My favorite Malaysian snack is Roti Canai, which you already know if you have read my thoughts about this fluffy, crispy, and flaky dish here. While I love dipping my Roti Canai in curry sauce, I also like it sweet — so sometimes I pour some sugar on my Roti Canai and eat it Indian-style (which is to say with my bare hands).
In the United States, you can find Roti Canai dough at Asian or Indian grocery stores in the frozen food section. The actual name it’s sold under depends on the country of origin and the brand you choose. For instance Roti Canai is known as Roti Prata in Singapore, and since Prata is derived from a North Indian word Paratha it can also be sold as Roti Paratha. Personally I am a big supporter of “Made in Malaysia” when it comes to food so I usually buy the brands from Malaysia, although I have tried Roti Prata/Roti Paratha from Singapore and it tastes equally good. It’s really a matter of personal preference…
As for preparing sweet Roti Canai at home, here are a couple of quick tips to make sure it comes out extra buttery and flaky:
- Heat your work with huge amounts of butter before pan-frying Roti Canai so your Roti Canai has a nice rich flavor.
- Once it’s out of the wok, quickly tear the RotiCanai into small pieces. Quickly as in it will be really hot.
- While still warm pour some sugar on them (Am I the only one who hears that Def Leppard song “Pour some sugar on me” in the head right now?) and serve immediately.
Roti Canai with sugar is very easy to make, convenient, and not-too-filling. It’s perfect as a light snack.



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Mmmmm, we used to eat roti jala just like this too. And also soft buttered white bread sprinkled with sugar – how healthy, huh?!
hi, I just popped in n dicscovered some nice postings ( n photos )
i’ll b back 2 finish d rest
cheers !
Hi Tonixe,
Thanks for dropping by, Rasa Malaysia welcomes you. Do pop in more! :)
i remember some people used to eat it with condensed milk :p
malaysian!
I did something similar – I topped this with sugar and thickened cardamom flavored milk – Oh so good!
Rayhana Lisa and Creative Cook,
Yes, they are absolutely divine with condensed milk!
The best Roti is Roti Pisang. Whenever I am in Malaysia, I get them to add sliced Bananas into my dish. The clash of sweet and savour flavours is amazing.
A touch of chilli makes it perfect.
Serving Roti Canai with Sugar is a very classical way of enjoying the taste of a buttery-crispy-bread; and this usually only found in Northern Malaysia. Great!!
Cheers…
Ha’ah..also taste good with condensed milk! :p yumm!!!
I miss my Roti Kosong with curry sauce and Necafe Ping. Best yet it cost less then US$1 (in Malaysia anyway).
help…need to learn to make roti canai inc tossing…anybody? where?
Do you have a recipe posted on this site for the roti canai?
Thanks!
I don’t know how to do roti canai but my friend Chef Danhi of Southeast Asian Flavors knows how to flip it like a pro. I will ask him to guest post.
Hi, I live in Orange County/Los Angeles county area, and was wondering where to find frozen roti canai? I kinda need it for a presentation in 2 days and it would be helpful if you could name the brands/a picture since I haven’t found any here??
Thanks!!
99 Ranch, in the frozen food section.
I tried the Chinese-style Roast Chicken yesterday; wow, it was super moist and tasty! Paula Mowat