Ingredients
Dough
- 500 gplain flour
- 1 teaspoonsalt
- 1 tablespoonsugar
- 2eggs, beaten
- about 250 ml coconut water
- the liquid from inside the nut
- 3 tablespoonsoil
To laminate
- 150 mloil
- or melted butter
- more oil, for the surface
To cook
- a heavy griddle or pan
- a little oil
To serve
- honey
- with curry
- or with sweet tea
- at breakfast
Directions
- Put the flour, salt and sugar in a bowl. Beat the eggs and add them in. Add coconut water gradually as you work. Add the oil as you bring it together. Make a very soft and slack dough. This dough must be very soft indeed.
- Knead it for a good twelve minutes. That network is what holds it together thin. Take the full twelve minutes over it. Judging the dough takes a test. Knead it for longer if it tears. Divide the dough into even balls. Coat each one generously in oil. Set them all on an oiled tray.
- Cover them over and let them rest. Give them at least one full hour. Oil the work surface generously. Put one ball on the oiled surface. Press it flat with oiled hands. Work with the flats of your hands. Keep everything well oiled throughout. Stretch it until it is almost transparent.
- Brush more oil over the stretched sheet. A thin brushing gives them no chance. Cover the whole surface properly. Fold the sides of the sheet inwards. Set them all on an oiled tray. Cover them and rest them again. Give them at least twenty minutes. Press each square out with oiled hands. Work from the centre outwards. Press gently rather than forcing it. Aim for about half a centimetre thick.
- Heat a heavy griddle over a medium heat. Brush it with a very little oil. Medium heat is what this needs. Adjust it in between the breads. Griddling them takes a few minutes. Lay a bread on the hot griddle. Give it about two full minutes. Turn it over with a wide spatula. Give it another two full minutes.
- Turn it several times as it cooks. It also stops either side burning. Use rather more oil next time. Keeping them soft is worth doing. Stack them as they come off the griddle.
- Cover the whole stack with a cloth. That keeps them soft and pliable. Tear them by hand rather than cutting. Serve honey poured over them warm. Serve sweet tea alongside them. They keep a day in a sealed bag. Warm them on a dry pan to revive them.
Technique
- This uses coconut water — the thin clear slightly sweet liquid from inside the nut — rather than coconut milk pressed from the grated flesh. Coconut water carries almost no fat, so it hydrates the dough and adds a faint sweetness without weighing it down; coconut milk would give a different bread. It also comes free with every nut opened, which is practical as well as a flavour choice.
- The dough must be stretched almost transparent, and three things together make that possible: a very soft dough, at least an hour of rest that relaxes the gluten, and generous oiling of the dough, your hands and the work surface. Under-kneaded or unrested dough tears immediately.
- Oil generously between the folds, since the oil is what separates the layers — if they fuse when the cooked bread is pulled apart, there was too little. Three or four folds is plenty; more makes it heavy rather than flaky.
Substitutions
- Melted butter stands in for oil in the laminating.
- Small tears in the stretched sheet are covered by the folding and are not a disaster.
Variations
- Msemen and meloui from Morocco and mlawi from Tunisia use the same oiled stretch-and-fold idea; the coconut water and egg here are what distinguish this one.
- Turn it several times on the griddle rather than once, which cooks the middle evenly and stops either side burning.
- It is eaten with honey and sweet tea at breakfast, or torn and dipped into curry.
History
Layered coconut flatbread cooked on a griddle, torn and eaten with curry or with sweet tea at breakfast.
Frequently asked questions
What is Mkatra foutra?
Mkatra foutra is a bread & pastry from Comoros: coconut-water flatbread enriched with egg, eaten with honey. Layered coconut flatbread cooked on a griddle, torn and eaten with curry or with sweet tea at breakfast.
How long does Mkatra foutra take to make?
Mkatra foutra takes 40 minutes plus resting of preparation and 20 minutes of cooking. The recipe makes about 8 breads. It is rated hard to make.
What can I substitute in Mkatra foutra?
Yes, within limits. Melted butter stands in for oil in the laminating. Small tears in the stretched sheet are covered by the folding and are not a disaster.
What is the most important thing to get right in Mkatra foutra?
Put the flour, salt and sugar in a bowl. Beat the eggs and add them in. Add coconut water gradually as you work. Add the oil as you bring it together. Make a very soft and slack dough. This dough must be very soft indeed.
