Pol rotis - Coconut rotis - Sri Lankan coconut roti recipe

I honestly do not have enough words to describe how much the native Sri Lankans love these creamy coconut discs that are staple in the Sri Lankan diet.  It's a deep-rooted love that comes from generation to generation and even the tourists who visit the island,  never never forget to taste these.

The most popular one is the plain and creamy version made by mixing plain flour and scraped coconut together with salt and a dash of chili powder.  The simplicity of the ingredients makes them, even more, tastier and flavourful.  However, I prefer to toss some chopped onions, curry leaves, grated carrots, and chopped green chilies into the dough and knead with an ample amount of scrapped coconut before baking them in a traditional cast iron pan under an open flame.

Ingredients you'll need;

Plain and creamy version (c = 1cup) Ingredients    Amounts
Scraped coconut  1c Plain flour           2c
Onion                   1
Chilli powder       1tsp
Salt                      1tsp
Butter                  1tbsp
Lukewarm water to knead the dough (approx. 1cup)
Hot chilli version
Ingredients   Amounts
Salt                    1tsp
Chili p.              1/4tsp
Plain flour         2cups Scraped coconut                            1cup Chopped onions Green chillies chopped Lukewarm water to knead the dough

Let’s make;

Plain and creamy version 

• Mix plain flour, scraped coconut, salt, and butter together and knead by adding lukewarm water little by little. Make a soft dough ball, cover it, and keep it aside for 20-30 mins 
• Wet your hands, and divide the dough into equal parts 
• Take one part, roll it into a ball and then flatten it on a foil paper
• Heat a wide flat pan or a thawa
• Place the round dough disc on it and bake both sides under medium flame.
• Done!

For the hot chilli version;

• Mix chopped onion, green chilli, red chilli powder, curry leaves, grated carrots, salt, and butter with scraped coconut using your fingers, and then mix with flour. Add lukewarm water little by little and shape it into a ball. Cover and keep aside for 20-30 mins 
• Flatten the dough balls into discs
• Bake on a thawa under a medium flame until the wetness is no longer there. 

• Once out of the pan, let them release steam by placing them on a wire rack.
• Serve hot with a spicy chicken or mutton curry or just a blob of butter along with lunu miris make it simply irresistible.
• Lunu Miris/Chilli chutney – pound together chilli powder/chilli flakes with salt, some scraped Maldive fish, and finally mix a dash of lemon juice to balance the taste.

Do not forget to sip a plain tea made with sugar and crushed ginger to finish off to give the fullest satisfaction of this meal.