AI-generated image
Salomie
Salomie: flaky Cape Malay roti rolled around a dry mutton and potato curry
Lunch-hour queues outside takeaways in Woodstock, Salt River and Wynberg are often for salomies: a buttery, layered roti, still blistered from the pan, folded around a thick mutton-and-potato curry so you can eat it on the move. The roti is soft with crisp, flaky edges, and the curry is fragrant with fennel, cinnamon and curry leaves rather than fierce. The curry has to be cooked down until it is almost dry, because a wet one leaks straight through the bread, and that is the mistake to avoid. Chicken thigh works just as well; cook it only until it reaches 74 °C in the thickest piece. Chef's tip: roll each roti from the buttered dough coil just before it hits the pan, so the layers stay separate and puff.
- Total time
- 90 min
- Difficulty
- medium
- Serves
- 6
Ingredients
For the roti
- 14 oz plain flour
- 1 tsp salt
- 2 tbsp sunflower oil
- 1 cup warm wateryou may need a little less or more
- 2 ⅞ oz buttervery soft, plus extra for the pan
For the curry
- 1 ⅔ lb boneless mutton or lamb shouldercut into 2 cm cubes
- 3 tbsp sunflower oil
- 3 green cardamom podscracked
- 1 tsp fennel seeds
- 12 curry leaves
- 1 onionfinely chopped
- 1 ½ tbsp ginger-garlic paste
- ½ tsp ground turmeric
- 1 tsp ground coriander
- 2 tomatoesgrated
- 1 ¼ tsp salt
- 1 ¾ cups water
- 14 oz potatoespeeled and cut into 1.5 cm cubes
- 2 tbsp fresh coriander (optional)chopped
Shop this recipe on Amazon
Spices & pantry
Fresh ingredients (7)
Links open Amazon in a new tab. As an Amazon Associate, WhatToEat.Today earns from qualifying purchases.
Method
0/11 doneStep 1: Mix 14 oz plain flour and 1 tsp salt in a bowl, add 2 tbsp sunflower oil and most of 1 cup warm water, and knead to a soft, smooth dough, adding the rest of the water if it feels dry.
8 minStep 2: Roll the dough into one large thin sheet, spread it with 2 ⅛ oz butter, roll it up tightly like a Swiss roll and cut into 6 pieces. Coil each piece like a snail, cover and leave to rest while the curry cooks.
10 minStep 3: Heat 3 tbsp sunflower oil in a heavy pot over a medium heat and add 1 cinnamon stick, 3 green cardamom pods, 1 tsp fennel seeds and 12 curry leaves; let them crackle for 30 seconds.
Step 4: Add 1 onion and cook until golden.
8 minStep 5: Stir in 1 ½ tbsp ginger-garlic paste, 2 tbsp Cape Malay or medium curry masala, ½ tsp ground turmeric and 1 tsp ground coriander with a splash of water and fry for 1 minute until the oil turns red and fragrant.
1 minStep 6: Add 1 ⅔ lb boneless mutton or lamb shoulder and 1 ¼ tsp salt and turn it in the spices over a medium-high heat until it is well coated and no longer pink on the outside.
5 minStep 7: Add 2 tomatoes and 1 ¾ cups water, cover and simmer over a low heat until the mutton is nearly tender.
35 minStep 8: Add 14 oz potatoes and cook uncovered, stirring now and then, until the potatoes are soft and the sauce has reduced to a thick masala that clings to the meat with almost no liquid left.
20 minStep 9: Flatten each dough coil and roll it into a thin round about 22 cm across.
Step 10: Cook each roti in a dry heavy pan over a medium-high heat for about 1 minute a side, brushing with the rest of ⅔ oz butter, until it puffs and has golden-brown spots. Scrunch it gently between your hands to open the layers, and keep warm under a cloth.
12 minStep 11: Spoon a sixth of the curry down the middle of each roti, scatter with 2 tbsp fresh coriander, fold in the sides and roll it up into a fat parcel. Eat warm.
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 640 kcal
- Protein
- 32 g
- Carbs
- 62 g
- Fat
- 29 g
- Fibre
- 4 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does salomie take?
- About 90 minutes in total: 30 minutes to prepare and 60 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 6 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- What can I use instead of plain flour?
- Self-raising flour, same amount (then leave out the baking powder).
- What can I use instead of butter?
- The same weight of ghee or coconut oil (for frying and most baking).
Reviews
No reviews yet. Be the first to cook it.
Rate this recipe
Sign in to rate and review this recipe.
You might also like
Zapiekanka
Zapiekanka is Polish street food born in the 1970s and perfected at the hatch windows around Plac Nowy in Kraków's Kazimierz district, where students and night owls queue for one at midnight. Half a long baguette is topped with mushrooms fried with onion, covered in grated cheese and baked until crisp at the edges and bubbling, then finished with a zigzag of ketchup and chives. The classic version has no meat at all. Use a hard cheese made with vegetarian rennet (many supermarket mild Cheddars and Goudas are). Chef's tip: fry the mushrooms until completely dry before they go on the bread; wet mushrooms make the baguette soggy instead of crisp.
Pepito
When the bars close in Caracas, the queues form at the pepito stands of Las Mercedes and Altamira: long soft rolls stuffed with griddled strips of beef and chicken, grated cheese, lettuce and tomato, a crunchy handful of potato sticks and squiggles of garlic sauce, ketchup and mustard. It's messy, generous food, best eaten on the pavement. The common mistake is crowding the griddle, so the meat stews instead of searing. Chef's tip: cook the beef and chicken separately in a very hot pan, in small batches.
Mazorca desgranada
Food trucks and street corners in Bogotá and Medellín sell mazorca desgranada in plastic tubs, late into the evening: sweet corn kernels cut off the cob, fried in butter and layered with shredded chicken, melted cheese, crunchy potato sticks, pineapple sauce and salsa rosada. Some stands add bacon, beef or quail eggs; this version keeps to chicken. It is sweet, salty and gooey, and a hit with teenagers. Using tinned corn without draining it well is a common error: the water dilutes the sauces and the tub gets soggy. Chef's tip: fry the corn until a few kernels brown and pop; that caramelised edge stands up to all the sweet sauces. For a vegetarian tub, skip the chicken and use a cheese made with microbial rennet.




