Cayman-style prawn curry with ‘buss up shut’ roti — a Ravinder Bhogal recipe

There are some hotels that envelop you in their world so completely that it is easy to forget that anything exists beyond their bubble of luxury. A few months ago I was invited to cook for a supper club at Palm Heights, a property with serious design pedigree set on the island of Grand Cayman. For days, I was content just to stagger directionless from one yellow striped sun lounger to another, the surf frothing gently like spilt Champagne. But woman cannot live on the tinkle of gin and ice alone. After having exhausted the hotel’s excellent menu, we went in search of local sustenance and found ourselves at Singh’s Roti Shop.

Singh’s serves hot island gossip, good vibes and Caymanian comfort food: meats and shellfish, curried or stewed. Like the food, the soundtrack of chutney soca (a hybrid of Bollywood and soca rhythms) reflects the diversity of Grand Cayman. But it’s the freshly made roti, a bread that first arrived in the Caribbean in the 1830s with indentured servants from India, that’s the draw here. There is one that is reminiscent of a paratha that locals call “buss up shut”. The name comes from the phrase “busted-up shirt”, referring to what the dish looks like. Discs of dough are liberally brushed with coconut oil, rolled up, rested and then rolled out again to the size of a dinner plate before being fried in more coconut oil. Once golden, the bread is crushed or “bussed up” in a tea towel. The result is a shattered, burnished exterior and a silky, yielding interior that rivals the allure of a freshly made croissant.

Several rotis (and stained napkins) later I immediately thought about when I might eat all this again, the scent of roasted cumin, turmeric and fiery Scotch bonnets still on my fingers.

Cayman-style prawn curry with ‘buss up shut’ roti

Serves 4

Curry

Roti

1. For the roti, sift the flour and baking powder together in a large bowl and stir in the sugar and salt. Rub the coconut cream through the flour with the tips of your fingers and add the coconut water little by little until you have a smooth, pliable dough. Cover and rest for 30 minutes.

2. Divide the dough into six equal pieces and roll into smooth balls. Roll them out into 20cm discs, dusting with flour as necessary, then brush the surface with coconut oil. Using a sharp knife, make a cut from the centre of the dough to the edge. Roll from the cut edge inwards around the circle until you have a tightly coiled cone. Pinch the dough on the wide side of the cone so the coiling is no longer visible, then flatten the whole cone into a patty on your palm. Brush each patty lightly with coconut oil and leave to rest under a tea towel for a minimum of six hours.

3. To make the curry, heat the coconut oil in a saucepan, then fry the onion over a low heat until caramelised. Add the ginger, garlic and Scotch bonnet and fry until fragrant. Now sprinkle in the curry powder, fry again until aromatic and stir in the tomatoes, tamarind and sugar. Cook for eight minutes or until the tomatoes have broken down and are jammy. Finally, pour in the coconut milk, bring to a simmer and add the prawns. Season with sea salt, cook for five minutes, or until opaque, and squeeze in the lime juice.

4. To cook the roti, heat a crêpe pan over a medium heat. Roll out each patty to an even 20cm circle — dusting with flour to prevent sticking. Place them on the surface of the pan and brush with coconut oil. Cook until lightly speckled on one side, then brush with oil and turn again; you should have a roti that is cooked through and golden brown. Lay on a tea towel, fold the tea towel over and push around the sides of the roti to fluff it up and puff up the layers. Repeat with the remaining patties and serve with the curry.

Ravinder Bhogal is chef-patron of Jikoni. Follow Ravinder on Instagram @cookinboots and Twitter @cookinboots

Follow @FTMag on Twitter to find out about our latest stories first