Full of Indian spices, Bombay Lamb Rolls are a fun and tasty alternative to classic sausage rolls. These pastry rolls are a treat at any time of the year, but particularly enjoyable as the weather cools in time for Halloween parties and Bonfire Night.
Serve them alongside some spicy mulligatawny soup for a substantial lunch.
THIS POST HAS BEEN SPONSORED BY THERMAPEN. ALL OPINIONS AND TEXT ARE MY OWN.
I have an incredibly soft spot for pastry. Although it’s hard for me to say no to a sweet pastry treat, it’s practically impossible for me to decline a savoury pastry. classic meat pie, cheese tarts, Cornish pasties and sausage rolls, I welcome them all, eagerly into my life. But I do have a particular weakness for the latter. The union of flavoursome sausage meat snuggled under flaky, buttery pastry does tend to set my heart a-flutter.
Despite my deep love for this British savoury classic, I’ve got an altogether more inventive bake to share today: Bombay Lamb Rolls. That’s right – there’s not a sausage in sight.
The concept is similar to the traditional sausage roll, however. I’ve replaced the sausagemeat with ground lamb and added a bunch of Indian spices that are commonly associated with the popular side dish Bombay Potatoes:
- garlic
- ginger
- green chilli
- turmeric
- cumin
- coriander
- garam masala
These are all flavours that team up beautifully with the lamb and make an exciting diversion to the typical pastry roll lurking on buffet tables.
The rolls don’t have to be fiery hot when it comes to the chilli. A mild heat is sufficient to make these pastries delicious in their own right, though die-hard chilli enthusiasts can, of course, ramp up the heat if desired.
These Bombay Lamb Rolls are easy to assemble and can be made as small or as large as desired. My recipe makes 10 large sausage rolls – each measuring around 3 inches in length – but this recipe could alternatively make around 18 smaller rolls or 6 jumbo rolls.
I chose rough puff pastry to wrap around my spiced lamb, but these rolls can be made with puff pastry or even shortcrust pastry. I love to make my own pastry, but store-bought pastry is perfectly acceptable to use too.
Of course, whatever size roll you decide to make, and whatever pastry you plump for, it is essential to ensure that the lamb is cooked sufficiently throughout. Ground lamb needs to reach a minimum of 71C/ 160F at its centre to be cooked through. To ensure it is, I poke the probe of my Thermapen digital food thermometer into the centre of these Bombay Lamb Rolls when I make them. The Thermapen takes just 3 seconds to get an accurate reading and takes the guesswork out of cooking since I can be sure the lamb is cooked to perfection.
Easy.
Oh and of course, you can use the Thermapen to test that any meat is cooked sufficiently. Be sure to check the recommended cooking temperature on the guide and ensure your meat is cooked to this level at least before serving.
These Bombay Lamb Rolls make a great change to standard sausage rolls on any party buffet. However, the warming spice profile of the lamb makes these particularly fitting contenders for a place at autumnal Halloween and Bonfire Night parties.
More Hand-held Pastries to try
Have you made these lamb rolls? Please let me know if you enjoyed the recipe by leaving a review below.
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📖 Recipe
Bombay Lamb Rolls with Rough Puff Pastry
Ingredients
For the Rough Puff Pastry
- 340 g/ 2 ¾ cups Plain (all purpose) flour
- 300 g/ 1 ⅓ cup Butter (cold)
- ⅜ teaspoon Salt
- 20 ml/ 4 tsp Lemon Juice
- 250-300 ml/ 1- 1 ¼ cups Ice cold water
For the Bombay Lamb
- 500 g/ 1lb 1.5 oz Ground Lamb (lean)
- 1 Shallot
- 2 Garlic Cloves
- 1 Medium green chilli Add more depending on taste preferences
- ½ teaspoon Mustard seeds
- 1 teaspoon Cumin seeds
- 1 teaspoon Coriander seeds
- ½ teaspoon Turmeric
- ⅛ teaspoon Garam Masala
- ¼ teaspoon Salt
- 1 ½ cm Ginger
- A little beaten egg
Instructions
Make the Rough Puff Pastry
- Put the flour and salt into a large mixing bowl and stir
- Chop the butter into 1cm cubes and add to the bowl. Toss with the flour to coat each cube
- Mix the lemon juice with the water and pour ¾ into the bowl. Mix with a blunt knife, incorporating all of the flour as you go, until the dough comes together in a soft ball. Add more water if necessary, but take care not to add too much. The dough should neither be dry, wet or sticky
- Dust the worktop & your rolling pin with flour, then roll out the pastry dough to form an oblong about 2cm thick. Lift one short edge of the pastry and fold it over the middle, then do the same with the other edge of the pastry to make three layers.
- Turn the pastry 90 degrees (a quarter turn), then re-roll and repeat the folding process. Repeat once more, then wrap in cling film and chill for 30 minutes
- Unwrap the pastry and roll out again, fold and chill for a further 20 minutes
- Repeat this process once more, wrap and chill for a final 20 minutes
For the Bombay Lamb
- Finely peel and chop the shallot. Fry in a little vegetable oil until it softens
- Meanwhile, peel and finely slice the garlic & ginger. Deseed the chilli & chop finely too
- Add the garlic, ginger and chilli to the pan, cook for 1 minute, then remove from the heat
- In a small frying pan, dry fry (no oil) the mustard seeds, cumin seeds and coriander seeds. Grind in a pestle and mortar until a fine powder is achieved (or blitz in a clean coffee mill)
- Put the lamb into a food processor and pulse briefly until it begins to break down. Add the onion mix, the freshly grown spices and the remaining ingredients, along with a grind of black pepper, to the processor and pulse again, scraping down the sides as necessary until the meat resembles the texture of sausagemeat
- Tip into a bowl and give the meat a good mix with your hands to ensure the spices are well distributed. Divide into 10 equal portions
Assembling the Bombay Lamb Rolls
- Heat the oven to 200C/ 400f/ GM 6 and line 2 baking trays with baking parchment
- On a floured surface, roll the pastry out into a large rectangle 3mm thick and at least 40cm wide by 35cm tall. Neaten the edges to form a tidy rectangle
- Use a clean ruler to divide the rectangle in half at the 17.5 cm mark (approx). Mark each segment into 5 rectangles, each approximately 8cm wide. In total you should end up with 10 rectangles each 8cm x 17.5cm
- Roll a piece of the Bombay Lamb into a sausage shape and lay at one of one of the rectangles. Dab the opposite end of pastry with a little beaten egg, then roll up the pastry to enclose the meat
- Place the roll onto a baking tray. Use a very sharp knife to make a few diagonal slits across the top of the roll and brush with beaten egg
- Repeat with the remaining meat and pastry – ensure the rolls are well spaced out on the baking sheets
- Bake for 30 minutes, by which time the pastry should be golden brown. Ensure the meat is cooked sufficiently (at least 71C/ 160F), using a probe thermometer such as Thermapen
- Once cooked, slide the rolls onto a wire cooling rack to cool. Serve warm or cold
- Any leftovers can be stored in an airtight container and refrigerated for up to 3 days
Corrina Confarreo
These sound absolutely delicious. A lovely change from sausage rolls. Your pastry looks amazing too. I’ve always been too scared to make rough puff pastry but you’ve made it sound easy! Maybe I’ll be brave. Fab recipe.
Jane Saunders
Thanks so much Corrina. I think I must be a bit strange though – I really enjoy making pastry whereas everybody else seems to hate it 🙂 :). I say give it a go though – what’s the worst that can happen?
Katherine Hackworthy
A very tasty snack, ideal for Halloween and Bonfire night parties. Much tastier than any shop bought sausage rolls.
Jane Saunders
Definitely – the only time I have ever been vaguely happy with shop bought rolls is when I had very serious cravings whilst pregnant (8am for 6 weeks running)! Otherwise it’s homemade all the way.
Roxana
Look so delicious. I have tried something similar at Indian bakeries and they are amazing. Your recipe has a ton of flavor.
Jane Saunders
Oooh, Well, I guess great minds think alike and the Indian bakeries must have phenomenal varieties. One day….
georgie
OMG these look great! and my thermapen is my favourite kitchen gadget!
Jane Saunders
Seriously, I would be lost without mine now – it felt like a big investment at the time, but has saved me so many times.
Cookilicious
What an interesting fusion recipe. I would love to try a vegetarian version of this.
Jane Saunders
I’m sure a veggie version could be dreamed up to – could be my next project.
Claudia Lamascolo
wow these would be addicting to me I love lamb anyway its made but these rolls look fantastic I would love one right now!
Jane Saunders
Thanks Claudia.