Roti Jala or otherise known by these other names Roti Kirai, Roti Renjis, Lace Pancakes, Web Pancakes and latest I found, Spiderweb Pancakes is my favourite! And it’s one of those that bring back some sense of nostalgia. Probably for me, the nostalgia stems from associating this with celebrating Eid in Singapore. My mom, aunt, late grandmother made these on the first day of Eid. Served with Chicken Curry or Meat Curry and Egg Salad topped with Peanut Sauce, Hot Prawns  - it is impossible to miss the festive air that surrounds the table when you see it decked with these delicious array of food. Ah! I can see that table in my mind’s eye - and missing it already.

Anyway, I had some leftover Mild Meat Stew and I wasn’t feeling like rice, so I decided to make some Roti Jala. If you didn’t understand the Malay language then let me do a little translation here. Roti means ‘bread’. Jala means ‘net - the kind to catch fishes!’, Kirai means ‘to splash but the term is usually used in reference to viscous liquids” and Renjis means ‘to splash or spray in small amounts’. If you look at the picture of this dish, you’ll realise why it has so many applicable and apt names. The various names basically aim to describe what the bread looks like! And I suppose in English, it’ll remind you of lace or a web.

To make this net/lace/spider/splashed/shredded looking pancake, there is a special ladle we use. The 5 pointed spouts coupled with a swift circular motion of the wrist will produce these bunga (’flowers’) in the pan. If you have no idea what I’m talking about, then it’s probably because you’ve never seen one made or the ladle I’m referring to either. So to help you visualise, check this video. (N.B. I don’t think the flowers in his pan are pretty. So akan datang, I’ll videotape how I make my pretty flowers.)

 I searched high and low here for that ladle and finally resorted to punching 5 holes into the base of a Coke can and using that as a makeshift ladle. Being gripped by a craving I went back in time and drew inspiration from the kampung days when they used to punch holes into milk cans for this purpose. Some time later, a friend in Utah mailed me another alternative contraption which made life for me so much easier. It’s a triple teat mustard bottle! This sure worked real well as can be seen by the pretty flowers in the pan above. So if you don’t have the real thing, I just gave you 2 other alternatives or just be creative.

 If you made it this far, you must want to taste this. So here’s the recipe!

 Ingredients:

2 cups plain flour
2 tbsp custard flour
2 eggs
1 large tin of evaporated milk
2 cups water (add more if necessary. Too thin and it will be difficult to lift out of the pan without breaking)
1/2 tsp salt
Ghee or cooking oil
2 Pandan leaves (optional) - tied into a knot for dabbing ghee onto the Roti Jala.

Method:

1. Put the above ingredients into the blender and blend until you get a smooth batter with no lumps.You might want to strain in a sieve just to be sure.
2. In a non-stick pan, brush the pan lightly with the ghee. Ladle the batter into the container. Or if using the mustard bottle, fill it up.
3. Quickly move the bottle/ladle over the pan and form the flowers beginning from the edge and moving into the center.
4. Dab two or three times with the ghee on the surface of the roti jala. Remove from heat when it turns opaque or becomes firm.
5. To make the triangle fold - first flip the roti jala pan side facing up. Fold it in half to make a semi-circle. Then fold half again to make a quadrant. [N.B. Most people make the mistake of folding the shiny side (the side not touching the pan) inside] 
6.  Serve with sugar (for kids) or gravy.