Before anything else, let me tell you something. I showed this picture to 2 people and they both said they didnt like the thread in the picture. Come to think of it, even I didnt like it much. But I felt so lazy to take photos again and may be in my defense I can say I dont quite like the idea of a satin ribbon around spring rolls. Satin ribbon looks pretty around cakes, right? Anyways, hope you are ok with it. So now shall we move on?
Update: I got mixed reaction through comments & mails about the thread that is wrapped over the spring rolls. Some of you liked it and some of you didnt. However one of my reader's Nishya, sent me an email other day. She wrote “Since you wrote in the blog that u were lazy to take another snap, I changed it using photoshop… Hope you liked it…”. Thank you so much dear, for taking time to do this for me, appreciate it a lot :). You can see the picture below.
Sometime back we gave a surprise visit to an uncle & aunty. Since we met them after a long time, they insisted that we should join them for lunch. What intended to be a surprise for them turned out to be a surprise for us when we saw the lavish spread for lunch at such a short notice. Personally I was kinda feeling bad about myself because it would take me at least 1 whole day to cook such a spread. So while I was helping her to set the table I casually asked her how she managed such a spread without any notice. Now her answer kind of surprised or should I say ‘shocked' me. She said all non veg items were cooked almost a year ago and frozen. I was dumbstruck! Yeah I know people do freeze things, even I do that, but still freezing a curry for a year!!! But later I discovered my shock was nothing compared to Jose's.
After hearing about the freezer story, I suddenly had a new found respect for vegetables and decided to be a veggie for the day and somehow I wanted to tell Jose too. But I didnt get a chance. During lunch, as usual Jose focused only on the non veg stuff and he particularly liked the prawns. So he was asking aunty to teach me how to make that prawns curry. That time she happened to mention the freezing part to Jose while serving him a huge portion of prawns. I really wish I had a camera with me to capture the “horror” look on Jose's face at that time ;).
Ok, please dont get me wrong. I'm not against freezing food stuff. But somehow freezing a curry for more than a year is a bit scary for me. I do freeze stuff like cutlets and raw meat and all, but I do it only for a month or so. Recently I happened to see a forum where somebody asked whether it is safe to use blueberries which they had frozen 4 or 5 years ago!! After I read that, the first thing I did was to run to my fridge and do a quick spring cleaning. I guess Nowadays we tend to dump so many stuff in the fridge and completely forget about it (just like stuffing the wardrobe with new clothes ;) ). Basically I'm kind of person who doesnt like the fridge to be crowded at all. Unless I have some guests coming, I usually keep it less crowded. What about you? Do you freeze a lot of stuff and for how long?
Now if you are wondering whats the connection between frozen food & the spring rolls? Yeah, there is a small connection, you can freeze it ;). Now, please dont give me that look. I'm just suggesting you know… I have seen many kids enjoying nuggets so much. I think this sure comes handy if they get bored of nuggets or if you want to replace it with some homemade stuff.. I got this recipe from Shab's place. I've bookmarked many recipes from her place and wanted to make this for a long time. I finally made it sometime back and we loved it. Thanks Shabs for such a wonderful recipe. I like the way she writes her recipes, she explains it very well and to the detail, you cant go wrong with it. I used chicken for the filling but you can use beef also. I've used the same filling for my stuffed buns too.
Here is the recipe.
I followed the recipe almost exactly with some minor variations. Below is the recipe as given in her place, I will give my variations in the notes.
Ingredients
For Pancake
- 1 cup Plain Flour (150gms)
- 1 1/4 cup water
- 1 medium size egg
- Salt to taste
For the filling
- 1 cup Meat Masala
For Meat Masala
- 900 gms Minced meat
- 3 – 4 medium Onion (thinly sliced and then chopped)
- 2 ½ – ” – 3″- Ginger (grated)
- 10 -12 Cloves of garlic (grated)
- 8-10 Crushed Green chilli
- ½ tsp Turmeric
- 1 tsp + 1/2 tsp Pepper powder
- 1/4 + 1/4 tsp garam masala
- Salt
- 3-4 tbsp Oil
- 1 tsp Lime juice
- ½ – 3/4 cup loosely packed- chopped coriander leaves
- 10 mint leaves chopped
For coating:
- 1-2 Eggwhites
- Breadcrumbs (As required)
- Vegetable oil (To deep fry the spring rolls)
Instructions
- Pancake preparation:
- To make the batter, mix all the ingredients well in a large bowl using a balloon whisk or blend them in a blender until everything is blended without lumps. Heat a small frying pan onto medium heat; pour ½ a ladle of batter to form circles of 5” diameter. Just cook the pancake on one side ONLY and take them out.(The pancake will be cooked on both sides this way).Place them in a plate rubbed with oil. Place a heaped teaspoon of the masala on the uncooked side as shown in the picture. Place it in the top part from middle, an inch away from the sides. Fold both sides to enclose the filling in and then roll it completely to seal the filling in (refer my notes). When you fill one spring roll, you can start making the next one.
- Dip the roll in lightly beaten egg whites and then roll it in breadcrumbs until fully coated. I normally use the spoon or fork for this as it is quite messy when done with hand. Heat a frying pan filled halfway with oil. Fry these rolls in the oil until golden and crisp.
- Serve whilst warm with ketchup, chilli sauce, sweet chilli sauce, chilli garlic sauce etc.
- Meat Masala preparation:
- In a sauce pan, add 2 tbsp oil and add minced chicken. Add 1 tsp pepper powder,1/4 tsp turmeric powder,¼ tsp garam masala and enough salt. Cook until the meat is tender and all water has dried up completely. (If using Minced lamb or beef. add half a cup of water and cook until the water is completely dries and meat is well cooked)
- Slice the onion and chop them into even smaller size. Grate ginger, garlic and Green chillies. In a large non-stick sauce pan or frying pan add oil and set the heat to medium-high. Add the onion, grated ginger, garlic, green chillies and salt and sauté until onion becomes just translucent i.e. they have become soft and started turning pale. Don’t brown them. If you see any moisture in the onions at this stage, just turn up the heat, and dry them out. Once the water has completely dried up,add ½ tsp of pepper powder and ¼ tsp of turmeric powder and sauté for few more seconds.
- Add cooked minced meat and lime juice to this; mix well and simmer for about 5- 10 minutes on medium flame by covering with the lid. Add chopped coriander, mint leaves (if adding) and rest of the garam masala to this and stir well and cook for further couple of minutes until the leaves are wilted. Use as a filling for any snacks.
Notes
You can also add whole garlic cloves, ginger and chillies all together and process in the processor until well crushed. It is ideal to use large pans (I use 30 cm or 32 cm saucepans) and medium- high flame is very important thing to keep in mind. Since there are quite lot of onions in the recipe, using a small saucepan and low heat can tend to make the onions soaky and release so much moisture in the masala that it will turn out like curry or sauce . Keep an eye so that the mixture doesn’t stick to the pan as well.
Another important thing to note is that since you are adding salt to meat, add salt to onions carefully. I always add salt along with onions because they get cooked easily.Apart from using minced meat, u can also make the same masala with chicken pieces cooked in the same way by adding little water and then shredding it once it is completely cooked. My Notes: I used boneless chicken cubes for the filling. I cooked it first as said in the recipe and minced it later in food processor. I also used 1 tsp of Eastern meat masala. I added it along with turmeric & pepper powder to the onion mixture. I didnt use lemon juice & mint leaves. I used the extra filling for making stuffed buns. I froze the extra spring rolls. Defrost it before frying. I froze it for a month or so. I made a thick paste with plain flour (maida) & water and used it to seal the sides of the pancake after filling them.
the pancakes are a total mess with me including the folding part :( turned out very fat and then after fryin em they were too oily :(
Sorry to hear that it didnt work out well for you :(( you’ve to make the pancakes thin. Also the heating is very important while frying. First heat the oil till it’s very hot but not smocking. Then reduce the heat to low -medium and keep frying. this should work.
maria can we dip the roll in a whole egg beaten instead of only egg whites??
Yes you can Keerti… the thing is sometimes the spring roll may splash in the oil if it’s dipped in whole egg.
hi maria,i am a new reader of ur blog.I too love cooking very much as u do,i made this spring roll by using frozen spring roll sheets which is easily available in asian grocery shops,which is less messy and time saving…try using….and have fun….
Thanks Tintu for trying this one :) I’ve seen the ready made ones, but haven’t tried it yet.. May be someday :)
Thanks Tintu for trying this one :) I’ve seen the ready made ones, but haven’t tried it yet.. May be someday :)
OMGOSH! freezing curries for over a year?! That’s really scary! All I can say is that you were brave to eat that…after knowing about it! If it was me I would have had this queasy look on my face! :D I haven’t tried this recipe but I love reading your blog!
hehe, yeah it seems some people do like that…
Nice to know that you enjoy reading this space, thanks :)
luks yummy…:)
i was goin tru ur notes…even i dont like my fridge getting dumped with frozen entries and veggies….:P
my frnds often tease me for this reason
whew !! at last found somebdy who think alike :D
gonna try this dish for sure
jus recollected my childhood days wen acha used to buy this for me :)
thnks a lot for the recipie dear …
ur dishes are fabulous…
tried the parippu payasam,stew,n few chikn dishes and all came out rly well ^______^
Hi Veena,
Yeah I’m also not a big fan of converting the freezer to a store room ;)
Nice to know that this post brought back childhood memories for you.. Hope you will like it.
Thanks a lot for trying the recipes from here :)
Cheers
Maria
Hi Fasee,
I’m doing good dear, thanks :) Thanks a bunch for your kind words..
Great to know that this recipe was a hit at your place, thanks :)
Cheers
Maria
did either of u fall sick eating the frozen food?all these frozen pre cooked things like nuggets et all tht we buy cud be more than a year old, dont u think?and personally i think freezing is safer than refrigerating…but a year???how much wud she have made to get it to last so long?or maybe she cooks once a year for guests, freezes it and then makes fresh food everyday for her family…i am due for a 2 month vacation soon…maybe i shud cook and freeze for my husband…lemme see…
Hi Rashmi,
we didnt fall sick :) I was just saying diff cooking n storing practices followed by diff people. Yeah I also thing freezing is better than refrigerating, if you want to store it for a long time.
Happy hols :)
Cheers
Maria
Hey MAria,
I am a huge fan of your recipes. All are equally good. One quick question. Can I use frozen pastry sheets for making spring rolls, instead of making pancakes?
Thanks and best regards,
Mary
Hi Mary,
Great to know that you like the recipes posted here. I havent tried using the pastry sheets. Are you referring to the puff pastry sheets? If so, I’m not sure whether it works. You can use the samosa/spring roll sheets.
Cheers
Maria
Hi,
I had made this 4 snack today and won lot of appreciations…thanku so much…love all ur recipes..god bless u dear…
Hi Smitha,
Nice to know that this recipe worked well for you. Thanks a lot for the comment!
Best wishes to you too dear..
Cheers
Maria
the recipe name suggests chicken but u r using meat……just a little confused!!!!
Hi Nuna,
Sorry for the confusion….I’ve used chicken itself for the filling. I’ve mentioned that in the notes section. You can also make this spring roll with meat filling too…
Cheers
Maria
Hi maria…
I shld tell u tht ur recipes are simply womderful. i hv tried some of these and got a compliment each time. ur recipes are simple but yet very tasty. I’ve nw b’com a reg visitor to ur blog. Am eagerly waiting to try the xmas cake. bye and take care
Hi Joycey,
Thank you so much for the lovely feedback :). it’s really great to know that you like the recipes here. Hope you’ll like the Xmas cake too…
Wish you & your family a Merry Xmas in advance!
Cheers
Maria
:) my first time here — loving your blog. The ‘freezer’ story got me giggling, but yea it is scary — it is even safe to eat meat and seafood that has been stored for so long?? a entire year is really scary!! gosh at my place my mom and grandmom are reluctant to serve food that is not made fresh to guests, guess people think differently — not that they dont freeze stuff — but never for so long. love all your pictures
Vidya :)
Hi Vidya,
Thanks dear :)
Yep, its kinda scary but it seems people do that…..Yeah me too freeze stuff but for 1 month or so.
Please try some of the recipes when time permits…
Thanks for leaving a comment :)
Cheers
Maria
Dear Maria,… I stumbled on Ur site and the recipes ‘sounded ‘ very good—- I made the Pineapple-upside – down cake and– —it was FANTASTIC!!!— Thanks a ton Maria, for sharing UR recipes … Warm regards— Berna.
Hi Bernadette,
Thanks for dropping in. Glad that you liked the recipes here. Hope to see you here more often :)
Cheers
maria
Mariaaaa….njan ithu undakki….kidu ayittu vannuuu…superb….all ur recipes i can try out without a doubt whether it will be successful..i ll send u the pics to ur mail id..thank uuu sooo muchhh…
Hi Jincy,
Thank you so much dear :) Got your pictures and replied also. they look nice.
Cheers
Maria
yeah…..About freezeing….I officially, dont freeze curries…just freeze them when i go on holidays to auh and cook alot for my hubby .I freeze them in individual freezer bags. STill it wont last more than a month….i freeze breads that i wont be using, so that i can make bread crumbs, grated cheese,curry leaves sometimes, raw mango, chopped veggies etc….but never last so long as 1 year!!!I dono if i will be able to eat it even..:)…loved the last pic more……with the same masala, try the bread rolls in my blog….u will be surprised.
Oh my god freezing a curry for a year!!!Seems very crazy.
Spring roll looks delicious Maria.
Deepthy
Freezing dishes for more than a year..that’s a shocker.I store stuff for max one week and I always do a fridge-clean up once in a while,a li’l paranoid about that,hehe.
Spring rolls look delicious,esp the last pic!!
Freezing curries, yup, our relatives do that too, but personally I cant think of doing anything like that..nope..never.
Spring rolls look awesome (with and without the thread) !!!
Love the spring roll..will try it someday…
Maria..
We too are against freezing stuff.. as one of us is a Food Scientist and she is totally obsessed about everything regarding FOOD :-)
Chicken spring roll looks super cute and loved the last pic..
Love
Kairali sisters
I almost fell off the chair reading that freezer story…LOL! I like my fridge being clutter-free and prefer to cook for the day without any leftovers. Thread or no thread, I loved how beautifully the picture has captured the crispiness. Thanks for posting :)
hey der, nice pics ,jus a small doubt as i was going through the comments, y did u actually have to use a thread i think tooth picks could be used as well….
i cant stop giggling on thhe freezer issue…..i will have to come back later to comment here….feeding son now…lol…m glad u liked the recipe maria.
Oh my….freezing a curry for a year…..I am still in shock….
BTW the spring roll looks awesome….
hi maria, how can I send you pictures?
Hi Nishya,
You can email the pictures to maria.jpmartin@gmail.com
Cheers
Maria
Hello dear.. thank u so much for uploading the picture on the site… Your pictures are super…
I am expert in this sort of ‘tharikidas’ than taking a nice snap :)
Spring roll looks wonderful. I liked the thread in the photo..Nicely prepared. I actually make in another way.I make use of the naan dough for the covering.. Yours look very good.I liked your pictures.
I cannot imagine freezing curries for more than a week. I make very less quantity so that it gets finished in two days.. My hubby had food allergy last year and after that I have never kept food more than two days. Seafood sometimes I keep for a month, but raw chicken we consume in one week. Thanks Maria for the wonderful tips and recipe. do visit my blog if time permits..
Hi Suhaina,
Thank you. I have seen some recipes using pastry sheet but naan dough is new to me :)
Sorry to hear about your husband’s food allergy. Even my husband had a food poisoning sometime back, so I’m also very careful about storing food stuff, especially during summer time.
I did visit your blog sometime back and left a comment also for your mixture post. The mixture looks so perfect. You have a lovely place. All the best!!
Cheers
Maria
This is really an interesting method to make spring rolls. I have never come across the pancake method. It looks so inviting and yeah the satin ribbon wouldn’t suit this lovely and yummy golden rolls. Using thread was a new idea
My husband’s uncle in NZ used to freeze curries for more than a year. When my MIL visited him last December he gave her the payasam made for onam. And she said a big “noooooooo”. This December it’s our turn…I’m really concerned!
I am so used to this freezing business! :) No shock whatsoever! :)
I think this happens in houses where they expect a lot of guests.
Nice rolls, Maria. I think the last pic is the best ;-)
The look delicious Maria. But wait – you didn’t mention if the aunty’s frozen meals tasted GOOD!