Cameroon: African Fish Rolls

African fish pie is a delicious street food snack that is popular in West Africa, particularly in Cameroon, Nigeria and Ghana. It's made from sardines and spices which is then wrapped into a shortcrust pastry and deep fried. They were superb. Not to toot my own horn or anything, but I'm getting pretty bloody good at pastry, if I do say so myself.

The recipe I followed called for canned sardines in a tomato and chili sauce but I could only find them in a plain tomato sauce. Instead, I used these and added some cayenne peppers to the mix as it was all stewing together and that helped to give it a bit of a kick. If you can only find plain canned sardines then use those and add some chopped tomatoes with tomato paste, as well as the cayenne or chili peppers. Whatever you prefer for the taste.

I thought these were spectacular and I'll be making them again for sure.

African Fish Roll
Makes about 10 rolls

Ingredients

For the filling:

• 200g can of sardines in a tomato and chili sauce
• 1/2 onion, finely chopped
• 1/4 teaspoon parsley
• 1/2 teaspoon curry powder
• 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper (optional)

For the dough:

• 1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon water
• 15g sugar
• 3/4 teaspoon yeast
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 cups flour
• 70g margarine

Instructions

1. In a bowl, add the warm water and yeast. Set aside for 5 minutes.
2. In a separate large bowl, mix together flour, sugar, and salt. Then add margarine and mix well into the dry ingredients until incorporated. Then add the yeast mixture to the flour and mix for about a minute. 
3. Place the dough on a lightly floured surface and knead until all flour is incorporated and the dough is smooth. Cover and let sit for 30-45 minutes.
4. Add onions, sardines, curry powder and cayenne pepper (optional) to a saucepan and let it simmer for 10-15 minutes until all the liquid has evaporated. Add parsley, stir, and simmer for 2 more minutes. Set aside and let cool.
5. Divide dough into 30g balls. On a lightly floured surface, roll each dough ball out into a rectangular shape. Place a tablespoon of the sardine mix into the middle and roll up. Repeat this process until all sardine mix is used up. 
6. Heat about 1/2 inch vegetable oil in a saucepan until hot but not smoking. Working in batches, fry each fish roll until golden brown, turning once. 
7. Using a slotted spoon, remove the fish rolls from the pan and allow excess oil to drain on a paper towel. 
8. Serve warm or at room temperature.