Erivum Puliyum: Bakery Style Meat Rolls (Step by Step Pics)

My eyes always hook up on the bakery trays filled with different variety of snacks in Kerala bakeries and meat rolls being our family favourite, can't resist buying anytime..Do you love the bakery style meat rolls ? These are really tempting and delicious to have with a cup of black tea or coffee. I have had the same kind meat rolls as posted here with a crisp bread crumb and soft bread like inside and a spicy meat filling. This filling can be used to make chicken rolls as well or vegetable rolls or any filling of your choice with the same bread dough but I personally love the meat rolls the best :P

Though I love the bakery meat rolls but must say that the store bought one hardly has any meat in them. The real difference can be felt when we try making these at home. The filling and the cover making can be a little tedious if you make it together the same day. The best way to prepare for a party starter is to prepare the filling well in advance and refrigerate, thaw before making rolls and use. There is another alternate method where you can prepare dosa with the all purpose flour(maida) to ease work instead of making the bread dough and then the filling is kept in the center of the prepared dosa and rolled up like spring rolls, dipped in egg mixture, rolled in bread crumbs and fried. But in this case, you will not get the actual taste of a bakery style meat roll. Its more like a meat filled spring roll. However, this method can be used for a simpler version of the same meat rolls. I have rolled these in rusk crumbs which gave a more neater finish and a mild sweetness that added to the taste of meat rolls. Do give this a try and lemm know too, am sure you will love the filling snack with tea !!

If you are interested, try these bakery style snacks-

Preparation time ~ 1 hour 30 minutes

Cooking times ~ 15 minutes

Serves ~ 8-9 meat rolls

Author ~ Julie

Ingredients

for masala

beef 250 gms or minced beef 250 gms

turmeric powder 1/2 tsp

pepper powder 1/2 tsp

salt to taste

onion (savala) 2 medium-sized chopped

curry leaves, 2 sprigs cut

ginger- garlic paste 1 tbsp

kashmiri chilly powder 1 tsp

chilly powder 1/2 tsp

turmeric powder 1/4 tsp

garam masala 1 tsp

fennel powder / perinjeerakam podi 1/2 tsp

salt to taste

oil 2 tbsp

for cover

maida (all-purpose flour) 2 cups

instant yeast 3/4 tsp

salt 1/2 tsp

sugar 1.5 tsp

unsalted butter, softened 1 tbsp

leuk warm water 3/4 cup

for frying

oil

eggs 2

bread crumbs / rusk crumbs 1 cup

Method

If using minced beef, you can omit the below step and proceed further. I used regular curry cut beef and so added the washed beef in a pressure cooker with 1/2 cup water, turmeric powder, pepper powder and salt. Cook for 4 whistles or till cooked. Open the cooker once the pressure releases, remove the cooked pieces and add to a blender jar. Pulse this once cooled 2-3 times until it looks shredded. Keep aside and reserve the stock as well.

Rub the all-purpose flour(maida) and softened butter until well incorporated like puttu podi. Then prepare a dough using salt, sugar, yeast, and leuk warm water. The dough should be a little loose, not sticky. Knead for 5 minutes and then place in an oil smeared bowl. Brush a little oil on top of the dough and leave to rise for 1-2 hours.

Heat oil in a pan and add the chopped onions with curry leaves. When the onions turn translucent and is light brown, then add the ginger- garlic paste and sauté till raw smell disappears. To this, add the spice powders on low flame and sauté till the raw smell vanishes. Then add the minced beef along with the reserved stock. Check salt and add if needed. Finally, dry up the moisture left in the masala and cook till done. Switch off flame and leave to cool.

After one hour, the dough doubles in size (mine was done in one hour) and then punch down the air in the dough, make equal sized 8 balls. Also divide the filling in 9 equal portions and keep aside.
Apply a little oil on the chapathi board. Then, take a ball and place on the oiled board, flatten using palms to spread in a 3' circle. Place the filling and try closing the dough by bringing the dough over the filling, stick both edges and then pinch out excess dough from the ends or can fold over the closed edge too, but pinching gives a nice shape to the roll. Then press and seal all open edges, roll in your palm to shape. Spread a little flour in a plate and place the rolls one by one, spacing apart so that they don't stick to each other and to the plate (ALTERNATE METHOD LISTED IN NOTES).
Similarly, repeat making all the made balls to rolls, you should have the excess pinched off edges of dough of all 8 rolls in the bowl, now make one single ball and add the last filling to this and seal edges like before (If you are not planning to pinch off the excess dough and seal over with it then divide the filling in 8 portions only).

Now, beat the egg in a bowl and spread the bread crumbs in a plate. To the egg mixture, dip each roll completely and then roll in bread crumbs/ rusk crumbs(I have used rusk crumbs as didnt have bread ready at hand). Line a tray with bread crumbs lightly and then place them one by one in the tray so that they don't stick and leave space in between each roll to expand (The total time to be left after making rolls should be 15-20 minutes to expand).

Then heat oil in a shallow pan or wok. Slide the rolls in oil and wait for 30 seconds to flip the other side. Keep the flame on low- medium as the bread cover takes longer to cook and if cooked on high heat the cover may not cook properly. Evenly cook all sides, don't leave the rolls unattended to cook that side longer as the dough layer expands and may break open, filling may ooze out (I used a shallow heavy bottomed pan and so kept flipping all sides and corners so that it's evenly browned. Tilted the pan slightly for the tail ends to get browned). Finally, drain from oil using a slotted spoon and place on paper towel.

Repeat making all rolls till it's done, don't leave the rolls on tissue paper or paper towel for long as it becomes soggy and soft. Place on plates once the oil is absorbed, else you loose to enjoy the crunchy bread cover.

NOTES

* You can use minced meat too to prepare the masala.

* You can even use minced chicken or cooked mashed veegies to make chicken rolls / veg rolls.

* You can add chopped green chillies to the masala, but my kids don't like biting in the masala, so just avoided.

* Use 4-5 cloves of garlic and 1.5' size ginger to make 1tbsp paste. Adding fennel powder adds a unique flavour, you can omit if you don't like the flavour. Adding coriander leaves to masala is optional.

* The dough rising depends on the climate and the place you keep rising. Keep in a warm place to rise faster, the warmer, the better. You may need to wait till 2 hours in winter.

* Some bakeries add mayonnaise to the spread chapathi and then place the filling, which gives a tangy flavor and white streaks in the masala once fried. Our place bakery do this, you can do that variation too.

* The alternate method of making these rolls is to shape each of the prepared balls without filling in it, dip in egg mixture and bread crumbs and then fry these rolls. Finally, once it's fried, cut a slit through the rolls and using a spoon, add spoonful of made masala in these and enjoy. These rolls are also served in few bakeries, they look tempting with the filling popping out. But I personally love the closed ones and made those. Advantages of doing this method is that the closing of the rolls after placing filling is a bit tricky and that can be avoided.

* The dough should be a little loose, not sticky to rise better.

* I have rolled in rusk crumbs which gave the rolls a neat finish and also a mild sweetness than bread crumbs which added to the taste of meat rolls.

BEEF RECIPES