Nigerian Egg Roll
Aperçu
The Nigerian egg roll is a whole hard cooked egg wrapped in a slightly sweet dough and deep fried, and it has nothing to do with the Chinese egg roll beyond the name. The closest comparison is a Scotch egg, with dough in place of sausage meat, and the resemblance ends at the structure. It is street food and travel food. Egg rolls are sold from glass cases at bus stops, from hawkers' trays in traffic, and from the small kiosks that cluster around Lagos offices, and they exist because they solve a specific problem: something substantial, cheap and self contained that can be eaten with one hand in a stationary car. Anyone who has spent time in Lagos traffic understands the appeal without further explanation. The dough is what makes it Nigerian rather than generic. Flour, baking powder, sugar, margarine and nutmeg produce something between a bread and a cake, faintly sweet against the plain salted egg inside, and that sweet and savoury combination is a Nigerian snack signature that also runs through buns, puff puff and chin chin. It is eaten with tea, fruit juice or chilled zobo, and it is substantial enough that people eat it as breakfast or lunch rather than as a snack.
Ingrédients
Les mentions alimentaires sont fournies par les contributeurs à titre indicatif. Elles ne sont pas vérifiées par AFN et dépendent des produits que vous achetez. En cas d’allergie grave, vérifiez vous-même chaque ingrédient. Cuisine, allergies et votre propre jugement
Préparation
- 1
In a mixing bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, sugar, nutmeg and salt, and mix well.
- 2
Add the beaten egg and margarine to the dry mixture. Mix until the margarine is well incorporated and the mixture resembles coarse crumbs.
- 3
Gradually add water while kneading, to form a slightly wet, soft dough. Knead on a floured surface for 5 to 7 minutes until smooth and elastic.
- 4
Return the dough to the bowl, cover with a damp cloth and leave to rest for 15 to 20 minutes.
- 5
Peel the boiled eggs and set them aside.
- 6
Divide the rested dough into equal portions, each slightly larger than a boiled egg.
- 7
Flatten a portion on your palm, place a boiled egg in the centre and wrap the dough around it, sealing it completely. Repeat for all the eggs.
- 8
Heat the oil in a deep pot over medium heat, deep enough to submerge the egg rolls completely.
- 9
Lower the egg rolls in seam side down, frying in batches. Turn occasionally for even browning, until golden brown and crisp.
- 10
Lift out with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towels. Cool for a few minutes.
- 11
Serve with tea, fruit juice or zobo.
Notes de l’Africook
Notes personnelles de Deborah Olayiwola- Let the dough rest the full 15 to 20 minutes. It comes out wet and difficult straight after kneading, and resting is what makes it workable rather than adding more flour.
- Seal completely with no gaps, and fry seam side down first. Any opening lets oil in and the egg roll splits apart in the pot.
- Wrap each egg as you go rather than assembling them all first. Dough left sitting around a boiled egg goes sticky and tears.
- Use enough oil to submerge them fully and keep the heat at medium. Shallow oil browns one side while the other stays raw.
- They are best the day they are made. Reheat in a hot oven rather than a microwave, which turns the crust soft.
Questions fréquentes
Is a Nigerian egg roll the same as a Chinese egg roll?
No, and they have nothing in common but the name. A Chinese egg roll is a savoury filling in a thin wrapper, fried. A Nigerian egg roll is a whole boiled egg enclosed in a slightly sweet dough and deep fried. The nearest equivalent anywhere else is a Scotch egg, with dough standing in for the sausage meat.
Why did my egg rolls split open while frying?
The seal failed. Wrap the dough completely around the egg with no thin patches or gaps, press the seam firmly closed, and lower each one into the oil seam side down so it sets first. Overcrowding the pot also causes splitting, since the egg rolls knock into each other before the crust has set.
Can I bake Nigerian egg rolls instead of frying?
You can bake them and they will be edible, but the result is a bread roll with an egg in it rather than an egg roll. The crisp, slightly dense fried crust is the defining texture. If you want to reduce the oil, an air fryer gets closer than an oven, though neither reproduces deep frying.
Can I use yeast instead of baking powder?
Some cooks do, and it gives a lighter, more bread like result that needs proving time. The version here uses baking powder and nutmeg, which produces the denser, faintly cakey texture most people associate with the Nigerian egg roll. Both are made; the baking powder version is the more common.
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We dont have these in Zim, we are more about sadza and meat pies, but my colleague suggested I try making them. Found all ingredients easily in Bury Park in Luton. I was worried the dough around the boiled egg wouldnt cook through in the oil, but keeping the flame low helped. A bit too sweet for my taste with 2 1/2 tablespoons sugar so ill cut that back next time.
In Silver Spring it is hard to find the right margarine so I just got regular butter from the international market on Georgia Ave. Adding that 1/2 tsp of nutmeg gives the dough this exact smell from my youth, franchement! I rested my dough for 20 minutes like you said and it wrapped around the peeled boiled eggs without tearing at all.
abi this nutmeg is the real secret o. I picked up everything from the African shop near Erdington here in Birmingham. My dough was a bit too wet when adding the full cup of water so I dusted my hands with flour while kneading for the 7 minutes. Deep fried golden brown and e sweet sha, husband loved it.
Made these as a pre-braai snack since good vetkoek is impossible to find in LA. The 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg in the flour mixture is absolute magic. I measured out the 2 tbsp margarine precisely, but my dough needed slightly less than the 1 cup of water to get elastic after kneading. Absolutely lekker.