1 lb flour
Dash baking soda
Dash of salt
1 red pepper (finely chopped)
1/2 Tea spoon gira or cumin
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 pint yellow split peas
Also-rolling pin + cutting board or similar surface
Instructions
In a big bowl, mix flour, baking soda, salt and water until you have a soft smooth dough, the dough should not be pasty, but smooth in its consistency. Knead the dough by rolling and pushing it with the palms of your hands, it should not stick to your hands. If it does, sprinkle more flour until the dough is smooth.
Once kneeded, let the dough sit for 1 hour. Next, you prepare the dahl. Get 1/2 pint yellow split peas, boil peas in water for 10 minutes or until medium tender, drain the water out and let the peas cool. Next, grind or ground the peas using either a hand mill or an electric mill, add 1/2 teaspoon gira or cumin(spices) and some crushed red pepper, add to taste, ground all these ingredients together.
Pinch off baseball size pieces of dough, open the center(that is, make a cup), stuff 1 table spoon of dahl mix into the center, close the dough around the dahl, repeat until all the dough and dahl is used, let the stuffed dough sit for 15 minutes.
Using a rolling pin, flatten out the dough in a circular motion.
Next, heat a tawa (a flat roti pan), under medium heat. Lightly grease the pan with either butter or oil. Place the flattened roti dough onto the hot tawa for 30 seconds, flip it over, and with a pastry brush, lightly brush that side with oil, flip it back over and let it cook for another 30 seconds, repeat the same procedure on the other side. The roti should cook for no more than 1 1/2 minutes on each side. Once the roti is cooked, remove and place on a paper towel to absorb the oil, cover the roti with foil to keep it warm and moisture free.
Tawa (flat roti pan), rolling pin and pastry brushes can be obtained from any supplier of caribbean products. If you don't find one on this site, you can e-mail us for a list
1 lb flour