Malabar Parotta

Before you start

• The layers come from oil, stretching and coiling, not from folding like a paratha. The dough must be rested long enough to stretch paper thin without tearing.
• Rest twice: once after kneading, once after shaping into balls. Two hours total is the minimum.

Method

1. Knead the maida with salt, sugar, egg and milk into a very soft dough, adding water as needed. Work it 10 minutes.
2. Coat with oil, cover, and rest 1 hour.
3. Divide into 8, roll each into an oiled ball, and rest another hour.The second rest is what lets the dough stretch without tearing.
4. Flatten a ball on an oiled surface and stretch it outward with your palms until nearly transparent.Stretch, do not roll. A rolling pin cannot make it thin enough.
5. Pleat the sheet like a fan along its length, then coil the strip into a spiral and tuck the end under. Rest 15 minutes.
6. Flatten the coil gently to a 15cm round and cook on a hot tawa with oil, 2 minutes a side, until golden and blistered.
7. While hot, clap the parotta between your palms to loosen the layers.The clap is not showmanship. It is what separates the sheets.

Safe temperatures: Egg dishes are done at 71°C / 160°F; a whole egg when the yolk and white are both firm. Reheat leftovers to 74°C / 165°F. FoodSafety.gov

Storage

Best hot. They keep a day wrapped and reheat on a dry tawa. Coiled uncooked dough keeps 24 hours refrigerated and cooks straight from cold.