Chicken Kathi Rolls are popular Indian street food. The chicken is marinated in aromatic spices and roasted to perfection, then wrapped in chapati or paratha (Indian bread) and topped with green mint chutney, pickled onions, and cucumbers.
About the recipe
Kathi Roll is a very popular street food recipe from Kolkata, West Bengal. Traditionally, the skewer-roasted chicken kebab is wrapped in paratha. But now, any grilled meat or veggies that are rolled in Indian flatbreads (chapati, paratha, roti, naan) is called a Kati roll.
These rolls are good as appetizers, evening snacks, for your lunchbox, or even as a completely satisfying weeknight dinner.
Is Frankie Roll similar to Kathi Roll?
Depending on the type of bread used and the filling, some restaurants and street food vendors call it Frankie or Kati roll. The main difference is the place where these rolls originated. Frankie roll is from Bombay (Mumbai), and Kati roll is from Kolkata (Calcutta).
Ingredients
For the Chicken
240 g Chicken thighs, boneless, cut into medium pieces
1 tablespoon Ginger-Garlic Paste, 1-inch ginger and 5 small garlic cloves ground to a coarse paste
¼ teaspoon Turmeric powder
1 teaspoon Paprika, or Chile powder
¾ teaspoon Salt
1 teaspoon Garam masala or Tandoori Masala powder
1 Lemon fresh juice
1 tablespoon Oil, for cooking
½ teaspoon Cumin seeds
For Chapati Rolls - yields 2 rolls (you can even use store-bought rolls or roti)
110 g Whole wheat flour, ¾ cup
⅛ teaspoon Salt
2 teaspoon Oil, for frying
For the Green Mint Chutney
3 Green chilies
1 cup Coriander leaves or Cilantro
15 to 20 Mint Leaves
6 to 8 Cashews, soaked in water for 15 mins and drained
2 to 3 tablespoon Water
½ teaspoon Salt
2 to 3 tablespoon Yogurt
Juice of ½ lemon
Other Ingredients
Cucumber, cut lengthwise
Onions, chopped lengthwise. Optional step - soak chopped onions in ¼ cup vinegar and one teaspoon of sugar for 15 minutes.
How to make the Best Chicken Kathi Rolls at Home?
For the Chicken
Add chicken pieces, ginger-garlic paste, turmeric powder, chili powder, salt, garam masala powder, and lemon juice to a bowl, and toss until combined. Let this marinate for 15 to 30 minutes.
After 30 minutes, heat oil in a pan. To this, add cumin seeds and saute for 30 seconds.
Add the marinated chicken and spread it around the pan. Cook on one side for 6 minutes and then flip and cook on another side for an additional 4 to 6 minutes. Switch off the flame. Keep this aside.
For the Chapati (Roti or Flatbread)
Ignore this if you are using store-bought, ready-made flatbreads.
In a bowl, add flour, salt, and water little by little and knead to form a medium-stiff dough. Divide the dough into equal parts.
Roll each ball into a circle of 8 to 10-inch diameter.
Heat the pan or tava. Add the rolled chapati to hot tava and cook on one side (approximately 1 minute); when golden spots appear at the bottom, flip and cook on another side (about 30 seconds). Drizzle oil if needed during cooking.
For the green mint chutney
In a mixie jar or blender, add green chilies, coriander leaves, mint leaves, water, salt, cashew, and yogurt and blend to smooth paste. To this, add lemon juice and mix.
Assembling the Kathi Roll
Place the parchment paper on the working surface and keep the cooked chapati or roti on top of it. Spread the prepared green mint chutney over the flatbread. Then, add the chicken filling at the center.
Top it with pickled onions, cucumber, and some more mint chutney.
First, fold it from below, then wrap the two sides like a jacket. You can check the video here.
Chicken Kathi rolls are ready. Serve and enjoy.
Tips
- If you want to cut short, you can use ready-made store-bought parathas, Malabar parathas, or tortillas. All are easily available at Indian stores, Payless, Target, or Trader Joe's. I have made fresh chapatis using wheat flour as it is easy to prepare at home and is tasty and healthy.
- To make it an authentic street-style kathi roll, you have to first prepare anda paratha. Add egg, a pinch of salt, and red chile powder, and whisk well in a bowl. Once you have cooked the paratha/chapati, remove it from the pan, spread the whisked egg mixture in the pan, add the chapati and cook until the egg sets through. Remove the anda paratha (or egg roll) from the pan. To assemble the roll, place the anda paratha on the parchment sheet, egg side up, load it with chicken, chutney, and other condiments and wrap it up. It gives your Kathi roll a different taste.
Variations
Below are some popular variations of kathi rolls that I tried during my college and working days. Follow the same recipe given above for all. Just the main ingredient gets changed.
- Chicken Tikka Roll
- Kathi Kabab Roll
- Paneer Kathi Rolls
- Egg Kati Roll
- Mixed Vegetable Kathi Roll
- Chana Palak Kathi Roll
Some Popular Chicken Recipes
- Chicken Biryani
- Orange Chicken
- Chicken Tikka Masala
- Keto Weight Loss Garlic Chicken
- Chicken Roast
- Malnad Chicken Curry
FAQs
Traditionally, Kathi refers to the skewers or sticks on which chicken or other types of meat are grilled. This grilled meat (kathis) is then wrapped in flatbreads along with other condiments and served as kathi rolls.
Yes. Crispy raw onions taste equally good. The pickled onions mellow down the sharp flavors of onion.
Yes, you can use any veggies like capsicum (colored bell peppers), carrot, cabbage, spinach, lettuce, tomatoes, etc., instead of cucumber.
You can use any chutney that you regularly prepare at home to make these Kathi rolls. If you don't want to make chutney, you can spread some store-bought mayonnaise, schezwan chutney, ketchup, aioli, pesto, sour cream, yogurt, etc.
Yes. You can use parathas, parottas, chapati, tortillas, lavash, naan, etc., to prepare kathi rolls.
Yes. Vegetarians can make paneer, baby corn, and mushroom or combine your favorite veggies instead of chicken to prepare kathi rolls. Follow the same steps right from marination. You will fall in love with kathi rolls right from the first bite.
Recipe card
Chicken Kathi Rolls | How to make Kati Roll | Frankie Rolls
Equipment
- 1 Pan
- 1 Bowl
- 1 Mixie or Blender
Ingredients
For the Chicken
- 240 g Chicken thighs boneless, cut into medium pieces
- 1 tablespoon Ginger Garlic Paste 1 inch ginger and 5 small garlic cloves ground to a coarse paste
- ¼ teaspoon Turmeric powder
- 1 teaspoon Paprika or Chile powder
- ¾ teaspoon Salt
- 1 teaspoon Garam masala or Tandoori Masala powder
- 1 Lemon fresh juice
- 1 tablespoon Oil for cooking
- ½ teaspoon Cumin seeds
For Chapati Rolls - yields 2 rolls (you can even use store bought rolls or roti)
- 110 g Whole wheat flour ¾ cup
- ⅛ teaspoon Salt
- 2 teaspoon Oil for rolling and frying
For the Green Mint Chutney
- 3 Green chilies
- 1 cup Coriander leaves or Cilantro
- 15 to 20 Mint Leaves
- 6 to 8 Cashews
- 2 to 3 tablespoon Water
- ½ teaspoon Salt
- 2 to 3 tablespoon Yogurt
- Juice of ½ lemon
Other Ingredients
- Cucumber, cut lengthwise
- Onions, chopped lengthwise (soak chopped onions in ¼ cup vinegar and 1 teaspoon sugar of needed for 15 minutes)
- Cilantro or Coriander leaves
Instructions
For the Chicken
- Add chicken pieces, ginger-garlic paste, turmeric powder, chili powder, salt, garam masala powder, and lemon juice to a bowl, and toss until combined. Let this marinate for 15 to 30 minutes.
- After 30 minutes, heat oil in a pan. To this, add cumin seeds and saute for 30 seconds.
- Add the marinated chicken and spread it around the pan. Cook on one side for 6 minutes and then flip and cook on another side for an additional 4 to 6 minutes. Switch off the flame. Keep this aside.
For the Chapati (Roti or Flatbread)
- Ignore this if you are using store-bought, ready-made flatbreads.
- In a bowl, add flour, salt, and water little by little and knead to form a medium-stiff dough. Divide the dough into equal parts.
- Roll each ball into a circle of 8 to 10-inch diameter.
- Heat the pan or tava. Add the rolled chapati to hot tava and cook on one side (approximately 1 minute); when golden spots appear at the bottom, flip and cook on another side (about 30 seconds). Drizzle oil if needed during cooking.
For the Green Mint Chutney
- In a mixie jar or blender, add green chilies, coriander leaves, mint leaves, water, salt, cashew, and yogurt and blend to smooth paste. To this, add lemon juice and mix.
Assembling the Kathi Roll
- Place the parchment paper on the working surface and keep the cooked chapati or roti on top of it. Spread the prepared green mint chutney over the flatbread. Then, add the chicken filling at the center.
- Top it with pickled onions, cucumber, and some more mint chutney.
- First, fold it from below, then wrap the two sides like a jacket. You can check the video here.
- Chicken Kathi rolls are ready. Serve and enjoy.
Video
Notes
- If you want to cut short, you can use ready-made store-bought parathas, Malabar parathas, or tortillas. All are easily available at Indian stores, Payless, Target, or Trader Joe's. I have made fresh chapatis using wheat flour as it is easy to prepare at home and is tasty and healthy.
- To make it an authentic street-style kathi roll, you have to first prepare anda paratha. Add egg, a pinch of salt, and red chile powder, and whisk well in a bowl. Once you have cooked the paratha/chapati, remove it from the pan, spread the whisked egg mixture in the pan, add the chapati and cook until the egg sets through. Remove the anda paratha (or egg roll) from the pan. To assemble the roll, place the anda paratha on the parchment sheet, egg side up, load it with chicken, chutney, and other condiments and wrap it up. It gives your Kathi roll a different taste.
Nutrition
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Beth
I love all the delicious flavors and textures here. Recipes like this that are as healthy as they are delicious are always my favorite.
Aimee Mars
Our family has been on a roll kick lately and I came across this recipe and can't get over how incredibly delicious the rolls are. We will be making these again soon!
Sara Welch
This was such a simple yet satisfying wrap, that does not disappoint! Easily, a new favorite recipe!
Tayler
I made these rolls for dinner last night and they were amazing! Thanks so much for sharing the recipe!
Tara
Wonderful mix of spices! These flavors are just undeniably delicious. The perfect chicken wrap lunch!