Bandung or Mee Bandung in that city.
Labels: roti prata
::
5 CommentsOldStyle:
-
Pokku dear,
By
The good news is we can get both roti canai and roti paratha in Sydney as we have thriving Pakistani (paratha people) and Malaysian (canai) communities over here. Of course, the instant/frozen variety ada belambok di kkeda. purrrr....meow!
Cat-from-Sydney, at 8:14 PM
-
Pokku,
By
Here in Blighty the paratha is sometimes stuffed with dhall and is sometimes spelt parontha. I don't remember paratha in Trengganu either, but there was a man named Mutthiah who made tosai and apong in his shop by Padang Malaya. When we lived in KL my father used to take me to an eaterie in Malay Street called Zearat Gull. There we had roti ppayang and chapatti, but I don't remember paratha. And then there was another by the gate of Masjid Pakistan in Kg Baru, also the ppayang people. This roti goes down well with keema. There is a 'nan' belt that stretches from Iran all the way down to the tip of Hindia, in various incarnations and flavour, including the sweet nan of the Peshwari people. But what interests me is the 'thosai' which here is written on the menu as 'Dosa'. There's the big dosa and the small dosa. So, whenever we eat out we have the choice of dosa besar or dosa kecil.
PS I see that that cat in Sydney comes here and does Trengganuspeak, but with me she speaks Omputeh sokmo. Awang Goneng, at 6:59 PM
-
Cat In Sydney - Glad to hear that. I know I wont just have toast and vegemite in Sydney.
By
AG - Interesting. Dosa in Malaysia (one size only) is a bit sourish for me so I usually opt for capatti or roti tisu.
As for Cat In Sydney speaking Teganung in my blog but omputeh in yours there could be an explanation: She might think that I need more practice and she is right. Bustaman, at 12:39 PM
-
Uhuk uhuk uhuk...the cat coughing badly. Rupanya ade oghang sebut name kite. Ayoh Wang duduk England jadi gak kucing kena speakingLondon ler. Pokku gak dia kekal duduk melasia, jadi kena kecek gganu sokmo. har har har...*evil laughs*
By Cat-from-Sydney, at 7:13 PM
-
Yay! Looks yummy. I would want to try this at home. Thank you for sharing your Roti Prata food experience. ;)
By
AJ@Kampong, at 2:05 PM
Post a Comment
<< Home
© Bustaman :: permalink
