Buss Up Shut goes extremely well with a curries so you can use it to sop up all that slow cooked deliciousness. I recently discovered a whole load of Trinidadian recipes and they involve a little extra love and time but they are just so irresistible. It is called ‘Buss up Shut’ which literally means tattered shirt because of the way the flatbread is served, squished up and crunched together, flaking, almost like a torn shirt. The roti recipe is by Immaculate Bites with very slight modifications. If you want to try your hand at some homemade roti and curry keep reading and check out this recipe.
Trinidadian Buss Up Shut
Flaky unleavened flat bread. It is layers and layers of tender, flat and crispy fried dough.
Ingredients
- 3 cups all purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon ghee, butter or oil
- 1 1/4 cup warm water or slightly more
- 1/3 cup ghee, butter or oil for layering buss up shut/paratha
- 1/4 cup ghee, butter or oil for basting buss up shut/paratha
Instructions
- In a large bowl mix together the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt.
- Then make a well then add oil, followed by warm water, knead dough for about 1 minute to form soft and sticky dough. You can cover and optionally let your dough rest for 10 minutes before proceeding.
- Divide dough into 6 equal pieces. Set aside, covered with a drab kitchen towel and let it rest for 30 minutes
- The resting of the dough helps to relax the gluten and make it not only easier to work with but also produces tender paratha.
- Place each one piece on a heavily floured board and roll out dough into a circle. They do not have to be perfect circles.
- Using your fingers or knife rub butter (about a tablespoon) on the surface of the dough, lightly sprinkle with flour.
- Using a knife make a cut from the centre of the dough to the outside. Roll dough clockwise to form a cone.
- Push cone tip inwards. Place in an oil pan and cover with damp cloth. Repeat this process for other 5 pieces of dough. Oil each piece to prevent dough from drying out and let rest for about 2 hours or more covered in the fridge.
- When ready to cook, heat up griddle, crepe pan or cast iron to medium heat. Gently flatten out each cone and roll out. Begin rolling out the dough from the centre working outwards.
- Rotate the dough out each time you roll it. Try and aim for about 10 inch circles, make sure they are thin at the edges. Gently place dough on the griddle, I used a large frying pan, but a skillet will work as well.
- Heavily oil the other side of the dough making sure you oil the edges too. Cook until tiny bubbles / air pockets appear on the top of the roti, then flip dough.
- Making the ‘torn up shirt’ look can be achieved in several ways crush paratha with two spatulas while still on the griddle. Essentially squish the paratha so the flakes become visible.
- Place paratha in a large bowl with a lid and shake the heck out of it. Place in a clean cloth cover and shake it up.
- Serve warm with curry.
