Paneer Tikka Kathi Roll | Vegetarian Chapathi Rolls Recipe

Today I am here with an unique combination of popular street food that has flavors of the North but originated in the streets of the East ie The Kati Roll. Traditionally Kati Roll is a Kati Kabab wrapped in a layered paratha aka flatbrt. It’s said to have started its life from the Nizam Restaurant in Kolkata, a popular eatery founded in 1932 that sold kebabs and parathas and other Mughlai food in the heart of Kolkata. It seems, the customers who were always in a hurry found it very easy to eat the food when rolled into a roll, and hence the roll was born. Kathi roll makes for a scrumptious, quick, filling and healthy meal. You can make it for breakfast/lunch or dinner, its up to you and for roll ie the  base any ‘roti/‘chappati’ or paratha works well. This recipe is challenged by Minnie for Divya’s SNC Challenge…Thanks for this delicious rolls Minnie 🙂

Four Steps to make this roll
I. Make kachumber before hand and refrigerate until you need it,  its a mix of raw/fresh veggies to stuff and roll rotis at the end.
II. Paneer Filling, you can go for homemade or store bought paneer.
III. Cooked Plain Chapathi/Phulka or Roti/Paratha made from 2 and 1/2 cups of flour, approximately.
IV. Final Assembling Part.

I Method to make Kachumber/Raw Mixed Veggies

Ingredients

Carrots – ½ cup, cut into thin finger like sticks
Cucumber – 1 Cup, thin stripes again
Capsicum/Bell Pepper – 1/4 Cup
Tomato – 1 large, sliced into long thin stripes
Onions – ¼ cup sliced very fine
Cilantro/Coriander Leaves – 2 Tbsp finely chopped
Lemon Juice – 3 tbsp
Black salt – ¼tsp
Sugar – ¼tsp

• Mix all the vegetables together.
• Drizzle lemon juice, and sprinkle salt and sugar then mix well.
• Add cilantro, using a fork, mix it one more time and serve.
• You can use other vegetables and fruits like avocados, pomegranates etc.

II Make the Paneer filling

Ingredients
Paneer cut into two inches cube – 2 Cups (For Vegan’s use Extra Firm Tofu instead of Paneer)
Green Peppers- 1 Cup, Chopped
Onion – 1 large, cut into quarters
Tomato – 1 large, cubed small
Dried Kasoori Methi – 1tsp
Cilantro/Coriander Leaves – ½ cup (Optional)
Oil – 4 Tbsp

To Roast and grind together (use mortal or pestle)
Coriander Seeds – 1 Tbsp
Cumin Seeds – 1tsp
Cardamoms – 2 Number (Optional)
Cloves –  2 Number
Dried Red Chili – 1 Number
Cinnamom – 1 – 2″ Inch Stick

For Marination
Gram Flour – 1tsp (Besan)
Yogurt – ½ cup, whipped
Red Chili Powder – 1tsp
Chat Masala Powder – 1tsp
Cumin Powder – 1tsp
Coriander Powder – 1tsp
Black Pepper Powder – ½ tsp

Method

• Cube paneer into 2cm cubes
• Sprinkle spices and gram flour, mix well
• Mix whipped yogurt and toss around well (Pic 1)
• Cover with a wrap and keep for 15 minutes.
• Roast spices lightly and grind it to fine powder.
• Heat oil in a kadai/pan, add green peppers, tomatoes and onion,saute till onion becomes translucent and tomato mashes well.
• Now add ground spices and marinated paneer(Pic 2), you can separately fry paneer then add or add it directly as I did.
• Don’t keep on stirring the paneer, it breaks if you do so, leave it in low flame for few minutes and gently flip and cook the other side of paneer.
• It takes approx 5 minutes also make sure they don’t stick to the pan.
• Finally add fenugreek. methi leaves.
• Now the paneer tikka filling is ready(Pic 3).

III Roti/Chapathi Making

• I added chopped cilantro and basil leaves (methi/spinach also works well) in the flour itself.
• You can make it either plain or green rotis
• The roti that you roll out should be at least 8 inches in diameter, and not too thin or too thick.
• Cook the rotis and stack it(Pic 3).

IV Final Assembly/Roll Making

• Once the roti is cooked, lay it out on a flat board and fill the center with paneer and kuchumber(Pic 3).
• Roll it and wrap it in foil or butter paper or tissue, I used rubber bands, just roll it tighly for few minutes and remove it, it holds the shape after that.
• You can cut into halves or serve it whole.

Notes

1. You can make all of these overnight. Here is a shortcut to ease the process.
2. Fry the marinated paneer separately in ghee and refrigerate them.
3. Also cut the vegetables and store them in Ziploc.
4. In the morning, I simply toss everything together in a pan with spices, heat the already cooked rotis, fill them, roll them and it’s good to go.
5. It takes less than 15 minutes to get everything together.