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Kadtela Pastel



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:


  1. Heat oil in a large pot

  2. Fry the onion until golden. Stir occasionally

  3. Add salt, black pepper and turmeric and finally the coriander and vinegar

  4. Set aside to cool

  5. 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.

  6. Peel the eggs and cut into small pieces

  7. Season the chicken breast with the same spices

  8. 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.

  9. When the chicken cools down, cut it into tiny cubes

  10. Add the mint leaves and all the filling ingredients to the pot with the onion, and mix together and adjust the seasoning to taste

  11. Put flour, oil, eggs and salt in the mixer bowl

  12. 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

  13. Heat a greased Teflon pan with a little oil for the first time only

  14. Pour half a ladleful of batter into the pan and shake it until the batter is evenly distributed on all sides.

  15. 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

  16. Cool

  17. 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

  18. In a small bowl, mix an egg with a tablespoon of oil

  19. Dip each roll in egg from all sides

  20. Heat a Teflon pan with a small amount of oil

  21. Fry each roll from all sides until golden brown



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