I can eat these egg rolls everyday, they are so delightful! My love affair with Calcutta Egg rolls started much before I married into a Bengali family. Delhi is a culturally diverse city and during Durga Pujo you would find a lot of puja pandals sprouting up throughout the walled city. The evenings of navami were dedictaed to pandal hopping for us. There used to be a big pandal near our house and we used to walk there to attend the evening aarti and savor the delectable offerings from the food stalls. Most of it is a fading memory because its been over a decade since I went to a pujo pandal but as I write this, I vividly remember the vibe, besides the aroma of egg rolls and the fried fish that filled the air.
About Kolkata Egg Roll
Kolkata egg rolls are immensely popular for their delicous taste and beautiful textures and flavors. Flaky flatbreads (similar to parathas, but made with all purpose flour) are rolled from a dough made of flour(maida) and then cooked on a heavy tawa(griddle). Beaten eggs are then spread on the flatbread, thereafter the flatbread is flipped to cook the egg mixture and then flipped again to crisp the flatbread itself. Imagine it as a crispy flatbread with a thin layer of omelette. Then, the rolls are stuffed with either a fresh filling made of vegetables like sliced onions, cucumber & cilantro, green chilies. Or stuffed with small pieces of grilled mutton or chicken. A dash of lemon juice is added to enhance the flavor of the filling along with sprinkle of roll masala (dry spice blend). I simply use chaat masala instead.
Instructions to Make Egg Rolls
Making these egg rolls is very simple. Probably the only time consuming part is making the paratha. However, if you don’t want to do that, you can very easily take a shortcut and buy unleavened flatbreads from store.
Prepare the dough for paratha
Prepare The Vegetables & Sauce
Make the Egg rolls
Stuff & Assemble The Egg Roll
Recipe Tips
Make the dough for the parathas ahead and always always rest it for atleast 30 minutes. You can make the parathas ahead, cook them ever so slightly, don’t brown too much, cool them down and stash them one on top of other with a parchment/wax paper in between. Refrigerate for 2 days and freeze for up to two months. If you want to freeze, layer the parathas in a single layer on a plate or sheet and freeze for 3 hours.Once frozen, store them in a zip loc bag. One egg per roll is more than enough. If you will addd too much egg, it will remain raw while your paratha will become soggy. I like to individually crack and beat an egg for each roll while I make them. Salad :- The traditional salad is onions + cucumbers +green chillies + cilantro tossed with some black salt. However you can add tomato or green pepper as well, it tastes quite good, especially the peppers. Sauces :- The vendors have their own secret sauces. However, at my in-laws I saw them using ketchup mixed with red chili sauce (Ching’s brand :)) and it tastes good. I sometimes add little sriracha as well.
