During the year , according to the tradition, the Jewish of Cochin are making pastel for Shabbat. Kadtala pastel is usually made for the holidays. The filling is the same, but the casing is made of a soft and delicate dough, like a crepe . I don't know why they ate it during the holidays, but I know that both my grandfather and my father-in-law really liked it. Maybe they liked it because they really liked the holidays when the whole family would get together, and it made them very happy. The secret for a successful kadtela pastel is to make the crepe in a very thin layer. Whenever I prepare it, my children always stop by to check if during the preparation some of the the crepes teared in the pan, the so-called damaged goods... which means that I won't be able to use it for the filling, so they eat it just like that without the filling, hot and fresh straight from the pan and they enjoy it.
Filling ingredients:
4-5 finely chopped onions
6 tablespoons of sunflower oil
3-4 boiled eggs
2 whole chicken breasts
3-4 medium potatoes boiled in water until soften
Half a package of chopped fresh cilantro
A handful of fresh mint leaves
2 tablespoons of vinegar
Salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon of turmeric
1 teaspoon ginger
+ A little of the above spices to season the chicken
1 hot green pepper (optional)
Ingredients for the dough:
2 cups of flour
1/2 cup of oil
3 eggs
Salt
4 cups of water
to serve:
1 egg
1 tablespoon of oil
Preparation:
Heat oil in a large pot
Fry the onion until golden. Stir occasionally
Add salt, black pepper and turmeric and finally the coriander and vinegar
Set aside to cool
Peel the potatoes and cut into tiny cubes. The potatoes should be cooked but not too soft. The texture should be of cut cubes and not like mashed potatoes.
Peel the eggs and cut into small pieces
Season the chicken breast with the same spices
Fry with small amount of oil in a pan from all sides until the chicken is ready. I use a lot of pre-cut thin schnitzels.
When the chicken cools down, cut it into tiny cubes
Add the mint leaves and all the filling ingredients to the pot with the onion, and mix together and adjust the seasoning to taste
Put flour, oil, eggs and salt in the mixer bowl
Gradually add the water while stirring and mix all the ingredients into a smooth and liquid paste. The batter should have the texture of crepes
Heat a greased Teflon pan with a little oil for the first time only
Pour half a ladleful of batter into the pan and shake it until the batter is evenly distributed on all sides.
Fry on one side, and when the dough is baked and bubbles start to form, turn for a few more seconds to the other side
Cool
Put a spoonful of the filling at the edge of the crepe, fold and wrap the filling, then fold the edges from the sides and roll into a cylinder shape
In a small bowl, mix an egg with a tablespoon of oil
Dip each roll in egg from all sides
Heat a Teflon pan with a small amount of oil
Fry each roll from all sides until golden brown