The unifying power of roti

I learnt to make perfectly round rotis when I was young. My maternal grandmother taught me to use a trick of the hand to get it rolling right every time. I learnt later that the ability to create round rotis is seen as synonymous with being excellent marriage material although it has never helped me personally in that department. 

Roti is also known as rooti, rotli, chapatti, shabaati, “buss up shut” and paratha. The unleavened wheat flatbread cooked on a hot tava or griddle pan is familiar in some form or another around the world. While it is often assumed to have originated in India, wheat was first grown in the Levant in the eastern Mediterranean region of western Asia. A bread recipe resembling a roti was found in Jordan dating back 14,000 years ago. Wheat arrived in India in 6,500 BCE and it is said that chapatti was mentioned in a 6,000-year-old Sanskrit text. While this is speculation, it is certain that roti has been a staple part of the Indian diet since the 1600s. 

Today roti is associated with food cultures around the world, from Asia to Africa to the Caribbean. Food has the ability to transcend differences in a world that is profoundly polarised and divided. “The power of food can make two different cultures and communities become one. Roti is now so deep in many African and Caribbean cultures that it's become a black food,” said Coralie Kory, owner of plant-based restaurant Jah Jah Cafe in Paris. 

Wherever Indo-Caribbean populations venture (from London to New York) the institution of the roti shop is found. These fast-food establishments selling roti as a portable bundle developed outside of India — a phenomenon first seen in Trinidad and Tobago in the 1940s. In SA, takeaway roti rolls can be found in curry houses and takeaway shops specialising in bunny chows and/or Gatsbys. 

In the Caribbean, the roti refers to the “skin” wrapped around a curry filling. There you find flatbread varieties including dal puri (a roti with a layer of ground split peas in the middle) and “buss up shut” (a large, layered, flaky, buttery flatbread similar to Indian paratha).

Popular in the Caribbean and Mauritius, dal puri/dholl puri became a street food in both these regions and it is only eaten as “home food” in India.

 “Across the east coast — Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania — roti or chapatti is regarded as African,” says SA activist, foodie and historian Bobby Marie. What is known as paratha in India is the recipe behind the roti of the Caribbean and chapatti of East Africa.

In SA, Muslims of Cape Town also have the paratha-like “rooti”. The filled and wrapped version is known as a “salomie”.

One of the many theories about the origins of roti is that it was created in East Africa and introduced to India. As there was mutual trade between Asian and African countries along the Indian Ocean predating European settlers from the eighth century, this is a possibility. 

“There is something so instinctive about eating with your hands,” says Lelani Lewis, a chef, culinary activist and the owner of Nyam, a roaming restaurant in Amsterdam showcasing the diversity of Caribbean food. “You use the bread to mop up the curry, the meat and the sauce. I am a fan of flatbreads generally and love the fact that every culture has an unleavened bread.”

There are many almost identical flatbreads to roti or chapatti in the world. Mexican flour tortilla, Levantine taboon, Yemeni malawach, Turkish lavash, Iraqi laffe, Somali sabaayad and msemen of Algeria, Tunisia and Morocco. The similarities between them are greater than their differences. 

Food has the ability to bring about positive change, to bring us together to sit at a table no matter the differences. In this sense, food, not just roti, has the power to unify people. 

Recipe for Mauritian Dholl Puri

Ingredients:

• 250g channa dal
• 1 tsp turmeric
• water for boiling
• 3 cups flour
• 1 tablespoon salt
• 1 cold water
• 4 tablespoons oil 

Method:

• Cook lentils with tsp turmeric and salt
• Leave to cook until it is soft
• Once cooked, remove from stove
• Drain well and transfer to a clean dry bowl
• It is now ready to be processed into the filling for the dholl puri.
• Use a hand-held blender to process the lentils to a loose powder-like consistency 
• Put the lentils/dholl in a clean bowl and set aside

The Dough

• Sift two and a half cups of flour in a bowl
• Add oil and rub in until combined 
• Add salt, turmeric and 1 cup water gradually.
• Keep mixing until you have a loose ball of dough.
• Turn onto a floured work surface and knead until you have a soft smooth ball of dough. You may need to add extra flour.
• Cover dough with the mixing bowl and allow to rest for 10 mins
• Divide the dough into small equal portions.
• Roll each portion into a small ball around the size of a small lemon
• Take one dough ball and work it into the shape of a small cup using your fingers and thumb.
• Fill it with about 1 tablespoon of dal mix and pinch the edges together to close.
• Put filled dal puris in flour and place on a large plate.
• Heat your tawa or a simple flat pan and brush surface lightly with oil.
• Roll out the dholl puri and cook on preheated tawa.
• Cook over high heat until they puff up slightly. 
• Cook for only few seconds on one side then flipping over. 
• Brush cooked surface lightly with oil and flip over again.
• Stack the dholl puris in a heatproof bowl lined with a clean cotton cloth. Enjoy!

• Naidoo is an artist, cookbook author and Wanted’s newest food columnist.