14 Days of Divali - Day 4: Evolution of roti

Human beings took their first tentative steps out of their original homes on the plains of southern Africa several millions of years ago, and we have been on the move ever since. Now, humans occupy every habitable corner of the planet, and it has been our ability to adapt to new environments that has been the key to our survival. Even after we had settled into our various locations, necessity, adventure, and sometimes desperation urged us further onwards, and migration became an indelible part of the human experience. For many different reasons, and under many different circumstances, people have been forced to leave their homelands and head to unknown lands in search of a better life.
And so it went with those who left their homes in Bihar and Uttar Pradesh to venture to unknown British colonies on the other side of the world, over a century and a half ago. Most of them came here with nothing but their jahagi bundles in which they brought, amongst other things, many foodstuffs from their homeland. But it was not in their bags, but in their memories that they brought their cooking techniques and recipes, many of which we still use today. Yet, the Caribbean was not India, and due to a lack of certain products, and the apparition of so many new ones, changes had to be made. It was these changes that have led to the uniquely Caribbean style of Indian dishes that we know and love today.
In his fascinating documentary, Dal Puri Diaspora, local filmmaker Richard Fung travelled to the Bhojpuri region of northern India on a quest to sample the various rotis prepared in the states of Bihar and Utter Pradesh from whence the original indentured labourers would have come. The film highlights the changes that arose in the way that roti was prepared in the colonies, and notes that the two major changes were the use of white flour instead of the traditional atta whole wheat flour, and the addition of a totally new ingredient – baking powder! These alterations transformed roti from the crispy, somewhat denser flatbreads that are found all over India, into the soft and fluffy rotis that we are used to in the Caribbean.

Ingredients available at all Dollar Value Supermarket locations