Farata, the Mauritian equivalent of Indian paratha (and similar to Cape Malay rotis), is a flat bread typically eaten with curry. It’s buttery, flaky and delicious. The good news is that it’s really easy to make farata at home – a perfect accompaniment to Mauritian, Indian or Cape Malay curry.
Mauritian farata
Makes 8 faratas
- 1 kg white flour
- 2 tbsp melted butter
- 80 ml warm water
- Salt and oil
- 4 tbsp melted butter
Sieve the flour and a pinch of salt together. Rub the flour/salt mixture with the melted butter until it resembles breadcrumbs.
Gradually add warm water to make a soft dough. Cover the dough mixture and set it aside for at least 10 minutes. Then divide the dough into eight portions and form each into a ball and then roll out into circles. Brush each circle with melted butter and fold over into a half circle. Brush again with melted butter and fold over once more to form a triangle. Roll out the triangular shapes to get thin circles.
Fry the faratas, one by one, on a hot griddle or frying pan for one minute on each side or until cooked (when it has golden brown spots).
Serve farata with Mauritian curry (get a Creole chicken curry recipe here) or serve in a Mauritian-pizza style (like in the photo) – with a cooked tomato sauce, steamed spinach and melted mozzarella.
I learned to make this Mauritian recipe on a cooking lesson with the fantastic chefs at LUX Le Morne. For more on LUX Le Morne, click here.
Check out my other Mauritius food blogs:
25 of the best things to eat and drink in Mauritius
A foodie exploration of Mauritius in photos
Mauritian recipe: prawn rougaille
Mauritian recipe: sweet potato cakes
