Chicken rolls - A “Short Eat”

Yield: Makes 10-12
Spice: 🌶🌶/5

Significance of the Dish

During my early school years in Sri Lanka, “break time” away from the classroom was always my favorite part of the day. Not because it meant we didn’t have to sit listening to teachers, but rather because it meant that I could enjoy the variety of "short eats" the school canteen provided. Short eats in Sri Lanka is a term that refers to a food that can be eaten during any time of the day as a quick handheld snack.

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The variety of different short eat foods stem from the many settlers that have visited the island throughout its history. The locals took the food that they brought and adapted it for their own tastes. Recipes like patties (which resemble English pasties but with spice), cutlets (stemming from the Portuguese croquete), or Sri Lankan samosas, are just some of the many local favorites.

My personal favorite is the roll or “Chinese roll”, named not because of any Chinese influence in the dish, but because of its resemblance to spring rolls. These rolls can be found across the island and are filled with a variety of different spicy stuffings. The spiciness is tamed by using crepes (thin pancakes) as the vessel that carries the filling. This is then dipped into breadcrumbs before being deep-fried.

Today I want to share with you the version of this recipe that I ate the most growing up: the chicken roll. Although the mutton variation of this recipe is arguably the most popular version of this dish, it is not as readily available around the island compared to the chicken version (probably because of the price of mutton).

Ingredients

Filling

• 400g Chicken (dark meat preferably), cubed
• 2-3 medium Yellow potatoes, cubed and cooked
• 3 Green chilies
• ½ medium Yellow onion
• 3 cloves Garlic
• 2 tsp Ginger
• ¼ tsp Fennel seeds
• ¼ tsp Cumin seeds
• ½ tsp Turmeric
• 1 tsp Curry powder
• 1 tsp Chili powder
• 1 tsp Cinnamon powder
• ½ tsp Black pepper
• 8-10 Curry leaves
• 1 tsp Salt
• 20ml Coconut oil
• 100ml Water

Crepes

• 125g Flour
• 1 tsp Salt
• 2 large Eggs (room temp.)
• 240ml Milk (room temp.)
• 60ml Water (room temp.)
• 40g Butter
• Sunflower oil (q/s)

Breading

• 3 Eggs
• 200g Breadcrumbs

Mise en Place

• Start by finely mincing the garlic and the ginger. Finely chop the onion.
• De-seed the green chili if you want to reduce the spice level of the dish; otherwise, finely chop the green chili.
• Peel the potatoes. Cut them into 2cm sized cubes and boil them in salted water. Strain and reserve for later.
• Cut the chicken into small cubes or mince. Season with salt, turmeric, chili, cinnamon, and black pepper.
• Create a breading station by cracking and beating 3 eggs for the egg wash. Place the breadcrumbs in a shallow dish.

Method & Procedure for Filling

1. Heat a large pan on medium heat and add the coconut oil.

2. Once the oil is hot, start by sweating the onions along with the green chilies and whole spices (fennel and cumin).

3. Add the garlic, ginger, and curry leaves once the onions are done sweating but before they turn golden.

4. Add the chicken and cook; mix in the curry powder once the chicken has browned.

5. Deglaze the pan with water and reduce until everything turns into a thick gravy.

6. Then mix in the cooked potatoes and continue until everything cooks down into a paste-like structure that can be used as a filling (similar to a filling for a samosa).

Method & Procedure for Crepes

1. Sift the flour into a bowl and mix in the salt.
2. Mix the eggs together with the water and milk. Melt the butter in a microwave or pan, and mix it into the rest of the liquids (you can also choose to brown the butter like with French-style crepes).
3. Slowly pour the liquids into the flour whilst mixing with a whisk.

4. Once everything is mixed in, pass the mixture through a strainer to remove any lumps.

5. Heat a sauté pan on medium and add some sunflower oil once the pan is hot. Spread the crepe batter into a thin circle.

6. Only cook the crepe on one side; remove it from the pan when most of the batter is dry on top. I like to keep it undercooked because it helps the rolls to stick better when constructing them later.

Construction

1. Lay the crepe cooked-side down on a clean surface. Place a good 2 heaping tablespoons of the filling into the center of the crepe (undercooked side).

2. Roll the crepe with the filling like a burrito.

3. Run the rolls through the breading station (eggs then breadcrumbs).

Cooking

1. Heat some oil for frying to 170°C (350°F).
2. Fry the rolls until golden brown all over, about 5-7 minutes.

Pairing

This dish is great on its own but can be served with a variety of different dipping sauces. Most times it’s served with ketchup. I often use sweet chili sauce or a homemade mango and lime sauce. It pairs well with a dipping sauce that is sweet and tangy, which will complement the flavors of the spices inside the roll.

Variations

Change the protein as you like: mutton, beef, fish, and/or vegetables.

For an extra crunchy texture, the rolls can be made with spring roll wrappers instead of with the crepes. Swap out the crepes with a spring roll wrapper and continue by dipping them in the egg wash and then coating them in breadcrumbs the same way as the crepes.

Storage and Reheating

Best served hot, but can be kept for 3 days in the fridge and reheated in an oven at 170°C (350°F) for 8-10 minutes.

AUTHOR - ARNOLD KUIPER

Co-founder of Snout & Seek. Born and raised in Sri Lanka, Arnold's passion for food stems from both his Dutch and Sri Lankan roots. A graduate of Le Cordon Bleu Ottawa, Arnold's career in the culinary industry has brought him from the Netherlands to Canada, where he now teaches at a cooking school.

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