Thursday 9 December 2010

Calcutta-style egg rolls

As my family is from the West Bengal region of India (state capital Calcutta/Kolkata) this is an area I've visited a few times over the course of many years. Calcutta is pretty famous for its street food- not that I'd know much about that though as my parents concerns for the often less than sanitary conditions in which street stalls operate limited our consumption of these delights. However there were a few times when the hygiene police relaxed their (probably sensible) policy and a few treats sneaked through. The one I remember most vividly are egg rolls- a sort of thin, flat bread, with an omlette layer attached to it, with lots of chilli and red onions. This was all rolled up, wrapped in greaseproof paper and eaten hot off the griddle. They must have been good as the last time I had one was about twenty years ago and I still remember them.
The bread element is very light and stretchy, and I've no idea how it's made. But the closest thing I've found to it are the Shana parathas I've blogged about recently. So for a super-speedy egg roll supper all you'll need are:

Recipe (enough for one hungry person)
2 ready make parathas such as the Shana brand
2 eggs
1 small red onion, finely sliced
1 medium green chilli, finely sliced with seeds removed if you prefer things mild
Salt and pepper to season
Couple of teaspoons of sunflower oil or similar

First cook the parathas fully and set aside. Beat the eggs well, season, and stir in the onion and chilli. Put a teaspoon or so of oil into a frying pan and heat it as much as you would if making an omlette. Once hot enough, pour in half the egg mix and wait about 10 seconds until it starts to set. While it's still liquid on top, push the paratha into the egg until the heat 'fuses' them. Turn the heat down, and then once the egg layer is cooked, flip the paratha so that the bread layer warms up and any overspill egg is cooked through as well. Repeat with the second paratha and the rest of the beaten egg. Roll up with the egg layer inside, and and scoff while hot. Eat with some salad if you are so inclined.

NB I'm sure that the egg rolls I ate had the onion and chilli cooked with the egg, but you can also not bother cooking them and just put them in at the rolling up stage (apparently).

6 comments:

Chloe said...

Yum. I feel Sunday brunch coming on, just got to find those pesky parathas

TheFastestIndian said...

Oh yes, ideal for brunch or a late lunch! They must have parathas somewhere in the Ox 'hood surely?

meemalee said...

Yes, ma'am - ten of these for me please. With chilli sauce on the side.

TheFastestIndian said...

Hehe! Ten? I like your ambition!

Komal said...

yummy! I love those parathas, great standby!

TheFastestIndian said...

It's definitely hard to go wrong with a paratha!