Granny’s Guyanese Oil Roti
At 90 years old, Granny says she can’t quite remember who taught her how to make oil roti and somehow, that makes me even more grateful that I’ve had the privilege of watching her make it dozens of times throughout my life.
Now my own 12 year old and 7 year old have a core memory of their great grandmother teaching them how to make one of their favorite Guyanese dishes. That means everything to me! Roti is one of those foods that doesn’t belong to just one dish. Of course, we love it with curry chicken, curry goat, curry duck, curry shrimp…. curry everything. But roti can go alongside so many different dishes and that’s part of the beauty of it. It’s universal!
Roti is also part of a much bigger Guyanese story. The roti we know and love today is rooted in the Indian culinary traditions brought to Guyana by Indian indentured laborers beginning in the 1830s. Over generations, those traditions became part of the fabric of Guyanese food and culture.
And this is where Granny comes in. If there’s one thing I’ve learned from watching her make roti, it’s that roti is not just about following a recipe. It’s about feeling the dough. It’s knowing when you’ve added enough water, knowing when you’ve worked it enough, knowing when to stop and trusting your hands.
That’s how I learned to cook too! So while I’m giving you measurements here, these are starting points not roti rules carved in stone. Granny will tell you that roti is the kind of recipe you feel as you go. If your dough is too wet, add a little flour, too dry? Add a little water.
There are so many things that can affect your dough, the flour, the weather, the humidity, even how much water your particular flour absorbs. The only real way to learn how to make soft, flaky, pull apart roti is to make it and make it again and again!
You probably won’t get it exactly right the first time, that’s okay. The more you make it, the better you become. So don’t be afraid of the dough, trust yourself, trust your hands and trust Granny.
Ingredients
For the dough:
- 3½–4 cups sifted all purpose flour — start with 3½ cups + keep the remaining ½ cup nearby in case you need it + more for dusting (we prefer King Arthur All Purpose flour)
- 1¼–1½ cups warm or room temperature water, added gradually
- 1½ teaspoons salt
- 2 teaspoons brown sugar, optional
- Approximately 1¼ teaspoons baking powder
- ⅓ cup vegetable shortening, such as Crisco
For the oil mixture:
- ⅔ cup neutral oil
- ⅓ cup vegetable shortening
Equipment:
- Cast iron tawa
- Rolling pin
- Large work surface
- Paper towel or pastry brush
- Large container with a lid
- Thin kitchen towel or cheesecloth for covering the loyas
Method
1. Start With the Dough
Start with your sifted flour. Add the baking powder, salt and brown sugar, if using. Mix everything together with a fork. Then add the shortening directly into the flour mixture and work it thoroughly through the flour.
This is one of Granny’s ways. She doesn’t wait until the very end to introduce the shortening. She starts building the texture of the roti right from the beginning. I think that’s one of the things that makes her method so good. She’s working on the texture from the very beginning instead of trying to fix it at the end.
Once the shortening has been worked through the flour, it’s time to bring the dough together. Don’t rush the water, this part truly matters. Granny doesn’t pour all the water in at once, she starts with a little then mix, add a little more, then mix again.
She keeps going little by little until the flour starts coming together. Granny said that you should always want a soft, smooth dough that isn’t overly sticky. She said “you don’t want a tight dough like you’re making bread.”
Granny says you want to work the dough enough to bring everything together, but don’t overwork it. You can knead it a little, but you’re not trying to develop a strong bread like dough. She works mostly with her fingers rather than pressing and kneading aggressively with the palms of her hands.
She usually starts in a large bowl and then moves the dough onto the countertop once it has started coming together. Work the dough until it’s smooth and soft, not sticky, not dry, not tight, just soft. That’s what you’re looking for!
2. Form Your Loyas
Now here’s where Granny does things a little differently than some people. Once the initial dough is formed, she doesn’t leave the entire ball of dough sitting there to rest, she divides it immediately.
With this amount of flour, you can make about 6 evenly sized dough balls depending on how large you want your roti. There’s no complicated formula here. Granny portions them by hand, rolling and shaping each piece until she has relatively even balls.
Dust your hands or the surface with just a little flour as needed and place the dough balls off to the side. Then cover them and let them rest for about 15–20 minutes. Don’t worry about needing a long resting period, by the time you’re ready to work with the first dough ball, the remaining ones are still getting their little rest. That’s another thing I love about Granny’s method. She’s setting herself up for success, she’s working smarter.
3. Make the Oil Mixture
While the dough rests, combine the neutral oil and vegetable shortening, Granny likes using both. The neutral oil gives you the fat you need for the layers, while the shortening helps create that soft, flaky texture we’re looking for. Granny is very clear about one thing: Use a neutral oil, no olive oil here. You want an oil that won’t overpower the flavor of the roti. Mix the oil and shortening together well.
4. Rolling the First Layer
Work on a large, clean countertop. Keep the remaining dough balls covered while you work with one at a time. Take your first dough ball and sprinkle just a pinch of flour onto the counter. Use the palm of your hand to gently flatten the dough before reaching for your rolling pin, then begin rolling from the center outward.
Roll the dough into a thin, relatively circular shape, about ⅛ inch thick. Roll up and down, then side to side while turning and adjusting the dough as you work. You’re trying to maintain a circle as much as possible, but don’t stress yourself if it’s not perfect. The shape comes with practice.
We’re going to roll it out again later anyway, the important thing right now is learning how to control the dough. And when you’re doing this for the first time, it might feel awkward which is normal. After you’ve made a few dozen, your hands start knowing what to do before your brain does, that’s how Granny learned and that’s how you’ll learn too.
5. The First Layer of Flakiness
Once the dough is rolled out, brush the surface with the oil and shortening mixture, Granny uses a paper towel for this. She dips the paper towel into the oil mixture and gently dabs it across the entire surface of the roti, make sure you get all the way across the dough.
You want that fat distributed evenly. You can sprinkle a very small pinch of flour over the oiled surface if you like. This is optional. Remember, we already worked shortening into the dough. Now we’re adding another layer of fat. This is where those flaky, pull apart layers begin to happen.
6. The Pac Man
Now comes the part that might look confusing the first time you see it. This is one of those steps Granny says you may need to watch a few times before it clicks. Take your finger or knife and make a small slit from the center of the dough all the way to the edge. Think of the dough like a large pizza that hasn’t been cut yet. Except instead of cutting the whole thing into slices, you’re making one cut from the center to the outside edge.
Now your dough almost looks like Pac Man, which is exactly what you want. Take the section created by the slit and begin folding the dough inward, moving clockwise. As you fold, the dough begins wrapping into itself and forming a cone. Don’t make the cone too tight, don’t leave it too loose. Remember, there’s oil between those layers.
Keep folding until you’ve worked your way around and created a cone shape. It will almost look like a little piping bag. Once you’ve come all the way around, take the pointed end, the bottom point of your cone and turn it upward. Push that pointed portion into the rest of the dough. This is probably the part that requires the most practice. Granny’s advice…slow down, watch the video again, then do the steps again.
And don’t get frustrated if your first few don’t look perfect. The wide portion of the cone becomes the bottom of your new dough ball. If you need to, gently nudge the dough toward the center to secure it.
For me, once both sides are pushed into the middle, it almost looks like a little laundry bag full of clothes. I don’t know where that comparison comes from, that’s just what I see. And that’s how you learn these things sometimes you tend to make your own little visual references. Once you’ve completed this oil and roll process with each dough ball, you’ve created what Guyanese cooks call loyas.
7. Cover Your Loyas
Each loya needs to be covered once it’s formed, this is important. You don’t want the dough drying out. Granny prefers using a thin towel rather than a thick one.
We used a double layer of cheesecloth because it was light enough to keep the dough covered without trapping too much weight on top. Whatever you use, make sure the loyas stay covered and moist while they rest.
8. Time for the Tawa
A tawa is the traditional skillet used for cooking roti. In many Guyanese households, a cast iron tawa is a kitchen staple.
Heat your tawa pan over high heat initially, then bring the temperature down to medium to medium low before cooking the roti. Once the tawa is hot, lightly oil the surface with some of the oil and shortening mixture. Granny uses a paper towel to spread the oil, making sure she gets as close to the edges as possible.
9. Roll the Loya
Start with the first loya that has been resting. Flatten it gently with your hand. Then use your rolling pin to roll from the center outward, just as you did before. Work toward a circle. Again, don’t beat yourself up over the shape, roti gets prettier with practice. Roll each loya out to approximately ⅛ inch thick.
Once it’s rolled out, gently lift the dough.It should have enough structure from the rolling and folding process that it can be picked up without tearing. Place it carefully onto the hot tawa. Stretch it gently if needed and flatten the edges.
10. Watch Your Roti
This is where you have to pay attention. Depending on your stove, tawa and heat, the first side will begin cooking after about 30 seconds to a minute. You’ll start to see little air pockets and bubbles forming across the surface. That’s a good sign. The raw, wet look of the dough will begin to disappear.The surface becomes opaque rather than shiny and wet.
The edges should look dry and set not wet or gummy. Now dab the surface with your oil mixture, then carefully flip the roti with a spatula. Then you’ll start seeing little light golden or brown spots where the oil meets the hot tawa. Give the other side a little time to cook, usually around 30 seconds to 1 minute, depending on your heat. You’re looking for a few small brown spots. Not a whole bunch of large, dark spots.
You have to watch your roti. It will tell you when it’s ready. The raw, wet appearance disappears, the edges set. The roti develops that light golden brown color with a few brown spots. And you may notice it puffing slightly as the layers separate and steam moves between them. That’s exactly what you’re looking for.
If it needs more time, flip it again. A roti may take roughly 2–3 minutes total, but granny said you shouldn’t become a slave to the clock, just watch the roti not the timer because every stove is different, every tawa is different and every roti will always tell you what it needs.
11. The Clapping
Now comes one of Granny’s favorite parts and according to Granny, you need to do this straight off the heat. Once the roti is cooked, using a spatula fold it in half right there on the tawa. Then fold it in half again so it resembles a triangle. Transfer it to a large container and clap it!
Granny is a clapper. Clapping the roti helps release some of those trapped air pockets and separates the layers, giving you that flaky, pull apart texture we’re after. You can also place the roti in a covered container and shake it vigorously, which I tend to do when I make roti. But Granny? She claps hers and there is something about watching a freshly cooked roti get clapped between her hands that tells me I’m watching generations of Guyanese cooking happen right in front of me.
12. Keep That Roti Warm & Moist
Have a large container ready with a piece of wax paper on the bottom. It needs to be spacious enough to hold your roti without crushing them. Most importantly, it needs a lid. As each roti comes off the tawa, clap it while it’s still hot, lightly fold it again and then place it into the container.
Keep adding your roti as they finish and keep the container covered. That trapped heat helps keep the roti soft, warm and moist while you finish cooking the rest. And don’t forget to continuously oil not only the tawa but each side of the roti during the cooking process. Those layers of fat, combined with the folding, rolling, steam and clapping are what help give Guyanese oil roti those beautiful flaky layers.
How Granny Knows It’s Done
Granny doesn’t need a timer to tell her when the roti is ready, she looks for it. The dough should no longer have that raw, wet appearance. The surface should be opaque with a light golden brown color. You’ll see some brown spots, but you don’t want the roti covered in large dark spots. The edges should be cooked and set and the roti should puff slightly as the layers separate. That’s Granny’s way of knowing. You have to watch your roti and eventually, you’ll know too.
Granny’s Final Roti Lesson
If there’s one thing Granny wants you to take away from this recipe, it’s that roti is a practice recipe. Don’t expect perfection on your first try! You may add too much water, you may make your dough too tight. Your circles may look more like maps than circles, your first loya might not roll the way you want it to or your roti might have too many brown spots and that’s okay…keep making it! Because eventually your hands start to understand the dough. You learn how much water your flour needs. You learn how much pressure to use with the rolling pin, you learn when the tawa is too hot, you learn when to flip, you learn how to clap. And one day you pull apart that roti and see those beautiful, flaky layers you’ve been chasing and that’s when you know…you got it.
How to Reheat Roti
Roti is best fresh, but if you have leftovers, don’t let them turn hard and crispy the next day. One of my favorite tricks is to wrap the roti in a damp not soaking wet paper towel and place it in the microwave. Heat it briefly until warmed through. The moisture from the paper towel helps bring some softness back into the roti instead of leaving you with a hard, dry piece of bread.
From Our Kitchen to Yours, Enjoy!
