EGG ROLL

Street Food has its own charm, you bet. Except for few health freaks, all of us love to have them often. Besides Phuchka and Jhalmuri, Egg Roll is perhaps the most popular street food in Kolkata. Every corner of streets in Kolkata have roll centres. 

During my college days, in spite of mom packing my lunch box..... I along with friends would flock in front of Sanatanda's Roll Centre to grab one. We looked like swarm of bees searching for food. You won't believe with what expertise, fast the cook would roll the parathas, amazing. I do not visit that particular area on my Kolkata visits, may be too much of nostalgia cause aches. My school friends are countable but college friends were numerous; lost touch with maximum! 

Most of us belonged to middle class families with at least two siblings. We used to get limited pocket money. It was not affordability alone, our parents believed giving handful of money to youngsters spoils them. With limited resource, two friends would share one roll. Good enough because rolls are too filling, we had to clean off our lunch boxes. Besides, we had to save considerable amount for our regular visits to movie theatres bunking classes. 

I have no qualms in admitting I had been an average student. In college, I was mostly seen at the clean, green lawn in side the college premises taking a bite at Sanatanda's egg roll or in the neighbouring movie theatres.

Last year, few of us friends visited our college, a kind of nostalgia paralysed us.....the hall, the classrooms, the lawn, there still is Sanatanda's Roll Centre. He grew old, his cook might have changed, the rolls taste better, serve the present generation students. We were back to the 90's; with limited resource, no cell phones, travelling in overcrowded buses, we were happy, for being with and for each other.

Not allowing myself to forget my roots, I keep trying to recreate my city at home admitting  the comfort of staying in five star ambience of this island. Why do we need to be pretentious? Advantage of staying here is that we hardly feel we are in foreign. Being a cosmopolitan hub, it is pretty accommodative.

I think paratha rolls are common in many countries with little variation. I am more fond of healthier wraps. Though I like egg roll, I cannot digest it! I wished to share with you the recipe of Egg Roll typical of Kolkata, The City Of Joy. If you use frozen paratha, the recipe becomes the easiest one.

INGREDIENTS :[for the Parathas / Flatbreads]

Refined Flour : 2 coffee mugs
Oil : 3 tbsp
Salt : 3 pinches
Sugar : 1/2 tsp
Water : 1/2 small cup or as required.

[ I used store bought Frozen Parathas]

INGREDIENTS :[for the filling]

Egg : 6 [ for 4 parathas / flatbreads]
Salt : As required
Onion : 1 big [sliced]

Cucumber : 1 small [cut in strips]
Green Chillies : 2 [chopped]
Lemon Juice : 2 tsp for each roll
Tomato Ketchup : 1 tsp for each roll.
Oil : 1/2 tsp for each omelette
Salad : As You Wish

METHOD :

Let us prepare flatbreads first. Take refined flour in a wide mouthed bowl. Make hole in middle. Pour in oil, add salt, sugar. Rub well for 2 minutes. Adding little water at a time, with help of your palm knead soft, smooth dough. It will take about 15 minutes. Cover dough with soft, wet cloth for 1/2 an hour.

Remove wet cloth from the dough. Make roundels, flatten with your palms. With help of a rolling pin and base make round shape parathas with touch up of oil. Heat a tawa / flattened frying pan. Fry each parantha well with 1/2 tsp oil.

Else follow me, use frozen paratha / flat bread. Heat pan, cook each paratha well without using oil.

Now beat eggs together with little salt in a bowl. Keep aside. Slice onion, chop green chillies. Cut, deseed lemons. Take out ketchup bottle from refrigerator . Pour oil in a cup.

Let us cook omelettes. In the same pan, add 1/2 tsp oil. Once hot, with help of ladle, pour egg batter, make one at a time. Put paratha atop omelette when it's still undone, it would stick to paratha. Turn over, cook well. Transfer to a plate.

Once done fill each one with sliced onion, chopped green chillies, strips of cucumber, squeeze lemon juice over them, drizzle with tomato ketchup, roll up. It must be served hot. Cristine does the rolling, I am poor at it!