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Trinidad Sada Roti (recipe)

16 October 2008 10,833 views 20 Comments

3rd World Bread Day hosted by 1x umruehren bitte aka kochtopfHoorah for World Bread Day! It’s been 2 years since I last participated and I was extremely not to miss the deadline this time around. Hosted each year by kochtopf World Bread Day aims to highlight bakers and bread recipes from around the world.

Around this time of year the food blogosphere proliferates with temperate climate fall recipes. Pumpkin bread recipes especially abound and, for a moment or two, I was tempted to give one or two of them a try. That was until a hankering for curry created a simultaneous craving for sada roti, and voila! I could kill two birds with one stone! :D

So, what is Sada Roti? Well all Trini readers out there already know the answer this question however, for those who are not aware, the following definition from Wikipedia should do the job.

From Wikipedia:

Sada Roti: This is a plain roti, made of white flour. Because it is the simplest roti to make, it is the most commonly consumed roti in Trinidad. It is a popular breakfast option in Trinidad, in combination with tomato choka, baigan choka (eggplant), and other vegetable dishes.

From start to finish this is a pretty straightforward recipe. The main things to monitor is the texture of the dough. You want it silky, smooth and elastic. You also want to make sure that the tawah is at a good steady heat. I really wanted to try the “sakay” step that Chennette used in her excellent roti flickr set, but alas it does not appear to work with electric stoves… Still everything tasted great, and I did’nt experience any of the raw dough spots that the ’sakay’ is supposed to eliminate. Still i wouldn’t have minded seeing the balloon effect :lol:

Later that day J and I enjoyed my endeavour with some insanely delicious curries from my latest obsession, Tandoori Hut in Shoppes of Maraval. More on them soon! :)





Sada Roti

INGREDIENTS:

4 cups flour
4 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 – 1 3/4 cups water
1/2 teaspoon vegetable oil

METHOD:

1. Mix dry ingredients together in a bowl.
2. Add water gradually, mixing until soft and pliable into a smooth dough.
3. Knead well and place into a greased bowl.
4. Pour oil into the palms of your hand and rub over dough



5. Cover with damp cloth and leave for 30 minutes



6. Divide dough into four pieces and shape into round balls.
7. Rest for another 30 minutes



8. Roll each ball of dough on a floured board into a flat round shape, ½ inch thick.
9. Heat tawa over medium flame until moderately hot




10. Place one roti on tawa until it rises, bubbles appear and underside is lightly browned with flecks.
11. Turn to other side and cook.
12. Cut into quarters

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20 Comments »

  • Chennette said:

    I’ve done the sakaying with an electric burner – there’s more of a risk that dough will stick to the burner, so you have to move faster, or somehow, hold the roti just above the burner. To get it to swell, however, no kind of burner is necessary if you’re desperate :-D my aunt showed my how she did it – pop the sada roti straight from the tawah into the microwave for about 15 seconds, it should swell up just fine.
    Swelling isn’t entirely necessary for cooking (unless the roti is very thick),but helpful if you want to be able to make sandwiches.

    # 16 October 2008 at 2:09 pm | link
  • Sarina (author) said:

    Chennette – OMG! I am sooo trying that microwave tip cos you see my mother and she burners… that is one ting i not risking! lol ! :D

    # 16 October 2008 at 5:52 pm | link
  • Rosa said:

    What beautiful rotis! A wonderful speciality!

    Cheers and happy WBD,

    Rosa

    # 17 October 2008 at 1:26 am | link
  • sebastian said:

    cool

    so they make it thick like this? almost like a middle eastern bread, well, a lot like it actually.

    cool

    # 17 October 2008 at 5:30 pm | link
  • Gary Eckstein said:

    Excellent series of recipes. I thought I was the only Trinie around who kept somewhat kosher! Would like to know the different names for breads – sometimes I see Roti, other times Naan or something else. Is the difference ingredients or cooking technique?

    # 20 October 2008 at 11:08 am | link
  • Sarina (author) said:

    Rosa – Thanks :)

    Sebastian – yes! :)

    Gary – hey welcome :) Are you based locally? :)
    Well roti is really supposed to mean just ‘bread’, however in Trinidad as you know, roti has become something onto itself :) From what I have read the difference between naan and what we call roti here, is that the dough of naan is leavened with yeast, whereas our rotis aren’t. Hopefully this is correct info :)

    # 20 October 2008 at 1:58 pm | link
  • zorra said:

    Looks so yummie, when I can come over for breakfast? ;-)

    Thx for your participation in WBD’08.

    # 22 October 2008 at 5:31 am | link
  • sunshinemom said:

    We do not make rotis this way but yours look so soft inside and crisp outside! They are inspiring:)

    # 2 November 2008 at 2:59 am | link
  • Sebastian said:

    this is agreat recipe i have just made some with feroce d avocat (an avocado, seafood, shallot, garlic, green onion, lime juice, vinegar, tapioca meal and hot pepper paste)

    and a few days ago i made it with a pot of dal

    what is the trick to getting the most bubbles?

    i knead well and then i always rest the dough for at least an hour or more

    mine look like htis

    http://www.trinigourmet.com/wp-content/uploads/sadaroti/5.jpg

    but in the first pic, they have so many bubbles.. how do you do that?

    http://www.trinigourmet.com/wp-content/uploads/sadaroti/sadaroti.jpg

    # 7 December 2008 at 12:04 pm | link
  • Breakfast of Champions « My World said:

    [...] learned the sakaying process from the Chennette, she was commenting on TriniGourmet’s blog post on sada. It’s soo easy it’s [...]

    # 24 May 2009 at 3:41 pm | link
  • Tammy said:

    This sada roti was so good… I just fixed it tonight for the first time with tomato choka, and I felt like I was back home in T&T again!
    Thanks so much!

    # 3 July 2009 at 10:08 pm | link
  • Felix Padilla said:

    Hi Sarina I was rummaging online when I saw this. I thought it looked familiar.

    http://www.caribbeanrecipes.info/2009/07/trinidad-tobago-sada-roti/

    I really think it is shameful this time because they took out your watermark too.

    Felix
    Felix Padilla´s last blog ..Music Monday: Voces Jovenes – La Historia De San Jose My ComLuv Profile

    # 9 November 2009 at 10:57 pm | link
  • Sarina (author) said:

    Thanks so much for bringing this to my attention Felix! I will definitely follow up on it!

    # 11 November 2009 at 12:31 pm | link
  • Chennette said:

    well my thanks too Felix, since I saw this I checked out the site and saw my pastelle photo. Never even an enquiry…
    Chennette´s last blog ..Farewell Geocities My ComLuv Profile

    # 13 November 2009 at 2:55 pm | link
  • Sarina (author) said:

    I knew I recognized it Chennette!! I only now sat down properly to look at the site and they have lifted ELEVEN pages of my content and have not responded to my original email. Am currently composing DMCA notices to their webhost, data center and registrar!

    # 13 November 2009 at 3:05 pm | link
  • Chennette said:

    Now that I am goign through I see Lilandra’s macaroni pie and hops photo, doubles of mine and a couple of Cynthia’s. Didn’t check the actual recipes yet! why don’t people ask? and they running a BUSINESS too!

    # 13 November 2009 at 3:09 pm | link
  • Sarina (author) said:

    Yup once there is income to be derived it’s just even more disgusting. Contacted AdSense as well. Good on you on recognizing the other photos, I knew they had to be stolen as well. Alert Cynthia, I was wondering who the other island’s recipes may be from… How hard is it to take a photo??!!! Drop them a line… and they are on Twitter too.. haven’t acknowledged me at all!

    # 13 November 2009 at 3:43 pm | link
  • Dave Ramnath said:

    Hi Sarina,
    Thank you for the recipie, ah was so feelin for roti today, checked out my “Naps” cookbook, went on line and found this.
    I like adding oil to the roti as the climate is not as that of T&T…..cheers

    # 28 January 2010 at 1:10 pm | link
  • Sarina (author) said:

    Dave – So glad to be able to help you out :) Thanks for passing by! :)

    # 28 January 2010 at 8:55 pm | link
  • michele said:

    How can I make this without a tawa? Or where can I get a tawa in New York?

    # 5 February 2010 at 4:56 pm | link

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