My mom told me that the last paratha roti was always made into a pepper roti. She does not remember it with cheese, so that ingredient might be a recent addition.
If you think one paratha is amazing, try having two at the same time!
What is Trinidad Pepper Roti?
A flavorful and spicy filling is made with mashed potatoes, grated carrots, hot pepper/s, bell pepper, pimento peppers, garlic and culantro(bandhania/shado beni) is sandwiched between the two flaky layers of roti.
Melty, Trinidad cheese(New Zealand Cheddar) is placed over the carrot filling, or sometimes mixed into the filling, to help seal the deal.
Is Pepper Roti spicy?
While it is called Pepper Roti, when making it at home, you can control the heat or eliminate the pepper, which defeats the purpose; however, we all have individuals in our household/family who can’t tolerate pepper.
Is Trinidadian Food Spicy?
Trinidadian food is flexible and not necessarily uncontrollably “spicy”, even though the people are.
What types of cheese can I use to make Pepper Roti?
You may use Trinidad cheese (essentially New Zealand cheddar cheese – traditional version), white sharp cheddar, a mixture of cheddar and mozzarella, pepper jack or your favorite cheese. With everything else you can control the amount of cheese you use.
I must convey special thanks to my cousin Sunita, a caterer who recently visited from Trinidad, for inspiring the creation of this recipe and kindly sharing her ingredient combo, techniques, and method.
Also, a special thanks to my friends on the CookingwithRia FB page, whose desire for an immediate pepper roti recipe prompted me to learn the art of video filming and editing in one week!
Trinidad Pepper Roti
Ingredients
POTATO-PEPPER FILLING
- 3 potatoes 1 1/2 lbs, peeled and cut into 1 inch pieces
- 2 teaspoons salt to boil potatoes
- 1 carrot chopped small (optional)
- 1/2 green bell pepper chopped, optional
- 4 cloves garlic use more if very small
- 4 pimento peppers stems removed
- Hot red pepper habanero, scotch bonnet, cherry, or to taste (1 Mild, 2 Hot, 3+ Fire in de hole/Burn)
- 6 leaves bandhania culantro (Substitute: small bunch cilantro or 2 scallions)
- 2 teaspoons Himalayan salt or to taste
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin roasted geera
- 12 oz grated cheese Trinidadian, white or yellow cheddar, or more to your preference
To cook the pepper roti:
- 1/3 cup vegetable oil
- 6 tablespoons butter ghee or organic sweet cream butter
PARATHA ROTI
- 4 cups all purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon Himalayan salt
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar
- 1 1/2 cups lukewarm water
- 1 tablespoon oil
- Flour for dusting
Instructions
Prep Work:
- Peel, dice and rinse potatoes. Place in a pot over high heat and cover with water. Stir in salt. Bring to a boil and cook until tender. Drain completely and cool.
- TIP TO SAVE TIME:Alternately, you can boil the potatoes with the skin on and use a potato ricer which separates the skin from the potato and mashes it at the same time.
- While potatoes are cooking, place the remaining ingredients(make sure they are dry) in a food processor and mince until fine(alternately you can grate the carrot with a grater).
- Add minced veggies to potatoes, mash with a fork or masher until lump free and thoroughly combined. Add salt and roasted geera(cumin) to taste.
- Grate cheese
- Mix butter and oil until incorporated and fluffy.
Knead flour
- In a large bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, salt and sugar.
- Gradually add water to make a shaggy, soft dough. Tip: You want a soft sticky dough, if it’s too sticky and unable to handle well, add 1 teaspoon flour at a time until you can work with it.
- Form into a large round and rub 1 tablespoon oil over dough. Cover with a cloth and let it rest for a minimum of 15 minutes.
- Divide the dough into 6 equal pieces and form each into into a ball(loyah). Cover and let it rest for 15 minutes, minimum.
Wrap dough to make paratha
- Using one dough ball at a time, roll out into a large circle using a rolling pin. Using your fingers (or the bottom of a spoon or brush), rub the surface of the dough with the butter-oil mixture.
- Sprinkle on flour. Cut dough downwards with a knife from the center of the dough downward. Roll clockwise into a cone. Take the end of the dough and tuck it under the base of the cone.
- Push the tip of the cone downwards into the dough. Repeat with the remaining dough. Cover dough and let it rest for 15 minutes minimum.
- When ready to cook the roti, heat tawa, dry cast-iron skillet or griddle over medium heat until hot and brush with a very little butter-oil mixture.
- Working with one ball of dough at a time (keep the remaining dough covered), and using just enough flour to prevent sticking to the counter and rolling pin, press dough into a small flat circle (about 4 inches).
- Using the rolling pin, roll the dough(loyah). Flip, rotate and roll until it becomes a thin, even 10 inch round(or as wide as your tawa/griddle), making sure that the edges are not thick. If you can't make it round, don't worry, it tastes just as good and you have the opportunity to stretch and fix once it's on the tawa. Roll out a second dough, ensuring that it is the same size as the first.
Fill Dough (Pre-heat tawa over a medium flame because the filled dough must be cooked immediately)
- Divide the potato filling into thirds and place 1/3 on one of the rolled out dough. Spread the filling evenly with a fork or your hands, leaving half inch edge all around.
- Sprinkle on 1/3 cheese or to taste(I prefer less cheese if using yellow cheddar).
- Place the second rolled out dough on top of the filling, pulling the edges to line up equally with the first.
- Seal the edges by pressing with a fork or pinching a small piece and roll and twist upwards.
Cook Dough
- When the tawa is hot, pick up the filled dough carefully, place it on the palm of your hands and lay it gently on the tawa.
- Tip: Press the surface of the dough with the palm of your hands to flatten and disperse filling that may have moved while transferring.
- Brush about 1 tablespoon butter mixture over the surface of the roti and cook for 1-2 minutes. Flip when the bottom is golden brown.
- Drizzle or brush butter mixture over the other side. Flip.
- Cook for a minute more, spinning roti slowly in a clockwise direction to allow the oil to spread and the roti to cook evenly. Press edges with a dabla or flat wooden spoon or spatula to hasten cooking. Repeat flipping and cooking if necessary until the roti is fully cooked.
- When the pepper roti is fully cooked and is a nice golden brown on both sides and crispy, use two wooden spatulas to transfer to a flat surface (lined with parchment paper). Cut into quarters or eights and enjoy hot!
- You may wrap immediately in a clean, dry cloth, however, I highly recommend eating and serving it while it's hot and crispy.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
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