Tony Tan's roti canai

Instructions

1. For the dough, combine all the ingredients plus salt to taste in a food processor, add ¾ cup (185 ml) water, and blend until everything comes together in a ball. (Alternatively, combine the flour, salt and sugar into a bowl, make a well in the centre, then add the milk, egg, oil and ¾ cup (185 ml) water and stir to combine.)
2. Turn out onto a clean bench and knead the dough by hand for about 10 minutes until pliable and shiny. At this stage, if you’re not in a hurry, rest the dough in a bowl for 20 minutes, covering it with a slightly damp tea towel.
3. Roll the dough into a long sausage, divide it into 12 even pieces, then roll each piece into a ball. Pour ½ cup (125 ml) of the oil into a bowl and place the balls of dough into the oil, coating them well to help prevent sticking. Cover the dough with a clean tea towel or plastic wrap and leave at room temperature to rest for at least 1 hour, but preferably overnight.
4. When you’re ready to cook, lightly oil your hands, then roll each ball of dough into a round 20 cm (8 inch) in diameter on an oiled bench. If you want to flip it like a professional, put your right hand under the dough and your left hand over it (if you are right-handed). Grab the dough and, in a circular motion, flip the dough from right to left, making sure it doesn’t fold over itself as it lands. Grab the stretched disc again, and continue to flip it until you have a sufficiently wafer-thin dough that you can see through.
5. Dab lightly with melted ghee, then fold the right edge into the centre, followed by the left edge. Now fold the side closest to you towards the centre, then the top side, folding it like an envelope. Alternatively, once you’ve made the dough into a disc, stretch it out with your hands like you’re making strudel dough. Once it is paper-thin, brush lightly with melted ghee and fold as above. Another method is to loosely coil the dough into a sausage, then, starting from one end, turn it around on itself until it becomes a round, coiled disc. Flatten this disc with a rolling pin to about 15 cm (6 inches) in diameter.
6. To cook the roti, heat a roti pan (tawa) or a griddle, coat the surface with ghee and cook the roti one at a time, flipping over a couple of times, until golden and crisp on both sides (3-5 minutes). Serve at once and continue until all the rotis are done.