Kolkata Egg Roll is one of the most loved Kolkata street foods. Delicious flaky flat bread, covered with egg on one side and filled with a simple salad of onion and cucumber. Little amount of chaat masala is added for flavor and sometimes, a pinch of Indian black salt also goes in. A tiny dollop of ketchup and its wrapped casually. The vendors will always make it fresh and serve piping hot to hungry customers passing by. Kolkata Egg Roll makes for a great meal option too and often, it’s my go to when I am out of dinner ideas.
My first memory of Kolkata egg roll was not in Kolkata but in Shillong, a hill station where I grew up. We didn’t have this roll as a street food all-year round but it would always be available during Durga Puja. Every Durga Puja pandal has multiple food stalls and at least one of them would definitely serve egg roll. All the four days of Durga Puja meant too much indulging in those food stalls and I would have at least one egg roll everyday.
What kind of Paratha you need in Kolkata Egg Roll?
It’s a layered paratha prepared with all-purpose flour. You can surely use whole-wheat flour. The taste will obviously change a bit based on that.
Fry the paratha in a cast iron pan as it helps in creating a lovely golden crust on the paratha.
What filling goes in Kolkata Egg Roll?
Kolkata Egg Roll can have different kind of fillings. The most popular one is a simple salad of thinly sliced red onion and cucumber with some green chili for heat and cilantro for refreshing flavor. A hint of chaat masala and lemon juice to bring it all together! Apart from this filing, you can also find chicken or mutton filled egg roll.
Key points to remember while preparing layered paratha?
Prepare the dough with all-purpose flour, water salt and sugar. The dough needs to be soft and pliable.
It’s extremely important to let the dough cover and rest for 30 minutes before you shape the layered paratha. Resting the dough at every step allows it to relax and makes it easy to roll.
How many eggs you need?
1 egg per egg roll is needed.
Can you freeze the paratha?
Absolutely yes! All you need to do is shape the paratha, roll it and fry it mildly (without any oil) on both the sides. Let it cool completely before you place it in a zip pouch or any tight container. You can freeze it up to 3 months.
When you are ready to prepare the egg roll, just thaw the frozen paratha. Prepare the filling and fry it with egg in a hot skillet with oil.
Although the traditional method is to prepare the wrap with layered paratha, you could definitely serve it with a plain paratha too.
I have tried various different types of wraps and rolls but in my mind, this easy Kolkata Egg Roll will always hold a very special place. It always takes me back to good old childhood days of Durga Puja Season!
Link to other Indian Street Food you might want to try:
Aloo Tikki Chaat
Samosa with peas and potatoes
Vada Pav
Kolkata Egg Roll
Ingredients
For the Dough
- 2 and ½ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 tablespoons oil
- 1 cup warm water (you might need more or less, so add little by little as you form a soft dough)
For the Filling
- 1 red onion
- 2 small/ 1 big cucumber
- 2 to 3 green chili
- Handful of chopped fresh cilantro leaves
- 6 eggs (1 egg for each roll)
- 1 tablespoon chaat masala (you will need a couple pinches for each egg roll)
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
Instructions
- In a mixing bowl, add the flour, salt and sugar. Give it a mix and add the oil. Mix the oil nicely with the flour so that it forms a crumbly texture. Pour the warm water, little by little, to form soft pliable dough. Shape the dough into a ball, rub little oil and cover it with a cloth. Let it rest for 30 minutes.
- In the mean time, prepare the filling. Thinly slice the onion and cucumber. I used tiny cucumbers and so, I retained the skin and there were barely any seeds. If you use those big varieties, do discard the skin and remove the seeds.
- Place the cucumber and onion in a bowl and add lemon juice. Give it a mix and keep it aside to be used later. Finely chop the green chili and keep it in a bowl. Also, keep the finely chopped cilantro in a different bowl.
- To prepare the layered paratha, divide the well-rested dough into 6 portions and shape each portion into small dough ball. As you work with one dough ball, make sure you cover the rest with the cloth. Roll the dough ball into a very thin sheet, almost transparent. Don’t worry about the shape.
- Starting from one edge, make small pleats by folding the rolled dough. Then, swirl the pleat to form a circle like a swiss roll (watch the video to understand it better). Make sure to tug in the end neatly.
- Shape rest of the dough balls the same way. Cover and let it rest for 5 to 10 minutes before you roll it for the paratha.
- Place a cast iron plan or any heavy bottom skillet at medium heat. While the skillet heats up, roll the shaped dough into a thin circle evenly. Remember to roll gently from the center to outward.
- Drizzle a little oil in the medium hot skillet and place the rolled paratha. Gently press and keep rotating the paratha on the skillet. Cook for 1 minute, drizzle a little oil on top and flip. Cook for one minute while gently pressing. Make sure to press the edges as that part takes more time to cook. Flip and cook for 1 minute. Continue flipping and cooking until you see golden brown spots all over. Take it off the skillet
- Whisk one egg in a bowl with a tiny pinch of salt. Drizzle little oil on the skillet, pour the egg and immediately place the cooked paratha on top of the egg. Gently move it around so that the bottom gets covered in the egg. Cook for a few seconds and carefully flip it around.
- Prepare rest of the egg rolls the same way.
- Layer the onion cucumber salad in the center on the paratha, add a little green chili (if using), little cilantro, sprinkle some chaat masala and add ketchup.
- Roll the paratha tightly.
- Wrap it with a parchment paper. Make sure to seal the bottom (watch the video to understand it better).
- Serve immediately.
Video
Notes
- You can always substitute layered paratha to a plain paratha . It's also amazing with Malaysian flat bread. And for a quick not traditional version, just go with store bought whole wheat tortillas.
- For the filling, you can be as creative as you want. You could make it heavy or light, vegetarian or non-vegetarian.
Nutrition
Aparna Somani
Finally made it. !!!!!! And by god I’m in love
aparna somani
i make a version of it but with plain paratha. Ur paratha sounds like the missing link!! gonna try real soon!
Ajoke
These looks divine. I love the fact that you can make it your own. I will definitely be making some soon.
Ajoke
I made this recipe but with tortilla wrap. It so delicious and my whole family loved it. Thank you again for the recipe
mjskitchen
I love your egg roll and it has inspired me to see so many possibilities for this wrap. Love it!
Arpita
Gorgeous pictures! Roll is one of my comfort food.. they look absolutely scrumptious.
Matt - Total Feasts
Wow, oh wow, oh wow. These look amazing! I just want to grab one (ok, two) and devour!
Ron
Hi Kankana, I just discovered your blog via David's Spiced blog and I'm so glad I did. During my working years, I visited Kolkata numerous times. I always stayed at the Taj which was about two hours away from the office in rush hour traffic but only about 15 minutes walk. So, I always walked and stopped at a street vendor not far from the hotel to get breakfast. I have had this wonderful dish more than once and I'm so glad to learn that I can replicate it in my Swedish kitchen. Great site, I'll be back...
Kankana Saxena
Hi Ron, Thank you so much for dropping by and sharing your story. Traffic in that road is always so bad that walking turns out to be much easier. Am so glad you tried the street food in Kolkata, it's the best. I truly hope you will try making this in your kitchen and I am curious to see how you liked it 🙂 My cookbook Taste of Eastern India is all about food from Kolkata. Hope you will grab a copy, I am sure you will find few such dishes that you might have tried during your stay in Kolkata.
David @ Spiced
I'm not familiar with this egg roll, but the flavors sound delicious! I love street food in all forms, so I could totally get behind this one. Plus, I eat an egg every day for lunch...now I just need to switch up how I eat it!
angiesrecipes
They look so inviting! And I love the simplicity of this recipe too.
Nomita | Ebabee
I am so happy to have discovered your beautiful blog. Your recipes look great - I especially loved the easy (no yeast) naan recipe. I look forward to trying that very soon. I too am Indian (from Mumbai) but now settled in London. I love cooking and eating - all kinds of food. For me, happiness is an abundant table surrounded by friends and family. I am so looking forward to exploring more and trying out some of your recipes.
Cygnet Kitchen
I am always up for street food! January needs a lift and your egg roll definitely does the trick! Gorgeous shots as always too! x
Laura (Tutti Dolci)
A little street food sounds just perfect to me! 🙂
Pang {circahappy}
I sure am going to break all the rules with this recipe + drool-worthy photos. 🙂
Though I don't think I obey the 'January detox rule" to begin with anyway.
Lone this post, Kankana
angiesrecipes
Scrumptious! Beautiful photography, as always!
Kimberly/TheLittlePl
These look delicious! And I don't think they are that 'naughty' actually so perfect for January ;). Thanks for sharing a piece of Kolkata food culture with us.