Pol roti, also known as coconut roti is a Sri Lankan roti recipe(a type of rustic flatbread) that is made with flour, grated fresh coconut with diced green chillies and onions for extra texture.

This Sri Lankan roti is made with flour and coconut which also means it is a vegan, vegetarian roti recipe.

You’ll come across Sri Lankan roti as a street food/ tea-time snack at stationary carts or roadside restaurants.

They are served with a spicy lunumiris sandwiched between two roti and extra curries on the side as an option, making it a very easy breakfast on the go.

At home, the ease of mixing the dough coconut and flour roti makes it an easy option for breakfast and dinner. 

And guess what?

It’s a stovetop flatbread.

serving ideas for pol roti(coconut roti)

• I served the Coconut roti with an extra milky Dhal curry and Lunumiris but you can serve practically anything, even hummus.
• If you are in a hurry, spreading some butter with pineapple or strawberry jam would do. even a bit of marmite will work with this coconut roti.
• Serve with a creamy potato curry, pol sambol and a spicy Sri Lankan fish curry.
• Sandwich some seeni sambol or shredded beef sambol between two coconut roti and you can have a quick breakfast on the go.
• Curries that pair well with coconut roti.
• homemade spicy beef meatballs.
• Sri Lankan spicy Dry Potato curry(ala theldala)
• potato korma(aloo kurma).
• Sri Lankan Jaffna curry powder chicken curry.
• Black pepper beef curry(Sri Lankan)
  

Kids– love it with palm sugar treacle or honey.

My youngest loves to dab pieces of roti with butter and Sugar just like I did at her age and still do.

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Tips to make pol roti(coconut roti).

• Fresh scraped or grated coconut is always the best option. freshly scraped coconut can also be found in the frozen section as they preserve well when frozen.

• If you are unable to find fresh coconut then opt for dessicated coconut as a last resort. I’ve used it and would recommend it if you are unable to find scraped coconut in any form.

• I’ve added chopped green chillies and onion but you can make the coconut roti without them as well. make sure to chop the onion and green chillies very fine as they are easy to mix in with the flour,
• Salt seasoning should be on point, start with 1 teaspoon and add more as you need cautiously.
• Once you make the roti, spread them over a flat surface and avoid covering them as soon as they are made, this just builds up moisture which will affect the texture of the roti.

FAQ: pol roti(Sri Lankan coconut roti).

• How to shape the coconut roti(pol roti).
  • I know a few ladies in my family who never need a flat surface to shape the dough into perfect circles.
  • They make it look easy as they shape and mould the dough into perfect disks. Except for me of course,

If you want a perfectly shaped round disk then simply use a lid of any container or pan to cut out the circles.

• Can I make the pol roti(coconut roti)dough ahead of time?
  • Yes, make the dough as shown in the recipe instructions, make the required amount of dough balls, brush some oil over them, cover with cling film and refrigerate.
  • To cook them, remove them from the fridge, let them reach room temperature and then roll out the dough balls into disks and cook.

Kitchen appliances and utensils needed.

• A large bowl to knead the dough.
• Flat surface or board to shape the roti.
• A flat frying pan or tawa to make the roti.

More roti recipes

Tuna filling stuffed Sri Lankan coconut roti.

How to make Sri Lankan paratha

Egg roti paratha.

Soft Rotis/tortillas.

Stove-top naan bread.

Storing

Once you’ve made them store them in an airtight container and refrigerate. use within 3 days.

Freezing

Do not freeze them raw.

Instead, semi-cook them over the stovetop for 3 minutes on both sides and freeze them in an airtight container.

Use within a week. But these are so easy to make I would recommend making them fresh unless, of course, you are short of time during the week.

Reheating

Remove from the freezer, let it reach room temperature and gradually reheat them over a stovetop, over very low heat or use the microwave to reheat them.

Stop food waste by

Great for breakfast, and dinner, I’ve never had a time where they went to waste as there’s always someone at home who eats them even with a good slathering of jam and butter.

Another option of using leftovers will be to make a pol roti kottu following my bread kottu recipe.

RECIPE DIFFICULTY- LITTLE CARE NEEDED

The ingredients mentioned below use standard measuring cups and spoons.

Ingredients to make coconut roti

Serving Size- Makes 9 small rotis that are 5 inches in diameter.

2 cups of flour

1 tsp of salt or as needed

1 cup grated Coconut

1-2 Onion sliced
1-2 Green chillies finely sliced (optional)

1 teaspoon of red chilli flecks(optional)

1/2 cup of water

oil as needed

How to make pol roti

How to make the roti dough

Sift flour(2 cups) with salt.

Add the grated coconut(1 cup), onions(1-2 medium) and finely sliced green chillies(1-2) or red chilli flecks(1 tsp).

One thing to keep in mind is the taste and texture of the coconut roti will change depending on how much scraped coconut to flour you add.

The more scraped coconut you add(maybe 1/2 cup more)the milkier and softer the pol roti turns out.

At the same time too much scraped coconut and you will find it difficult to flatten them so make sure you balance the ratio of flour and scraped coconut to make the coconut roti. 

Incorporate the ingredients into the flour thoroughly while mixing, and season with salt if necessary.

Gradually add water to form a sticky dough.

Stage 1

Stage 2

Continue kneading and form a soft dough that leaves the side of the bowl. this should take less than 5 minutes.

If you add too much water the dough will still be sticky even after kneading for a few minutes.

If this should happen sprinkle flour over the dough and knead until you get the dough that is smooth and doesn’t stick to the edges of the bowl or in your hands.

Apply oil to your hands and transfer the oil to the dough.

Separate the dough into 8-10 balls.

On a lightly oiled surface, shape the dough into circles.

Yes, yes, I know my roti shape is a bit wonky, as I mentioned, me and perfectly round shapes never happen.

Let’s proceed, shall we?

Too much oil on the surface of the roti while you shape them and you might not be able to remove it from the flat surface and onto the Tawa(flat pan) without breaking it in two.

If this should happen dust a bit of flour to ease the removal of the roti.

Form roti that are not too thin as well or else they will break.

For an efficient way to form the roti while cooking them, on your second roti, place a flat skillet or pan over medium heat.

Lightly oil the pan and place the roti to cook.

While keeping an eye on the skillet you can form the other Rotties.

Cook one side of the roti, for 2-3 minutes and flip over to cook the other side.

Once all the roti has been cooked, serve with your favourite curry.

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