I've been a little lazy - it's actually been 2 weeks since I made this recipe, and I am just now posting it! I can hardly remember what was going on at the time, or what I ate with my delicious roti jala, so I'm afraid you don't get much of a story. Maybe that's a good thing sometimes. But the important thing is I am checking another recipe off my list!
I had a number of troubles with this recipe, but it all worked out in the end. I found that I needed to add quite a bit of extra water to get the runny consistency needed for pouring the batter through the tiny holes in my roti jala mold (a squeeze bottle would have been much easier and less messy). It takes a bit of practice to get the right timing and shape when pouring through the mold, but once I got the hang of it the bread came out easy enough.
I bought my roti jala mold through Rasa Malaysia, but as I said, a squeeze bottle would be a much easier choice for a beginner.
Roti Jala (Net Bread)
This recipe comes from the ever tasty Veggie Belly blog
2 cups all purpose flour
1 1/4 cup coconut milk
1 cup water (plus more if you need to get a runnier consistency)
3/4 tsp turmeric
salt to taste
vegetable oil for frying
Combine all ingredients in a bowl and mix well. Run through a strainer to remove any lumps (I found this step unnecessary for me).
Heat a small amount of oil in a non-stick skillet over medium heat and make a lacy pattern in the skillet using a squeeze bottle or roti jala mold. It might look like this if you're kind of a noob like me.
Let cook for about 2 minutes until lightly browned on the bottom, then carefully flip and cook for another 1 minute on the other side. The bread should still be soft, not crunchy. Fold into quarters to serve.
Now all you need is a delicious curry to soak up with the bread! I used a coconut milk based curry since the 1 1/4 cups coconut milk required for the roti is less than 1 full can.