Parotta

Parotta

Malabar Porotta
Alternative names	Porotta, Barota, Malabar Porotta, Kerala Porotta, Ceylon Parotta
Type	Layered Flatbread
Place of origin	South India, Sri Lanka (as Ceylon Parotta)
Region or state	Kerala, Jaffna (as Ceylon Parotta)
Associated cuisine	Kerala Cuisine, Sri Lankan cuisine
Main ingredients	Maida, ghee/oil
Ingredients generally used	Eggs, salt
Variations	Roti Canai
Media: Parotta

Parotta or porotta (Malayalam: പൊറോട്ട) is a layered South Asian flatbread made from refined flour, eggs and oil. It is commonly seen in South India, especially in the states of Kerala^[1][2][3][4] (as Malabar Porotta; Malayalam: മലബാർ പൊറോട്ട), and Tamil Nadu,^[4] as well as in Jaffna in Sri Lanka (as Ceylon Parotta)^[2][5] Variants of the bread spread by Indian Muslim traders and by indentured labourers from the British Raj^[6] are popular in South Asian, South East Asian and Caribbean countries like Malaysia,^[7] Indonesia, Singapore, Thailand, Brunei, Mauritius, Maldives, Guyana and Trinidad and Tobago under the names roti canai,^[8] roti prata, roti thitchu, farata, oil roti or buss up shut.^[6]

Porottas are often available as street food^[9] and in restaurants, and are also served at weddings, religious festivals and feasts. In the South Indian state of Kerala it is commonly served in roadside foodstalls called thattukadas^{[10][11][12][13]} and in local toddy shops called kallushaaps.^{[14][15][16][17][18]} It is prepared by kneading maida, eggs, oil or ghee and water. The dough is rolled or tossed and stretched into thin layers and then spiralled into a tight dough ball. The ball is rolled flat again and pan-fried, and then beaten to release the flakey layers^[19][20] It is often served with a meat curry, such as chicken, goat, beef, or lamb.