Throughout the country, Thailand’s streets are constantly alive with the smells and sounds of street food being cooked up on a daily basis. It is a characteristic of most Asian countries that is not prevalent in the western world and one of the favorite draws for tourists from all over the world. Here in Chiangmai, both locals and tourists love stopping by one of the numerous roti stands for a quick, delicious snack as they tour the markets or are just out for a stroll.
Historically, roti is an unleavened, Indian bread, made from stoneground wholemeal flour, traditionally known as atta flour. Roti is sometimes referred to as kolcha in Indian cuisine, albeit this term is seldom used outside of South Asia. Roti and its thinner variant, known as chapatti, are integral to Indian and Pakistani cuisine. In Thailand, most roti is rolled up and eaten as a hot snack. Generally, they are filled with banana and drizzled with chocolate and condensed milk. They are still one of our favorite street snacks when we are walking around the local markets in Chiangmai.
Watching the skillful vendors at work making roti is almost worth the price of the snack! They quickly grab a small prepared ball of dough, spread it out into a small circle and then begin the process of grabbing it and repeatedly turning and slamming it onto the table to stretch it into a large, very thin pastry. By the time they are finished, the dough is so thin that it is almost transparent. It is then placed on a hot griddle and fried with a small dab of butter. Bananas or other fillings are spread across the frying dough, and then the four sides are lifted and folded into the center. Finally, chocolate and condensed milk over drizzled over the top, it is sliced into several squares and handed over to the drooling customer.As with any street food, the whole process only takes minutes to complete.
[youtube]QmlrMiPeHwM[/youtube]
But it is not only eaten as a desert snack. We recently came across the Gu Fusion Roti and Tea Restaurant that is located nearby on Nimmanheiman Road whose entire menu consists of roti dishes. You can order green curry roti, Mexican chicken roti, chicken with Thai chili paste or tamarind paste and a host of other main course dishes. Everything on the menu is centered on this delicious fried bread. Probably not the healthiest food on the block but who cares when you are putting back a banana roti covered in whipped cream, chocolate and caramel for dessert. We recently visited the place with our nephew who was in town for a few days and ended up gorging ourselves on eight or nine different dishes, including three dessert rotis (two would have been plenty)!
If you are ever in Thailand, don’t pass up the chance to eat one of these incredible snacks. In Chiangmai, you will run into roti stands randomly scattered around the city but they are also always easy to find at all the large weekly markets. And stop in at the Gu Fusion Roti and Tea Restaurant to see the wide variety of dishes that can be produced with a simple roti.
If you are up to the task, there are many roti recipes on the internet. It takes a lot of experience to produce a “professional” roti! Click here for a recipe that is pretty straightforward. With a little help from the video above, you should end up with something that at least resembles the real thing!
Leave a Reply