Trinidad Dosti Roti (recipe) - a valiant attempt
Filed Under pareve, dairy, breads, sides | Posted on May 10, 2007
As I mentioned long ago my past attempts at roti making have been nothing short of tragic. My mother has been hiding her tawa away from me for the past few years as a result, eyeing me suspiciously whenever I would plead for the co-ordinates to its whereabouts. I pleaded with every school of logic I could come up with.
I was older now, wiser. How could I maintain a site called TriniGourmet and not have any attempts at roti?
I even tried pulling an Eric ‘Respect my authoritay’ Cartman, but that too backfired 
Sadly I resigned myself to the fact that I simply was not trusted. 
Then, miraculously one morning I entered the kitchen to the sight of a tawa on the stove.
Could this really be?!
Mom nodded yes, she had decided to give me another chance and I could now share ownership. Whee!
I decided I would try my hand at Dosti Roti. Dosti means friendship in Hindi, and in this recipe the two rotis are cooked together, making them friends! 
(at least until they are torn apart and eaten :P)
I made two batches of this and the last of my second batch were worlds above the first of my first batch. This reinforced the fact that with some things there are simply no shortcuts. Practice practice practice. It’s the only way.
I monitored the application of oil (more is better), I monitored the heat to see what would happen if i lowered it, if I raised it. If I extended the baking time, and if I reduced it. If I rolled it thinner, thinner, thinner. I made mental notes of what seemed to work and what seemed to hinder.
I still have a long way to go but the fact that I got a grudging nod and a ‘not bad not bad’ from her cheered me immensely and since the tawa has remained out I can’t wait to try again
If you’ve got any tips for me (and everyone else) let me know
Trinidad Dosti Roti
Serving Size: 8
Ingredients:
3 cups flour
3 teaspoons baking powder
ghee, melted margarine, or vegetable oil
water (1 - 2 cups)
1/2 teaspoon salt
flour for dusting
Directions:
1. Combine flour, salt and baking powder thoroughly.
2. Add water gradually, working the dough to a soft, silky texture
Cover with a damp cloth and let it rest for at least 30 minutes.
3. Knead once or twice and Divide dough into 8 even pieces and shape into round balls (loyahs).
4. Allow loyahs to relax for 15 minutes
5. Flatten loyahs into 3-inch discs between fingers.
6. Brush discs on one side with oil and flour lightly.
7. Place tahwa (or flat, thick-based frying pan) on medium heat.
8. Place 2 discs together (oil sides facing) and flatten to 4 inch double discs. Place on floured surface. Rest for at least 10 minutes.
10. Dust rolling pin and rolling surface lightly with flour, and roll out into 8-inch discs, flipping the dough and dusting with more flour to ensure easy rolling.
11. Dust off excess flour and transfer to tahwa. Bake until the first sign of small bubbles appear. Flip with spatula and brush liberally with oil/ghee. Bake until light brown. Flip to other side and brush liberally with oil/ghee. Bake 1 minute.
12. Insert knife between the two layers. Pull apart (caution, hot steam! no really. wear gloves or something!)
13. Place back together and store between towels to keep warm.
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13 Responses to “Trinidad Dosti Roti (recipe) - a valiant attempt”
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HAHA
Does your mom read your blog? Maybe it’s that competition thing. You know how Chennette says her food/mom’s food is the best. It’s like a challenge. Your mom couldn’t let it slide.
Yay. The tawah has emerged.
I learned recently that some Indian people make the roti with many many layers, to make them thinner without being too thin to handle (many more friends!). This is what we use for samosa skins. Which is why we don’t make samosas that often. Time consuming and multi-step processes.
And the roti doesn’t look too bad. Since I don’t really roll out a round roti I won’t comment
And Lilandra - that’s why my cakes failed wasn’t it? :-O
so…we going to see any samosas soon?
I posted samosas so long ago girl!
yes, yes, but that was the made-with-dough version
now that you have the hang of dosti, you could try the dosti-wrapper version
mommy doesn’t know anything about computers hehe
oh shame! baby steps baby, lemme take meh baby steps lol
but she probably feels the challenge
mommies always know when they need to protect family pride/honour
i dunno why you never wanted to make swiss rolls with me!
WORD!
hey I ticed youattempt at the roti. why don’t you try using ground cgick peas mixed with either flour or cornmeal. It gives it a nice texture and is great for dusting the dough with. smile
good luck
kim
Okay, I know I’m a bit late on this one…but it sounds good…sounds very much like my attempts at making buss up shut lol…first time it was a disaster(using the Naps cookbook recipe no less)…I’ve managed to make something akin to buss up shut now after a lot of experimenting and reworking the recipe…there truly are no short cuts, and you definitely need to use enough oil/ghee…even kfc not reaching these levels lol.
It’s much more like the traditional kerala paratha you get in indian restaurants…would love it if you put up a really good guide to making buss up shut. I’m a trini student in England who’s dying out here lol…almost run out of curry powder from home
I like it. check out my dal and add it with ur food.