Roti Prata

Mix the flour, salt and sugar. Beat the egg and condensed milk into the water and work it into the flour, then knead for a full 10 minutes until the dough is smooth, soft and no longer sticky.

💡 The dough should feel like a soft earlobe. Too stiff and it will tear the moment you try to stretch it.

Divide into 8 balls, roll each smooth, and set them in a container with the oil poured over so they are half submerged. Rub a little ghee over each top. Cover and rest at room temperature for at least 6 hours, or overnight in the fridge.

💡 This rest is not optional and cannot be shortened. Gluten needs those hours to relax before it will stretch to transparency instead of springing back.

Oil your work surface well — do not flour it. Take one ball, press it flat, then flip and slap it outward from the centre until it is a thin sheet you can read a newspaper through. Tears at the edge are fine.

💡 If throwing it terrifies you, oil the surface heavily and push the dough outwards with flat palms instead. Slower, same result.

Brush the sheet with ghee, fold the two sides in, then roll the strip up into a loose spiral like a snail shell and tuck the end under. Let the coils rest 15 minutes.

💡 Loose, not tight. A tightly wound coil bakes into a dense disc; a loose one has air between the layers and that is what flakes.

Press each coil flat into a 15 cm round with your palm, then cook on a well-greased flat pan over medium heat, 2 to 3 minutes a side, until deep golden with dark blistered spots.

💡 For egg prata, pour beaten egg over the flattened dough while the first side cooks, then flip. The egg cooks between the layers.

Take it off the heat and clap it between your palms two or three times, or crush it lightly with your hands. The layers separate and the prata fluffs up. Serve it torn, with curry.

💡 Careful — it is very hot. Use a clean tea towel for the first few until you know the trick.