Traditional Suriname roti

This type of flatbread is part of the staple diet in the Suriname kitchen. The yellow lentil filling just adds that extra bit of flavour to this otherwise simple type of bread.

What you’ll need for 12 roti’s:
– 1 kg self raising flour
– a pinch of salt
– water
– butter

What you’ll need for the yellow lentil filling:
– 500 gr yellow lentils
– Badia garlic powder
– Badia ground cumin

To make the dough:
Put the flour and a pinch of salt in a mixing bowl and slowly add the water, bit by bit, to create a soft but firm ball. It shouldn’t stick to your hands. Knead it nicely, once it’s soft but firm place the dough back into the mixing bowl and cover it so it’s protected from any draft so it can rise a little in peace for about 30 minutes.

To make the filling for the roti:
Rinse the yellow lentils in a colander. Add them to a pan and cover them with water. Bring it to a boil and cook for about 30 minutes or until they’re half cooked, they shouldn’t be cooked through as they will be too soft to blend. They should have a bit of a glassy appearance.
Drain in a colander and blend them to a powder in the blender. Place the powder in a bowl and mix in some of the ground cumin.

To make the roti:
Divide the dough into 12 pieces, roll each piece into a smaller ball.
Flatten each ball a little between your hands. Place a flattened ball into the palm of your hand and add about a tablespoon of yellow lentil filling, gently fold the sides together and twist the ends , making it into a filled pouch.
Flatten the pouch between your hands and place it on a slightly floured surface and roll it into a (about) 20 cm flatbread.
Take a large enough frying pan, and start cooking the roti on medium heat, start off frying the roti dry.
When the side up starts to bubble a little you can add some melted butter, make sure you butter all of the roti.
After 4 minutes you turn the roti around and butter the other side. Remove from heat when this side is cooked.

The roti dough can be kept in the freezer for about 2 months, as well as the filling.