Easy Sardine Puffs with Frozen Roti

I learned to make sardine puffs using frozen roti during MCO. You know, when every other human was inventing all sorts of wild things with Kawan Food roti …. (their share price must have gone through the roof. Should have bought their stock, aiya!)

To my surprise, I discovered that frozen roti is a really good stand-in for regular pastry. No need to knead, fold or laminate. Just writing those words stress me out lol

When baked, the layers of dough separate and puff up beautifully. Even better when you get to eat them fresh out of the oven/airfryer – so flaky and crispy!

A perfectly balanced sardine puff filling

Of course, a sardine puff is only as good as its filling (inti).

A long time ago, Mum shared her sardine sandwich recipe with me. The filling was so tasty, and I remember asking her what went into it, expecting a simple answer. Maybe just salt and a bit of sugar at most.

I was wrong. Turns out, quite a bit more goes in…

She cooks the sardines with light soya sauce, tomato ketchup, a pinch of sugar, a little salt and a squeeze of lemon juice to cut through the richness.

Each ingredient plays a role. The light soya sauce deepens the savoury notes, ketchup adds body and a gentle sweetness, while the acidity from the lemon juice lifts the whole mixture so it doesn’t feel heavy or overly “fishy.” You can also put onions, chopped chillies and diced cooked potato to add bulk.

Turning frozen roti into pastry shells

Finally, we create the pastry shell. Your goal is to create a sealed pocket that can hold the filling.

You need two quarters of a roti to make up a puff (so one whole round roti can yield two puffs).

Once you’ve got your quarters cut out, place about two teaspoons of filling onto one quarter. Cover the filling with the second quarter of roti. Press the edges down gently with a fork to form a sealed pocket.

Bake or air-fry until golden and crisp, and you’re done!

These sardine puffs take only 20 minutes or so to do.

And when you make your own, you can stuff them with as much filling as you want – dangerously easy to keep eating!

For more easy snacks, check out my super-simple chocolate banana bread

Sardine Puffs with Frozen Roti

Fast, flaky, and honestly quite addictive, these sardine puffs will disappear more quickly than you think.

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Prep Time 15 minutes mins

Cook Time 15 minutes mins

Course Snack

Cuisine Malaysian

Servings 8 puffs

Equipment

• Airfryer

Ingredients

  

Filling

• 1 can sardines in tomato sauce
• 1 –2 tsp light soya sauce
• 1 –2 tsp tomato ketchup
• Juice of lemon or lime, to taste
• Pinch of sugar
• Salt to taste

Optional for extra texture and bulk

• 1 finely diced small yellow onion
• 1 red chilli chopped

Pastry shell

• Frozen roti ½ piece per puff

Instructions

 

Prepare filling

• Lightly mash the sardines. In a pan, cook the sardines with light soya sauce, tomato ketchup, lemon juice, sugar and a little salt. Stir over medium heat until the mixture thickens slightly and tastes savoury, tangy, lightly sweet and balanced.

  If using onions, chopped chilli or diced cooked potato, add them while cooking the filling so the flavours come together properly.

  Let the filling cool slightly before assembling the puffs. This makes it easier to handle and helps prevent the roti from turning soggy.

Prepare the pastry shell

• Work with frozen roti straight from the freezer. Do not thaw.
• Peel off the top plastic sheet and keep the roti resting on the bottom sheet for easier handling.
• Cut one round roti into quarters. Use two quarters per puff.
• Place about 2 teaspoons of filling onto one quarter, leaving a ~1 cm border around the edges.
• Cover with a second quarter to form a pocket.
• Press edges down gently, then seal with a fork.

Finish cooking

• If using air fryer, cook at 180°C for 12-15 minutes, or until golden and crisp. Flip the puff halfway so that both bottom and top of the puff are thoroughly cooked.
• If using oven, bake at 180°C for 10–15 minutes.

Notes

Sardine Puffs with Frozen Roti - Q & A

1. What's the best way to handle frozen roti with minimum mess? Frozen roti usually comes sandwiched between two sheets of plastic. Peel off the top sheet, and keep the roti resting on the bottom sheet while you work. Trust me, this makes handling much easier. To make your life easier, do NOT thaw the roti. Use it straight from the freezer. Once softened, it becomes sticky, messy, and difficult to handle. I repeat - do NOT thaw the roti!
2. How do I avoid "exploded" puffs? Hollow "Jaws" or "Oxygen" puffs (to quote a facetious friend) are no good, but you don't want your puffs to explode either from too much filling. To prevent leakage, when you scoop your filling onto the frozen roti, make sure you leave about 1cm from the border. 
3. Is lime or lemon juice better? If you don't have lemon juice, you can also substitute with lime, but lemon gives it an extra sharpness that's more appetizing in my opinion. 
4. How fine/rough should the mashed sardine be? Don't mash the sardines too fine, just get them crumbly enough. You want a bit of texture when you bite into the puff. 
5. Does the brand of the frozen roti matter? In my experience, the brand of the roti doesn't really make a difference. I just go for the AEON Topvalu ones because they're cheaper (sub RM6 compared to other brands which typically retail for RM6 and above)

Keyword air-fryer