Roti Jala with Chicken Curry

Roti Jala (loosely translated as 'net bread', however I think it's more crepe like instead of bread :P) is one of my all time favorite Malay delicacy. Usually eaten with chicken curry, it's a popular dish among the Malays (and other races alike) in Malaysia during the fasting month of Ramadan. You can find Roti Jala stalls at any of the Ramadan bazaars all over Malaysia during the fasting months. Since it was Hari Raya (to celebrate the end of the fasting month) two weekends ago, I decided to make some Roti Jala!

This is the mould/cup that is used to make Roti Jala. My parents just mailed that to me last month, so the timing was just perfect! Before, when I wanted to make Roti Jala, I would have to punch out holes in a soup can and use that as a mould. It can get really messy and sometimes it doesn't really work that well :P Sooo, I'm really glad that I have the mould now!! :D

It's fairly easy to make the Roti Jala batter. To start off, pour 2 cups of coconut milk into a large mixing bowl. Then, add in about 1 cup of water.

Crack in two eggs and beat lightly.

Next, add in 1/2 a teaspoon of salt.

Then, in goes about 1/2 a teaspoon of turmeric powder.

Whisk it all together and make sure that all the ingredients are mixed together well.

Using a fine sieve, sift about 2 cups of all purpose flour into the mixture.

Stir in the flour into the mixture gradually until a thin crepe like batter is achieved. At this point, you can add in some more water if the batter is too thick. If the batter is too thick, it will not be able to flow out smoothly from the mould later on.

Now it's time to make some Roti Jala! On medium heat, spray on some non stick cooking oil onto a pan. Pour in a ladle of batter into the mould and in a circular motion, form a net like pattern in the pan. Check out the video I made to demonstrate how it's done.

Remember to use a small flat bottom bowl to place the mould into once you are done. This should prevent the rest of the batter from flowing out from the mould. Of course some might flow out, so just pour it back into the mixing bowl...no big deal :D

Allow it to cook for a bit (it doesn't take long at all). Once it's done. fold it to half and then quarter it. Lift it to a plate and repeat the steps again until you are out of batter. Remember to grease your pan ever so often and if the batter begins to thicken, just add in some water so that it remains in a thin crepe batter like consistency.

Here it is. A large plate of Roti Jala with some Chicken Curry. You can get the recipe for the Chicken Curry here. It's so yummy, I can eat this everyday for the rest of my life and not get bored of it!! Mmmm mmm mmmmmm :D