05 September 2008

The Roti That Wasn't

A few nights ago we watched a Dutch cooking programme online that followed a somewhat flamboyant (and presumably well-known) TV chef to Suriname to sample the local delights. Idly surfing the Web tonight, I realised how easy rotis (chapatis) are -scratch that- Should Be to make. So it was decided. Tonight was to be Roti Night!

Just to explain: Roti, or Roti met Gevuld, is to a Surinamer (or the husband of a Surinamer) a dish composed of large, thin chapatis and a chicken massala curry (receipe according to a particular Surinamese mix). Eaten with the hands, it's basically enormous fun.

And so the little adventure began. My first attempt at making chapatis. Really quite easy. A little flour, salt, water... mix, roll, throw it in the pan. OK, so I was following an Indian chapati, but we were doing OK. It's not like we have quite the right massala sauce here either, but you make do.

Chicken & potatoes (very important ingredients in roti!), beans... some garlic, onion, chili peppers, tomatoes... It was all bubbling away nicely; we just had 20 minutes to wait.

And then... CRACK!

This happened:


Anyone for pizza?