Attraction of colourful roti canai

KUALA SELANGOR: A "roti canai" stall in Kampung Sungai Yu here certainly has a difference with the food, that is synonymous with the Malaysian society, served in various colours and flavours.

The stall owner Dimyati Tualo, 61, said the colourful roti canai with various flavours are prepared using his own special recipe.

For that too, the shop, which is located about 70 kilometres from the federal capital is known as Warung Roti Canai Pelangi ,or the Rainbow Roti Canai Stall, because of the stack of of bright-coloured dough neatly arranged on the dough table before they are kneaded into the pancake-like popular food of the Malaysians.

The Roti Canai Pelangi comes in attractive colours such as pink, green, blue and yellow, and with various flavours, like strawberry, durian, apple, yam and corn.

According to Dimyati, who is from Kuala Selangor , it took him about six months to 'experiment' before getting the right recipe for the rainbow roti canai.

"At first I just add a little colouring. Four months later I started experimenting by adding seasoning as well, while adjusting the amount of ingredients including colouring, flavouring and water, while keeping tab on the temperature, which is the most challenging and complicated aspect.

"Mixing the ingredients can cause the dough to collapse," he told Bernama.

The roti canai maker, with 15 years of experience, said his stall, which opens from 7 am to noon, receives an average of 300 customers daily from Tuesday to Thursday, with the number reaching up to 1,000 customers during the weekends.

He said the roti canai, which he started making in early 2020, had also become a tourist attraction, with his stall becoming a stopover for motorcycle convoys passing through the area.

According to him, the encouraging response for his roti canai also opens up part-time job opportunities for the young people in the village.

Dimyati said he needed up to 16 employees to support his operation.

The father of five said it took him about four hours to prepare the RM1.50 roti canai, and used almost 10 sacks of wheat flour for the five-day-a-week operation.

-- BERNAMA