Feeling Eggy :Bengali Egg Roll & Simple Egg Stir Fry

How many times have you survived on bread, omelette & ketchup on weekdays one after the other?How many of you still feel jittery thinking of baking eggless? How many of you quickly tip in onions, chillies and tomatoes with eggs and turn it into an egg bhurji for supper or for that matter how of you have quickly dunked hard-boiled eggs into the gravy to make the sunday evening dinner in a jiffy?

I raise my hands on all of those.Without unscrambling the who came first-the chicken or the egg debate,I can safely bet that whosoever it was, doesnt matter much to me unless they start playing the hide and seek game again and vanish from my refrigerator rack! I am really frightened of the  day when all chicks might be eaten by carnivores like us and of not getting eggs Half of my kitchen antics revolves around this spheroid cell! I can’t imagine life without eggs..plain and simple I somehow feel that this widely used ingredient in all of our kitchens is the most under rated one.This post is dedicated to the humble egg ! Its been long overdue now.

My best egg (y) memories are those of the hill stations of Nanital, Kullu Manali and Mussorie egg vendors selling hard-boiled eggs on chilly foggy evenings on the mall roads with  kerosene stoves atop their cycles or carts,boiling water in the aluminium bhagonas (pots) with boiling eggs making that chirping noise.Those hard-boiled eggs with a sprinkle of black pepper and salt is one of the best kept memories which I do not forget to refresh on every visit to hill stations.

As a kid I use to think that there is a living entity inside the shell which makes that unsettling chirping sound because of the hotness of water.It was such a darn eerie Though the misconception was clarified as I grew but I m still in awe of this very concept!I still don’t understand it.Does anyone know why eggs sometimes chirp when they are boiled? Do lemme know.

P requested on sunday that he wants to eat egg rolls for lunch.Now egg roll making is no big deal.Any novice in the kitchen can make it.But making an egg roll for a Bong husband makes me nervous…Egg roll to Bengalis is like hot dogs to americans! You can’t just fool around!

The only catch in the egg roll is the paratha or roti or wrap…if not made properly, the whole experience of enjoying an egg roll becomes chewy and tasteless. 90% of the egg roll recipes on the internet have the ready-made wrap or tortilla or parathas or whole wheat chapatis etc being used for the wrapping it up. I had seen my grand mother-in-law making this amazing egg rolls from scratch, very soft and absolutely divine.Of course , I never cared enough to ask her how she made the maida roti so soft!!!

I came across this recipe on Sudeshna’s blog where she makes the paratha from the scratch.The recipe is quite helpful and is fool proof.The only catch in making the a soft wrap  is that you have to guiltlessely add lots of oil/shortening/butter to the dough. However instead of a simple egg roll ,I added some chicken balls and doubled the egg quantity to make it a more fulfilling one since it was Sunday’s supper!You can completely omit these balls if you wish….remember that your dish your wish funda

My recipe for Egg stir fry is inspired by the this recipe on Sailu’s food blog. The moment I saw it I fell in love with her recipe .While she uses curry leaves and cumin and gives the dish an Indian fervour , I made this stir-fry kinda indo chinese with soya sauce and vinegar!

Chicken Egg Roll:

• 6-7 eggs
• Sliced onions
• Sliced tomatoes
• Chopped Cilantro
• Ketchup
• Cilantro chutney (optional)
• Green chillies
• Salt to sprinkle

For the dough:

Makes 5-6 parathas

• 1 1/4 cup AP flour
• pinch of baking soda
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 4 tbsp oil/shortening
• luke warm water to knead

Chicken Balls :

Makes 10-12 chicken balls (depending on size)

• 1 cup chicken mince
• 1 green chilli , finely chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 1 tsp grated ginger
• 1 tbsp corn starch
• chopped cilantro (optional)
• Salt & Pepper to taste
• 2 tbsp or more oil for cooking

How I did it:

• For making the parathas:In a bowl,combine all the dough ingredients except water.Mix all the ingredients thoroughly.
• Adding water slowly, knead the ingredients together to make a pliable dough.It should be soft and springy to touch. Cover with a damp cloth and set aside for 15 minutes.
• Shape the dough into balls and roll these on a floured surface into 7″ circles.Do no make these parathas too thin or too thick.
• On a hot skillet, cook these parathas without oil flipping on both sides. Transfer to a plate and keep covered.
• For making the chicken balls: Mix well all the ingredients and shape into small rolls.

• Heat 2 tbsp  oil in a small pan to and cook these till golden brown on all sides.You can shallow fry or deep fry these too.Keep aside.
• For the egg roll:Beat the eggs with little salt.
• Heat 1 tbsp oil in a pan and add the beaten eggs over it, spreading the eggs to almost the same diameter as the paratha.
• Immediately place the paratha over the egg and allow it to cook till the eggs are done.
• Spread some oil on the top of the paratha, flip it and let it crisp up  for 1-2 minutes on the non-egg side.
• Transfer the egg paratha to a plate covered with aluminium foil with egg side up.
• Top up with sliced onions, tomatoes, chillies (if using), chicken balls , chutney , ketchup and sprinkle little salt over it.You can also squeeze a lemon if you want.
• Roll the paratha and cover half of it with an aluminum foil or tissue paper and twist the paper or foil well so that the fillings don’t fall from bottom.
• Serve warm and enjoy!

Simple Egg Stir Fry:

What I need:

• 5-6 eggs , hard boiled
• 1 large onion , sliced
• 1 tsp grated garlic
• 1 tsp grated ginger
• pinch of garam masala (optional)
• 1 tomato , chopped
• 2-3 green chillies
• 1 tsp red chilli powder [adjust to taste]
• 2 tbsp soya sauce
• 1 tsp white vinegar
• Salt to taste
• 2 tbsp olive /canola /sunflower/peanut oil

How I did it:

• Slice the hard-boiled eggs in quarters or any way you like.
• Heat the oil on medium to high heat in a pan .Once hot, add the sliced onions to the oil and saute them till translucent.
• Add the grated ginger and garlic and stir for 30 secs.
• Next, add the chopped tomatoes, red chilli powder, garam masala (if using) and stir well till tomatoes are soft and mushy.
• Add the soya sauce and eggs next followed by salt and vinegar.Combine everthing together taking care that yolks dun separate.
• Top up with green chillies and serve warm with bread, noodles, rice , roti or paratha.

Enjoy!
Egg

This is my entry to Nupur’s BB7: The Iron Chef Edition