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By 300 Sandwiches
Posted in Lunch, recipes, Travel | Tags : Caribbean, chicken, Grenadines, Happy Island, island, lunch, roti, spicy
Yes, it took me two weeks to get this right. But boy was it worth it.
In between tearing my hair out over wedding planning—our invitations came in and they were not the artfully done, perfectly imperfect calligraphied invites I’d hoped for—I made roti for a late afternoon snack.
Before E and I left for the Grenadines I tried to make roti bread. I used whole wheat flour for my first try, but regular white flour got me better results here. I finally got the spongy, flaky consistency I was looking for, instead of a stiffer, cardboard like bread.
I baked up some quick curry with chicken, curry spices and chickpeas, and scooped out the mixture into the roti and folded it up into a sandwich. E walked into the kitchen just as I put down my knife. He grabbed an end and ate the roti standing over the stove. “This is better than what we had on Union Island,” he said.
Spicy food makes my eyes water, so I was too scared to add a spicy pepper to the roti mixture. But E and I added a spoonful of spicy mango chutney to our sandwiches for added spicy sweetness. This made me happy, like back on Happy Island happy. Happy enough to make me forget about those disappointing invitations for now.
Roti:
2 cups all purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cups water
canola oil for baking
Chicken and chickpea curry:
1 medium red onion, diced
1 1/2 tablespoons canola oil
2 cloves garlic
4 teaspoons curry powder
1 1/2 teaspoons paprika
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon red chili flakes
1 pound chicken thighs, boneless
2 cups chicken broth
1 sprig thyme
spoonful of spicy mango chutney
For roti:
In a large bowl, sift together all dry ingredients. Then add water slowly to bowl to make a tacky dough. Knead on a floured surface until dough comes together in a large ball. Let sit on counter for an hour.
Next, separate dough into 4 pieces. On a floured surface, roll each piece flat into large disk. Warm large skillet coated with about a tablespoon or so of oil over medium heat. Cook roti until golden, about 2 minutes each side. Place on flat baking pan or plate to let cool.
For curry: Heat canola oil over medium heat in large skillet. Sauté onions and garlic for about 2 minutes. Then add curry, paprika, cumin, chili flakes and stir to combine. Add chicken, and let brown, then add thyme. Then finally, chicken broth. Finally add chili flakes, thyme and chickpeas and let simmer until broth reduces, about 20-25 minutes.
Scoop chicken mixture into middle of roti, fold ends towards themselves and serve. Makes 4 sandwiches.
I still think the pros do roti best (the pros are also not too chicken to add spice to theirs either). For an authentic roti recipe, check out how this girl and this guy does their roti.
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