Sri Lankan pol roti
An unleavened Sri Lankan flatbread made with fresh grated coconut and wheat flour, cooked on a tawa.
Plain godamba roti
A Sri Lankan wheat flatbread made from thinly stretched, oil-rested dough and cooked briefly on a dry griddle until soft.
A dough made to stretch
Godamba roti is a thin wheat flatbread cooked on a griddle. This measured version follows a contemporary recipe by O Tama Carey, published by Food & Travel in April 2022 and attributed there to her book Lanka Food. Food & Travel presents the plain bread with sauces and accompaniments. The recipe provides no historical evidence for when or where the bread began, so this version records Sri Lanka as a documented preparation context rather than a precise birthplace.
The dough is made from plain flour, salt and a range of water. Kneading develops an elastic dough, while a covered rest in coconut oil makes the portions easier to stretch. The source specifies 140 ml oil for coating and submerging the dough balls but does not say how much is absorbed or left behind. Use a snug container so the stated amount can coat the portions; do not assume that extra oil will be incorporated into the dough.
The source allows at least 30 minutes of rest or an overnight rest at room temperature. This recipe uses the shortest stated rest, 30 minutes. It leaves out the overnight option because the source offers no food-safety assessment for that extended room-temperature hold. Flour is raw and can carry harmful bacteria; keep it away from ready-to-eat food, clean up after handling, and never taste uncooked dough. The bread must be cooked before eating.
Stretch each portion with the fingers until the sheet is very thin and translucent, then fold it into a rectangle. The dough can contract after folding, so the source permits flattening or repeating the stretch-and-fold. A large dry pan over medium heat gives the folded dough colour while keeping it soft. The source gives about one minute per side but no measured pan temperature; watch for coloured patches and adjust the heat so the bread cooks without crisping.
The published recipe makes eight pieces from 300 g flour, 8 g salt, a range of 100–140 ml water and 140 ml coconut oil for coating and resting. That is the source batch. It gives no tested scaling method, total active time or validated storage period. Its separate mention of a filled vegetable roti describes another preparation and is not part of this plain-bread method.
Sources for this section
History
A modern recipe published by Food & Travel in April 2022 attributes the preparation to O Tama Carey’s Lanka Food. It documents a Sri Lankan preparation but gives no date for the bread’s first attestation or precise place of origin.
Ingredients
Yield 8 roti · Scaling: source batch only
300 g
8 g
Amount not stated
100–140 ml, added gradually until a dough formsCoconut oilMelt and cool before using.
140 mL
The source uses this to coat and submerge the dough balls during resting; how much remains in the finished bread is not stated.Method
Risks and precautions · Standard risk
Raw wheat flour
Flour can carry harmful bacteria and raw dough must not be tasted.
Hazard sourceHot pan and oil
The method uses melted oil and a hot pan; splashes and contact can burn.
Hazard sourceKeep raw flour and dough away from ready-to-eat food; wash hands, tools and surfaces after handling, and do not taste dough before it is fully cooked.
Control sourceMelt the oil carefully, let it cool before coating the dough, and handle the hot pan with care.
Control sourceContains wheat (gluten).
Cook each piece through before serving; never taste the raw dough.
The source gives no validated storage duration. Serve promptly; no storage-time claim is made.
- Stir the flour and salt together in a bowl. Add 100 ml water gradually while kneading. Add more, a little at a time, up to 140 ml total, until the dough comes together; the source does not give a fixed water quantity within this range.
- Turn the dough onto a clean work surface and knead for 2–3 minutes, until smooth and no longer sticky. Divide into eight equal portions and shape each into a ball.
- Put the melted, cooled coconut oil in a snug container. Add the dough balls and turn them so they are fully coated and submerged. Cover and leave at room temperature for at least 30 minutes. This version uses the stated minimum rest; it does not use the source’s optional overnight rest.
- Lift out one ball and place it on a clean, lightly oiled work surface. Press and stretch it with your fingers into a thin rectangle, working outward until the dough is paper-thin and you can see through it. Small holes are acceptable.
- Fold the top and bottom edges toward the middle, then fold the sides in to make a neat rectangle about 20 × 15 cm. Set it on a tray. Repeat with the other balls, keeping folded pieces from sticking if they are stacked.
- The dough may shrink after folding. Flatten and stretch it again if needed; the source also suggests repeating the stretch and fold once for a flakier result.
- Heat a large frying pan over medium heat. Do not add more oil. Cook one folded piece for about 1 minute, until coloured patches appear, then turn and cook the other side for about 1 minute. Keep the bread soft rather than crisp. Repeat with the remaining pieces and serve hot or warm.
Conditions
Yield8 roti
Places
Sri Lanka
Documented preparation · Country evidenceA modern Sri Lankan recipe documents this preparation; it does not establish a birthplace or historical origin.
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Sources
Food & TravelInspiration · Method
Godhamba rotiThe modern recipe is attributed to O Tama Carey’s Lanka Food and makes eight pieces.
It gives 300 g plain flour, 8 g cooking salt, 100–140 ml water and 140 ml melted, cooled coconut oil for coating and resting.
It directs 2–3 minutes of kneading, at least 30 minutes of covered room-temperature oil rest, paper-thin stretching, folds to about 20 × 15 cm and about one minute per side in a dry pan over medium heat.
It does not provide historical origin, measured pan temperature, validated overnight-rest safety, or validated storage duration.
Cited in: A dough made to stretch
U.S. Food and Drug AdministrationSafety
Handling Flour Safely: What You Need to KnowRaw flour may carry harmful bacteria; do not eat or taste uncooked dough.
Keep raw flour separate from ready-to-eat food and wash hands, utensils and surfaces after handling flour.