Roti Sardine

Indian-Mamak Malaysian·Medium·25 min

A roti canai folded with a spiced filling of canned sardines, onion and chili, then griddled until golden. A popular savoury late-night order, a mamak-stall innovation using tinned sardines re-spiced with curry powder.

Roti sardine is a roti canai folded with a spiced filling of canned sardines, onion and chili, then griddled until golden. The use of tinned sardines, re-spiced with curry powder and folded into dough, is a distinctly Malaysian mamak-stall innovation, reflecting halal, affordable pantry cooking. It is a popular savoury late-night order, not found in South Indian cuisine, and is served with a curry or dhal on the side.

A flaky, crisp flatbread enclosing a moist, savoury, slightly spicy sardine-and-onion filling, the canned fish transformed by the curry powder. Eaten with curry, it is hearty, fishy and moreish.

The sardine filling is made by breaking canned sardines in tomato sauce into a pan with fried onion, chili and a spoonful of curry powder, cooked until moist but not wet, then cooled. The roti canai dough is stretched thin, the filling placed on top, the dough folded into a parcel, and griddled in ghee until golden and crisp on both sides. The filling must be cooled first, or it makes the dough soggy.

Variations

A spicier version adds bird's-eye chili. Some cooks add a beaten egg to bind the filling.

On the Palate

Where Roti Sardine sits in the Malaysian flavor cloud

Ingredients

Serves 4

How it's made

6 steps · 25 min

1
4 min
Drain 1 can (200g) sardines in tomato sauce; break the fish into chunks.
2
6 min
In 2 tbsp oil, fry 1 chopped onion, 1 chopped red chili and 1 tsp curry powder for 3 minutes; add the sardines and cook 3 minutes until moist but not wet; cool.
Watch out
Cook the sardine filling until moist but not wet, then cool it fully — a warm, wet filling steams the dough soggy instead of letting it crisp.
3
8 min
Prepare roti canai dough (300g flour, 1 egg, 150ml water, 2 tbsp ghee, 1 tsp salt); rest 1 hour, divide into 4 balls.
4
6 min
On an oiled surface, stretch one dough ball thin; place a quarter of the filling in the centre and fold into a sealed parcel.
5
6 min
Griddle the parcel in ghee on a hot pan, 3 minutes per side, until golden and crisp.
Watch out
Griddle in ghee until deep golden and crisp on both sides — the ghee is what browns it properly; underdone it's pale and doughy.
6
2 min
Serve hot with dhal or curry.

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Baking Sheet

Flat rectangular metal pan (sheet pan, half-sheet, quarter-sheet), 33×23 cm to 45×33 cm, with a low rim. The flat surface gives even heat for cookies, biscuits, roasted vegetables, sheet-pan dinners. Heavy aluminum sheets conduct heat fastest; non-stick coatings make cleanup easier but can warp over 200°C; rimmed half-sheet is the modern American restaurant standard.

Techniques

Sauteing Kneading