Creating Ugandan Chapati Rolls at Home: A Step-by-Step Guide

One of the most popular street foods in Uganda is the chapati roll, also known as the rolex. This dish consists of layers of chapati wrapped around a filling of eggs, vegetables, and sometimes meat. In this article, we will guide you on how to make Ugandan chapati rolls at home.

**Slicing the Circle**

The first step in making chapati is to slice a circle from a dough ball. The dough should be soft and pliable, but not too sticky. To achieve this, the dough needs to be kneaded and rested for a few hours before being sliced. Once you have your dough ball, use a rolling pin to flatten it slightly. Then, use a circular object such as a plate or a bowl to cut out a circle from the dough.

**Oiling and Rolling**

Once you have sliced the circle, oil it lightly with a brush or a pastry blender. This will help prevent the chapati from sticking together when rolled. Now, roll the chapati into a cone shape by applying gentle pressure with your fingers. Make sure to keep the edges aligned as you roll. Next, hold the cone vertically and twist it gently to create layers on the dough.

Another way to create the layers is to use an accordion technique. Simply stretch and coil the dough like you would when making a paper snowflake. This will help create the desired layers in your chapati.

**Spiral Method**

For a more uniform layering, try using the spiral method. First, flatten the dough into a thin sheet. Then, roll it out to the desired thickness for the chapati. Next, use a rolling pin to shape the dough into a cone shape. Finally, apply oil and roll the chapati into layers.

**Frying the Chapati**

Once you have rolled your chapati, heat a non-stick skillet or cast iron griddle over medium heat. Add a small amount of oil to the pan and swirl it around. Place the chapati in the pan and cook for about 2-3 minutes on each side, until golden brown.

**Egg Filling**

While the chapati is cooking, prepare the egg filling. Crack two eggs into a bowl and beat them lightly with a fork. Add some chopped cabbage (about 2 tablespoons), salt, and pepper to taste. Stir in a teaspoon of tomato paste for added flavor. This mixture will serve as the filling for your rolex.

**Assembling the Rolex**

Once both the chapati and egg filling are ready, it's time to assemble the rolex. Place a cooked chapati on a clean surface and spread a layer of egg filling down the center. Then, add another chapati slice on top of the filling, followed by another layer of egg mixture.

Tips from Ugandan Street Food Vendors

One thing that sets Ugandan street food vendors apart is their technique when cooking the rolex. Instead of using a cutting board to cut the tomato, they simply cross-hatch the top of the tomato and then cut it into small pieces. This creates a flavorful and textured filling.

When making the omelet mixture, be sure to beat everything well to ensure that all the ingredients are evenly distributed. Also, when cooking the rolex, make sure to flip it frequently to prevent burning.

Creating the Perfect Rolex

After assembling the rolex, cook it in a skillet or griddle over medium heat until golden brown. Flip it frequently and adjust the seasoning as needed. When you're done, slice the rolex into individual pieces and serve immediately.

Tips for Serving

In Uganda, street food vendors typically place the rolex in a plastic bag to carry on-the-go. However, serving this dish at home can be just as delicious. Simply place the sliced rolex on a platter or plate and enjoy with your favorite condiments.

The Chapati Experience

When you bite into a chapati roll, the layers of dough and filling release flavors that are both savory and satisfying. The slight acidity from the tomato adds depth to the dish, while the onion provides a pungent kick. With its chewy texture and easy-to-carry design, the chapati is an ideal snack for busy Ugandans on-the-go.

Conclusion

Creating Ugandan chapati rolls at home is easier than you think. By following these steps and using the right techniques, you can enjoy this delicious street food in the comfort of your own home. So go ahead, get creative with your rolex filling, and experiment with different toppings to make it your own.

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: en(upbeat music)- Greetings, my beautiful lovelies.It's Emmy.How are you?It's great to see you and welcome back.Today's video is sponsored by Helix Sleep,a premium in-a-box mattresscompany that brings mattressesthat fit your preferences and needs.Take the Helix Sleep quiz andenter your sleep position,your mattress size, yourmattress firmness preferences,and Helix Sleep willmatch you with a mattressto fit your needs.So I myself am a side sleeper.I share my bed with my husband.We prefer a full-size bed.We like to be nice andshnugly next to each otherand Helix Sleep matched uswith the Helix Dusk Luxe.We've had the mattressnow for several monthsand we've had great sleep.My back feels supported,while the top remains softand squishy and comfortable.So it's a perfect balanceof support and comfort.Prior to our Helix Sleep mattress,We had inherited a mattressthat was very sad indeed.Had it for many, many years.So to have a Helix Sleepmattress is a real treat.And did you know on averagewe spend about 40% of our day in bed?40%.We don't even think aboutthat because we're sleeping,but that is a significant part of our day.So it is so important forthat to be comfortable sleep.So I really like thatHelix Sleep customizesthe mattresses to your needs.So free shipping is includedand your mattress will comein a box, which makes itreally great for moving around.I was able to get it up the stairsand installed the mattress myself.Like for us, we have avery narrow stairwell,so it was great to be ableto move two twin mattressesright up the staircase with relative ease.Helix Sleep mattresses also come witha hundred-night sleep trialand a 10-year warranty.So if you'd like to tryHelix Sleep for yourself,click the link down below tosee how you can get up to $200off your Helix Sleep mattressalong with two free pillows.Big thanks to Helix Sleepfor sponsoring this videoand for their continued support.So, today we're going tobe making a Ugandan rolex.Rolex.Isn't that a great name?Of course, the first thing you think ofis the very expensive watch,but we're not gonna becooking any watches today.We're going to be makinga very popular street foodin Uganda that consists of a chapati,which is a unleavened bread, flatbread,that contains an egg omeletinside and then it is rolled up.Hence, rolex.It sounds and looks absolutely delicious.I watched several videos.I'll put links down belowfor all of those referencesand I can't wait to taste it.But the first thing we mustdo is make the chapati.Now, chapati is flatbreadthat originally camefrom India, but the versionI'm going to be making todayis definitely East African.It contains oil tocreate the flakey layersin between the layers of dough.So I watched several videoson how to make East African chapatiand the recipe I'm gonnabe using today is adaptedfrom Chef Lola's Kitchen.And I'll put a link downbelow to their original video.So in a large bowl,we are going to add threecups of all-purpose flour.To that, we're gonnaadd one teaspoon of saltand one teaspoon of sugar.Next, three tablespoons of vegetable oil.I am using grape seed oil.Incorporate that together.And then I have one anda quarter cups of water.And I'm gonna slowly add thisuntil it forms a nice soft dough.This is an unleavened dough,meaning there's no bakingpowder, no baking soda, no yeast:nothing to create any airbubbles to puff up the bread.(boat horn blares)Oops.This is one of my favorite toolswhen it comes to making bread.It is a little plastic benchscraper, or dough scraper.It's really great forgetting sticky doughsoff your hands and off your utensils.I also have a metal one of these,and this is one of the few instanceswhere I actually prefer plastic.It's flexible.So it allows me to followthe curve of my bowland really scrape everylittle bit of flour or dough.And now I'm just gonnaget in there with my handsand form this into a dough.You can certainly makethis dough in a stand mixerbut I'm gonna opt fordoing it all by hand today.Onto my clean countertop.Now we're going to kneadthis for 10 or 15 minutes,which is quite a long time,but it's really important,because we want this doughto be nice and smooth and elastic.Right now it is very shaggy, see that?The kneading processallows the gluten strands,which are the protein strandsto interlink and join together.It creates for a verystretchy pliable dough.In leavened bread, thatallows us to get a nice rise.This bread, of course isn't leavened,but it'll make for shapingthe dough much easier as well.So, already just aftera couple of minutes,it's already getting smoother.After our dough is smooth and supple,we're gonna oil the top of itand the bottom of our bowl.Place it into the bowland let the dough restfor about 20 to 30 minutes.This resting time is really important.It allows the dough to relaxso that when we roll it out,it'll actually stay rolled out,rather than kind of shrinking back in.So I will see you when our dough is ready.And now we are going toshape it the chapati.I'm gonna divide thisinto six equal pieces.Gonna tuck these under.Like that.Keep the balls of doughcovered while you're working.And we're going to roll the dough out.Now, Lola says that youcan have plain chapati,which do not have the layers,but layers are preferred.So I'm gonna go with the layered.I recently made jachnun,which is Yemeni-Israeli bread,that also requires a lot of rollingand laminating with oil as well.So once the dough's rolledout, we're gonna applya little bit of oil.Use a brush to distribute that,and we're gonna roll this up.Tightly.Now there are many differentways to create the layers.This is just one technique.But all of them have the same idea,which is to have oilto separate the layers.So, then we stretch it.Coil the dough on itself,creating a spiral like that.Isn't that cute?Like a little snail.This is another technique of rolling.You just slice the circle, oil it,and roll it into a cone.Going all the way aroundthe perimeter of the circle.And then you just smush it.Smush it down.Another way to create the layers.Another way to do it, isto accordion the dough.So forward, backwards, forward, backwardsforward then backwards,forward and backwards.Stretch it and coil it.Like that.Now we're gonna take ourspiral and flatten it outand then give it a roll.And I've got my preheated skillet here.I'm gonna add a little bit of oil.Nice sizzle there.And we're just gonnafry this on both sidesuntil the chapati is fully cooked.So Chef Lola actuallyrecommends cooking thisin a nonstick skillet,but every single Ugandanstreet food video I saw,they were cooking themon cast iron griddles,so I just really want to do it this way.Alrighty, we're ready to flip.Here we go.Yes!Look at that.It's looking beautiful.Alrighty, so I'm gonnacook up all the chapatiand then we'll finally be ableto start building our rolex.Alrighty, my lovelies, let's go aheadand make the egg portion of the rolex.So, in a cup, I'm goingto crack in two eggs.Into that, I'm gonna add alittle bit of green cabbage.Probably about two tablespoons.Bloop!One of the things I learned about watchingUgandan street foodvendors make the rolex,is that they don't use a cutting boardto cut their tomato.Cut the top off of the tomato.Then they cross hatchthe top of the tomatoand then just cut that right into the cup.Isn't that brilliant?Probably about a teaspoon of tomato.We're gonna do the samething with an onion.I'm gonna use just a tiny bit of pepper.Next, we're gonna adda little bit of salt.So there's the contents of our cup.Now comes the noisy part,we're just gonna beat everything up.Now I've got my griddle preheating.Gonna add a generousamount of oil to the panand give it a swirl.And once it starts to shimmer,we know that it's ready.Alrighty, here we go.(eggs sizzling)Oh, this is gonna be great!spread our omelet mixture.And we want this to be thesame size as our chapati,because we're gonna roll them together.So, this is looking so good!(light music)And now we're gonna flip this over.Ready?Oh, yes!That looks beautiful.Now we're finally readyto assemble the rolex.I've turned off the heat on my egg.Over here, I've got my plateof chapatis that I made.So stinkin beautiful.Whole stack of them.I used a towel to cover them upto keep them nice and toasty.Now we're gonna transfer the eggright on top of the chapati.That's gonna be good!Okay, here we go.Oh, this looks so good!♪ Da da da da ♪There it is!The Ugandan rolex.If you're eating this on the streets,this would be placed in aplastic bag and then taken to go.But it looks absolutely phenomenal.(light piano music)Here we go.Itadakimasu!Mm.Look at that.It's so beautiful inside.I can definitely taste the onion in there.The slight acidity from the tomato.One thing I would reallylove is just an additionof some heat, some spicy heat.It's so good and sohandy and easy to carry,and warm and absolutelyscrumdiddlyumptious.Mm, mm!So when you tear the chapati,it has, do you see that?You get these beautiful layers.Isn't that beautiful?Let's just have some chapati by itself.Mhmm.It has a great chewy texture to it.That's a little bitreminiscent say to a tortilla,but this has more oil in it.So it's a little bit different in texture.Alrighty, my lovelies.That's how you make aUgandan rolex at home.Thanks so much for watching,and big thanks to Helix sleep,for sponsoring this video.If you'd like to try a Helix for yourself,click the link down below tosee how you can receive up to$200 off your Helix Sleepmattress and two free pillows.Thanks again, for watching.I hope you enjoyed that one.I hope you learned something.Please share this video with your friends.Follow me on social media,like this video, subscribeand I shall see you in the next one.Toodaloo, take care.Bye!(light relaxing piano music)(Emmy humming)\n"