The fine art of roti making
January 18th, 2007 by Trinifood
I had the joy and the honour of being allowed behind the scenes to watch some top class roti makers at work. I paid a visit to Roti Joupa in south London where Vash Mathura and his team churn out some of the finest roti around.
Vash is an affable guy from Penal, south Trinidad who’s been making roti since he was a child. He told me he learnt a lot about Indian cooking from his grandmother who ran a shop in Port of Spain.
Like other chefs who are passionate about their food, Vash insists on everything being fresh and of very good quality. I’ve eaten at several roti shops in London and I’ve become one of the regulars at the Roti Joupa. My friends and I have also bought their roti for parties so I can attest to the wonderful goodness of his roti, not to mention the doubles, pholourie, macaroni pie and currants roll!
And it’s not only Trinis or West Indians who are Roti Joupa regulars, the day I was there, an Irishman was the first customer of the day, he was closely followed by the cockney UPS courier and the Asian guy in a suit. Vash says a lot of his customers are Sri Lankan who like the Trini-styled Indian cooking.
At the Roti Joupa you can buy chicken, lamb, goat, shrimp and vegetable roti at reasonable prices from around £3 for a pumpkin roti to about £4.50 for a goat roti. Not only are their rotis very good, but their customer service is top class. They remember their regulars and there’s always good Trini banter to keep everyone smiling.
Now that I’ve seen the process of roti making, I know that it’s something I will continue to purchase as it’s a bit of a job doing it for yourself. In any case, my roti will never taste as good as Roti Joupa.
There’ll be more about the Roti Joupa in an upcoming post, in the meanwhile, click here to view the process of making Dhalpourie Roti.
Roti Joupa
12 Clapham High Street
North Clapham
London
SW4 7UT
44 (0)207 627 8637
Posted in Food Matters, Food Adventures |
February 21st, 2007 at 1:51 pm
Oh god, its too far! I need to learn how to make a roti…anyone want to teach me?
March 12th, 2007 at 2:46 am
This is the best roti demonstration I have seen, and also on the web. It’s classic and very inspiring and encouraging. Cheers!
March 12th, 2007 at 9:25 pm
No probs! I thoroughly enjoyed doing it.
March 29th, 2007 at 7:36 am
Ayyy franka,
How’s things my angel?
I was devasted that your “the process of making Dhalpourie Roti” has been blocked by the UAE censor, and I couldn’t see it.
what are you doin, roti making in your birthday suit?
take care honey
JOHN
March 29th, 2007 at 6:01 pm
Oh my Johnny! You know it was something scandalous like that! Vibes me up man! We miss you.
June 3rd, 2008 at 3:31 pm
Wow, well talk about a blog after my own heart!
I’m a Trini living in Holland, and just stumbled across this blog looking for recipes from home.
Now I have a reason to visit London…and I’m from Penal as well.
June 5th, 2008 at 2:50 pm
Reya, I was in Roti Joupa today, it was excellent as ever. Please do head to Claphem North when you’re on Ldonon.
July 14th, 2008 at 7:57 pm
Trinifood is what I love, but I can only get it at the mercy of those who do not care to cook but once per week. I recently had dhalpourie and it blew my mind. Needless to say my taste buds long to have it again. I know all the ingredients needed as well as the tava, just need the recipe (as the maker is in Canada and I am roundabouts Alabama). Anyways, any help is appreciated.
July 14th, 2008 at 8:11 pm
Well, I was lsightly in despair. :(. Then I came across this recipe: http://www.ehow.com/how_2098876_make-dhalpuri.html so check it out and let me know if I am heading in the right direction. I still am wondering how to correctly close the mixture in the dough and then roll out, so it gets that nice peas texture on the inside.
Let me know.
February 13th, 2009 at 9:46 pm
Hi,
Very nice presentation. I would appreciate if you could kindly give me the recipe to make the dough. Does he use hot water and what’s the proportion of baking powder if I use all-purpose flour. Does he put any oil in the dough. I do them but the dhalpouris come out DENSE/NOT LIGHT.
Thanks a lot.
Lise
March 3rd, 2009 at 8:36 pm
Can I have please the recipe to make the dough for dhalpouri. I do mine as follows:
1 cup of all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tbsp melted butter
1/2 cup of warm/hot water
They are not soft and fluffy like yours. Your help would be appreciated.
Thanks a lot
Lise