Malaysian chicken curry with flaky flatbreads

Method

1. To make the flatbreads, place the sugar, salt and hot water in a small measuring jug and stir to dissolve. Place the vegetable oil, flour and baking powder in a large bowl. Add the water mixture to the flour mixture in a slow trickle while stirring with a tablespoon, then bring together quickly by hand into a soft, pliable dough. This process should take no longer than 1 minute – it isn’t kneading, just bring the dough together by rubbing it against the sides of the bowl to incorporate every bit of flour. Do not overwork the dough as this will make it tough later on. Cover the dough with a damp muslin or clean tea towel and set aside in the bowl for 1 hour.

2. Knead the dough using ½ teaspoon oil until the dough is smooth. This process should take no longer than 1 minute. Form the dough into a long sausage shape with your hands. Use your right-hand thumb and forefinger to roughly mark the middle of the sausage. Hold one half of the sausage with your left hand to narrow the join while using your right-hand thumb and forefinger to work towards forming a smooth cut. Continue to do this until the dough is thin enough to be pulled apart. Then repeat this process to divide each smaller sausage into three portions. Tidy up each portion into a smooth round ball by rolling it between your hands. Place the six balls in a shallow bowl or container and squish slightly, Cover with enough oil to completely submerge them. Leave to rest for at least 6 hours at room temperature.

3. To roll out the roti, you will need a large, clean and dry surface. Grease the surface well using the oil used during the submersion and place a ball of dough on it. Press down with your palm gently to flatten slightly, then start to roll out with a rolling pin, keeping the dough as square as possible, until it is paper thin. Then, starting from the middle, and rotating around the dough as you go, use your fingers to carefully and slowly stretch the dough into as thin a film as possible. You will be able to see where the thicker sections are. The dough should be very thin, diaphanous and almost see-through.

4. Once you have a large, thin 40–50cm/16–20in square, sprinkle a bit more of the submersion oil across the entire square. Fold the bottom third upwards and then fold the top third downwards overlapping the first fold, so that you end up with a long rectangle. With every fold, try to trap air in the middle. Then fold one side over the other, again trapping as much air as possible. You will be left with a small rectangle. If you prefer to stretch and fold all the roti before starting to cook them, rest the stretched roti on a greased plate with baking paper in between each one for up to 30 minutes – any longer and they will start to get too stretchy to handle.

5. Place a non-stick frying pan over a medium heat. Lightly grease the pan with a piece of kitchen towel dipped into oil. You only need to do this for the first roti.

6. Once hot, place a roti in the pan. After 1 minute, flip and cook for another minute. Then flip again and cook for 30 seconds, and flip one last time and cook for a final 30 seconds. Take the cooked roti out of the pan and transfer to a chopping board or very flat plate. Leave to cool slightly and then clap it between your hands to release the crispy layers. Repeat with the remaining roti.

7. Meanwhile, to make the curry, pour the oil into a large saucepan over a medium heat and fry the onion for 5 minutes. Add the curry powder, stir and cook for 3 minutes, reducing the heat a little to medium–low. Add the chicken thighs and stir until all of the chicken is coated. Pour in 200ml/7fl oz water and the tomatoes. Bring to the boil, then add the potatoes. Add the salt, sugar and coconut milk. Return to the boil and then reduce to a simmer for 30 minutes, turning over the chicken pieces every now and then.

8. Serve the curry with the flatbreads.