roti mariam (fried bread)

This is the bread that spawned my easy yoghurt naan, which spawned my easy garlic herb and sesame naan. So I guess you could say she's now a grandma? Hubs was having an evil craving, but I convinced him pan fried naan was what he really wanted, instead of fat sodden discs of deep fried dough. He bought it, for a while, but the beast once again reared it's greasy head and hubs would no longer be denied. 

I recently made a biryani and the first words out of hubby's lips were, "Got roti mariam?" When I grinned sheepishly, he glared and declared, "Enough with the freakin naan! I want roti mariam!". He can't seem to enjoy his biryani without a pile of these crisp, bronzed and blistered breads beside his mound of golden rice and spiced meat. 

He picked up the habit from years of eating biryani at the iconic Islamic Restaurant along North Bridge Road, close to Singapore's famed Arab quarter. Right up to the early 1990s, it was the place to go to, for just about the best biryani in Singapore. Sadly, this is no longer true and the dish of biryani served up at Islamic today, is a wispy shadow of its former glorious self. 

Thankfully, the one thing they still do magnificently, is roti mariam. It's also known as roti meriam (canon in Malay) and the name remains a mystery. I'll be damned if I know what bread and canons have to do with each other! Prior to eating it at Islamic, I had no knowledge or experience of this wonderful bread and even today, no one, as far as I know, sells it. I have recently learned though, that a version called roti maryam exists in Indonesia that resembles our prata or Malaysian roti canai.

Roti Mariam may be an Indian bread, or it may be something created at the restaurant itself, influenced by North Indian or Middle Eastern cooking and local culinary sensibilities. It's more like a fried pastry, rather than bread and resembles the Indian puri but is heartier in texture and richer in flavour. In fact, it bears an even closer resemblance to Navajo fry bread, strange as that may sound. After years of tinkering in the kitchen, I've come up with my own recipe, which I think is as close to Islamic's original version, as I will ever get.

I love making roti mariam for the sheer pleasure of watching it puff up beyond all reason and logic, in the hot oil, because it contains not a grain of yeast or any other leavening. Of course, it's also incredibly delicious and extremely moreish, at least for hubs. I can't eat more than one, much as I love it, as I find it far too rich to eat with impunity.

I also prefer it plain, with just a little curry gravy or keema to take the edge of the crisp hand torn shards. Roti mariam is undeniably delicious, but beyond that, it has a special significance for me as hubs took me to Islamic Restaurant for dinner, early on in our courtship. He was attentive and achingly gallant, until the roti mariam arrived at our table. For a whole six seconds, I was completely forgotten as his eyes zeroed in on the oil slicked, brittle and smoking rounds of bread, wide as the dinner plates they came on.

His eyes glazed over as he reached for one and tore off a piece. He looked at me and said, "This is what I've been wanting you to try. It's amazing!", as he teasingly brushed my lower lip with it. It did smell wonderful and I eagerly parted my lips to accept the morsel. It tasted amazing; I involuntarily closed my eyes. When I opened them, he was looking at me, eyes gleaming, face slightly flushed. "Can you make these for me, some time??!" Can't say there wasn't a part of me that had suspected it all along. Sure was nicer though, thinking I had reeled him in with my rapier wit and irresistible charm. Damn.

click here for printable recipe