Paneer "Sausage" Rolls
Sausage rolls, but made with paneer. Instead of sausage. You get it?
Paneer rolls
Time: 1 hour | Difficulty: 4/5 | Yield: 12 rolls
I got the idea for these paneer rolls when I was really craving a sausage roll, but didn’t have any sausage. I realized, the real appeal of a sausage roll is not just the taste of the meat, but the play between the flaky puff pastry and the soft, spicy interior. So I thought, why not try it out with paneer, instead? And it worked great! Some key tips here: I describe that you want to crumble up the paneer in the pan as you cook it, to resemble sausage crumbles. But don’t overdo it! A lot of the satisfaction here comes from how the paneer gets all squeaky and squishy, and it only achieves that if the crumbles are still pretty substantial in size. And on the cooking note—the goal is to incorporate the spices, and get a fair amount of the moisture out of the paneer so it doesn’t weigh down the puff pastry. But I’ll say again—don’t overdo it! If you cook the paneer in the pan for too long, it will be overcooked and dry by the time you’ve taken them out of the oven, during their second cook. Just a couple minutes is fine—enough time to get the spices fully in the paneer. Lastly, this makes 12 rolls if you use a whole block of paneer and a whole roll of puff pastry. They make great leftovers (just microwave them or eat them cold), but if you don’t want leftovers, I recommend scaling this down by 3.
Ingredients/special tools:
1 block of paneer, chopped into small bits
Ghee
Spices: turmeric, cumin powder, coriander powder, paprika, chili flakes, salt, pepper
Cumin seeds
1 roll of frozen puff pastry, thawed
A pizza cutter (or a big knife)
Sheet pan
Baking parchment
Rolling pin
Method:
Melt some ghee in a pan. Add the paneer and the spices. Sauté the paneer in the spices, chopping it up with your spatula if any of the pieces look too big. After a few minutes, when the paneer is warmed through and all the spices have been incorporated, turn off the heat.
Pre-heat the oven to 400°.
Line the sheet pan with the baking parchment, and roll out the puff pastry with a rolling pin. Slice it into three strips.
Pile the paneer along the right side of each of the pastry strips. Then fold the other side over, and pinch the edges together. (If they don’t stick, just wet your fingers as you’re crimping the edges).
Slice the strips into 3-ish-inch sections, so you have about 12 individual rolls.
Brush the top of each roll with some ghee, then sprinkle cumin seeds on top.
Bake for about 20 minutes, until the puff pastry is puffy and golden! Enjoy with tamarind chutney, tomato chutney, and/or yogurt.