Somebody commented on my post on the disappointing roti canai that I bought the other day and this was what he or she said: “Do try the instant roti canai or prata from “Kawan” Brand. It costs about RM5-6 for a packet of 5. Easy to cook. Just heat up in the pan and it tastes great. Better than most shops I’ve eaten at and more hygienic. I’ve stopped eating roti canais from the shops after I’ve discovered this brand.”
Well, it so happened that I had just bought a pack from one of the neighbourhood shops around that same time and threw it into the freezer without taking note of the brand. That was why this was what I said in my response to Irene’s comment that day: “We do not have much at the nearby shops in the next lane but I managed to get hold of a pack the other day from one of them there – “Malaysian roti chanai”…
Will blog about it when we open it and try.“
What I did not know then was that purely by coincidnce, I had bought the aforementioned brand…
Of course I know that brand jolly well – I’ve used their puff pastry a number of times before and we like it a lot. That is why whenever we buy frozen puff pastry to use, we will not settle for any other brand, just this one.
When I took it out of the freezer that day, this…
…caught my attention. One worrying thing about factory-produced products, frozen or otherwise, is the use of preservatives. That is why they can keep for such a very long time, years even!
There were 8 pieces inside a pack that costs RM10.00 each, RM1.25 a piece . For some reason, they are wrapped separately, four in a pack…
What I did not quite like was how they did not separate the pieces using a small piece of baking paper or whatever. In the end, it was quite a chore getting them to defrost a little bit and prying them apart using a butter knife.
My girl fried one piece the other morning…
…and ate it just like that. I did try a bit but I would not say it got me all excited. It was…like roti canai!
A few mornings later, I greased our non-stick pan lightly with butter and fried two pieces for my breakfast…
There was some leftover gravy from my missus’ super-duper super-spicy curry that day so of course, I had the roti canai with that…
Yes, I sure enjoyed it a lot like that and yes, should I drop by that shop again, I sure would grab a few packs to keep in the freezer. That would save me all that trouble – no need to go to any stall or shop to tapao anymore after that. #staysafe #staywell #stayhome
...STILL CRAZY AFTER ALL THESE YEARS! 
That Kawan brand of capati (roti prata, actually) that you blogged about looks different from the type that is sold in supermarkets in Semenanjung. Do you know that Kawan also has capati? You ought to try.
Will look out for it, thanks for the info. The old spelling of “chanai” got me wondering, not how we would spell it nowadays.
I made a typo error earlier. Roti canai (current spelling) is roti prata (as the purists call it). Not capati, which is a different kind of roti.
Yes, I think they call it prata…or paratha in Singapore, canai in Malaysia. I do like chapati too, a different kind of Indian bread…and naan.
Yes, this is the brand I usually buy. Ermm, no small pieces of baking paper to separate each piece, usually they have. The Paratha I bought from this Kawan brand do have small pieces of baking paper to separate each piece. So easy to take out piece by piece. Best to go with curry. Normally, if I have this paratha, I open up a small can of curry, Sunstar brand to go with. Nowadays, I go for this Sunstar brand curry, not into Yeo’s brand much now.
Never liked Yeo’s. So Sunstar is good? Will buy and try, easily available at our neighbourhood shops.
I did drop by the shop that day, no more stock…no canai, no pratha…and the Ram;y beef burger patties, not a single pack left – that day, so many. Only a few of the chicken left.
Gee!!! Business sure is good…even at a time like this, obviously!!!
I don’t remember I have bought this roti from Kawan brand before. Mostly paratha. One brand (I can’t remember the name), I bought roti boom before. Nice too, but thick as the name indicated
The canai looked good. Will buy and keep in freezer.
Roti boom? Never seen before. My girl bought canai with chives once – there was a piece left in the freezer so I heated it up to try. It was really very very nice – I liked it a lot!!! I think I will buy that and keep in the freezer to enjoy slowly. Will certainly blog about it when the time comes.
I think I have bought this brand before. Can’t remember whether it was roti canai or chapati. They are more crispy and we can control the oil.
No need for any oil, just grease the pan and fry till nicely browned and crispy. It’s pre-cooked so no worries about it being uncooked. I went back to the shop, no more. Will look out for it – will certainly buy if I see any.
The Kawan roti canai, prata, capati that i use has paper sheets separating it. Never noticed this version with 8 pieces before. Anyway, the paratha is good, many different versions, flakey and normal type. Flakey one is really good, more flakier than normal one. Then I’ve tried also the Malabar Roti Canai, also very good. Then there is also the chapati, which is lower in calories, half the calories of a piece of roti canai or paratha. All these comes in packs of 5. You should definitely get the ones above with 5 pieces in it, those definitely have paper sheet which separates it. No need to thaw, just straight frozen put into pan. Actually no need to even put any oil or butter at all. I just put it into a flat pan and cook it till looks done.
Wowwww!!! You sure are an authority on these frozen rotis.
No, no need to thaw too – that one that I bought but I had to wait a bit for it to thaw so I could pry the pieces apart.
First time seeing roti canai that is “pre-cooked” too – it says that on the packet! Can just toast in a toaster oven even, this one that I bought. I greased the pan with butter for that added fragrance, not necessary actually.
Will look for the ones with 5 pieces. Did go back to the shop the other day. Out of stock, no new arrivals.
Don’t think I have tried this brand before.
Big supermarkets here actually stock roti pratha, but they are all made in India.
I tried some before, not too bad actually. Even got bawang variety.
Since I don’t make curry often at home, I usually have my roti pratha with sugar.
>Snape sounds like something edible.
Ha! That’d be Schnapps, but it’s potable instead.
LOL!!!
From India? That would be so authentic then? I liked the canai with chives that my girl bought once – I managed to try the last piece in the freezer and I thought it was very nice. Will buy it if I see it in the shops and blog about it.
I love hearing about brands from different countries!
“Kawan” in the Malay language means “friend”.
I love that brand but never tried the roti only the paratha, they are so good. Sometime I ate it just paired with sambal or cook it with eggs like roti telur and the best is with jackfruit like roti nangka
You have this brand in New Zealand? Ah yes!!! My brother in Auckland commented on my link on Facebook, said he would buy all the time and stock up in his freezer.
It should be the same thing – it is called roti pratha or paratha in Singapore, roti channai or canai in Malaysia. Canai only means “to knead”, nothing more to it. You sure have an interesting variety of ways to eat the thing!
Oh, I wonder if I could bring this back to Australia so my family and friends could try it.
Probably not, it’s wheat! But you can buy it there! They have it and also in New Zealand. My brother in Auckland says he buys this brand all the time to keep in his freezer.