Roti sai mai
Roti sai mai is a Southeast Asian dessert from Thailand. is an Indian Muslim-influenced dessert served by wrapping cotton candy in sweet roti.
The rolling floss or cotton candy is thin, silky strings of spun sugar, found in a variety of hues. The roti is very thin and made from white or colored flour; green flour colored using pandan leaves. Sesame is often sprinkled on the top.
History
Origins
The recipe was initially brought to the Ayutthaya Kingdom by Indian Muslim traders, who produced and marketed the sweet among communities. The tasty dessert was commonly sold at roadside booths in both the city and the countryside.Marketing
Coin-operated ''roti sai mai''
In the 1980s and 1990s, "coin-operated" could be found in markets. These sellers had small bicycles equipped with coin boxes on the backs. Customers would drop a 10 baht coin through the slot, and a rotating dial would spin, cycling through the numbers 3–7. The number the dial ended on was the number of pieces of the customer would get. This popular marketing gimmick allowed customers to "try their luck", and earn more pieces for the same coin. Customers could also just buy pieces at the normal price.Nowadays, these coin-operated sellers are extremely rare.