Banana Roti with Condensed Milk & Cassia Bark Sugar

Introduction

If you’ve ever eaten street food in Bangkok or Chiang Mai, you’ll know the roti guy. He’s there at 11pm, on a fold-out cart, working a flat iron that’s been seasoned with ten years of butter and banana. The smell alone stops you in your tracks.

This is our version at Farang - and honestly, it’s one of the dishes I’m most proud of on the menu. Not because it’s technically complicated, because it isn’t. But because it’s joyful. It’s the kind of thing that makes a table go quiet for a second when it lands.

The roti itself is a simple unleavened flatbread - stretched thin, cooked in clarified butter until the edges go crispy and the middle puffs and caramelises. The banana goes in at the end, folded inside while it’s still hot. The condensed milk gets drizzled on top straight from the tin. And the cassia bark sugar - that’s the bit that lifts the whole thing. Cassia is what most of us actually grew up calling cinnamon (true Ceylon cinnamon is far more delicate), and it has this deep, slightly spicy warmth that cuts through the sweetness perfectly.

Make it for a dinner party dessert. Make it for yourself at midnight. Either way, it needs to be hot, it needs to be sticky, and it needs to be eaten immediately.

Recipe

Serves: 4

Time: 30 minutes (plus 1 hour resting the dough)

Difficulty: Easy

Ingredients

For the roti dough:

• 300g plain flour, plus extra for dusting

• 1 tsp caster sugar

• ½ tsp fine salt

• 180ml warm water

• 2 tbsp vegetable oil, plus extra for resting

• 1 egg, beaten

For cooking & filling:

• 80g clarified butter (or unsalted butter - clarified gives you a better colour)

• 2 ripe bananas, sliced into rounds

• 4 tbsp condensed milk, to drizzle

For the cassia bark sugar:

• 3 tbsp caster sugar

• 1 tsp ground cassia bark (sold as cinnamon in most supermarkets - look for the darker, thicker quill if buying whole)

Method

Step 1 - Make the dough

Combine the flour, sugar and salt in a large bowl. Add the beaten egg, warm water and vegetable oil and bring it together into a rough dough. Turn out onto a lightly floured surface and knead for 8–10 minutes until smooth and elastic - it should feel silky, not sticky. Divide into 4 equal balls, rub each one with a little oil, place on a tray and cover with cling film. Rest for at least 1 hour at room temperature. This rest is non-negotiable - it relaxes the gluten and makes the dough stretch without tearing.

Step 2 - Make the cassia bark sugar

Mix the caster sugar and ground cassia together in a small bowl and set aside. Simple as that.

Step 3 - Stretch the roti

On a lightly oiled surface (not floured - oil helps it stretch), take one dough ball and press it flat with your palm. Then use your fingertips to stretch it outward, working in a circular motion, until it’s almost translucent - roughly 25-30cm across. Don’t worry if it tears slightly; just press it back. The thinner, the better.

Step 4 - Cook

Get a large, heavy-based frying pan or flat griddle over a medium-high heat. Add a generous tablespoon of clarified butter and let it foam and settle. Lay the stretched roti in the pan - it should sizzle immediately. Cook for 90 seconds until golden and starting to blister on the underside. Flip it.

Step 5 - Add the banana

While the second side is cooking, place your sliced banana across one half of the roti. Fold the other half over the top to encase it. Press down gently with a spatula. Cook for another 30–45 seconds until the bottom is golden and the banana is starting to soften. Flip once more for 20 seconds - you want the outside deeply golden, almost caramelised at the edges.

Step 6 - Slice and finish

Transfer to a board or plate. Cut into rectangles or squares - we do a 3x3 grid at Farang, you can see it in the photo. Drizzle condensed milk generously over the top, then dust straight away with the cassia bark sugar. Serve on a banana leaf if you can get hold of one - it’s not necessary but it looks stunning and adds a faint grassy fragrance.

Eat immediately. This does not wait.

Chef’s Notes

• Clarified butter vs regular butter: Clarified has a higher smoke point and gives you a cleaner, more even caramelisation. Worth making - just melt butter slowly, skim the foam, and pour off the clear fat leaving the milk solids behind. But regular unsalted butter works perfectly well too.

• Banana ripeness: You want ripe but not collapsing. The banana should hold its shape in the pan. If it’s over-ripe, it’ll turn to mush - still tastes great, just less presentable.

• Cassia vs Ceylon cinnamon: Most ground cinnamon in UK supermarkets is actually cassia - darker, more intense, slightly spicier. Ceylon is lighter and more floral. Either works, but cassia is the one to use here for that proper Thai street food flavour.

• Can you prep ahead? The dough balls will keep refrigerated for up to 24 hours - just bring them back to room temperature before stretching. The cassia sugar keeps indefinitely in a jar. The roti itself must be cooked and eaten fresh.

This recipe is from Farang London, 72 Highbury Park, London N5. Book a table at faranglondon.co.uk - and if you want the sauces and pastes to make Thai cooking at home easier, head to payst.co.uk.