Chickpea Kati Rolls

There is a whole range of street food in Indian cuisine. From something as simple as roasted chickpeas wrapped in a newspaper cone to small plates to a full meal and delicious frozen sweet treats like kulfi.

Kati ( kha-tee) rolls or Frankie as it’s called was something I ate in my teenage years. There was a snack shop that made really delicious rolls who would Customize my roll as I didn’t eat too spicy and I loved that.

You may ask what is a Frankie or kathi roll, well it’s a flatbread, chapati or paratha ( pan fried chapati) with a thin layer of egg, then stuffed with a spicy curry- chicken/ lamb/ paneer cheese or veggie, a few pickled onions, green mint chutney and rolled up into a roll like a burrito.

I made this lot for weekend supper a few years back and then for some reason I stopped, my daughter reminded me I should make it again so here it is.

I tweaked the recipe to make it lighter and cleaner, so this is my version. I added a few salad leaves for crunch and freshness. Sometimes I roast a whole bunch of veggies and use that as stuffing. This recipe is made with spicy chickpeas, smashed sweet potatoes, lots of chopped romaine, picked onions and the mint chutney to tie it all up.

 

 

 

 

Heres the recipe.

• 2-3 whole-wheat lavash/ chapati/ whole-wheat tortilla burrito sized
• 1 cup about 12 oz cooked sweet potato, mashed and seasoned with salt, pepper and a little cumin powder.
• 4 cups romaine leaves or baby spinach, washed and spin dried

For the chickpeas

• 1 cup chickpeas soaked over night, cooked and drained or use about a can and a half of chickpeas, rinsed and drained well
• 1-2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 fat inch piece ginger grated
• 1 ½ teaspoons kosher salt
• 1 tablespoon ground coriander
• 1 tablespoon ground cumin
• generous pinch hot chili powder
• 1/2 teaspoon Garam masala
• juice from 1/2 a Lemon
• 1/2 teaspoon whole fennel seeds
• 1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds

in a large sauce pan warm the oil. Add the fennel seeds and cumin seeds, fry till they sizzle and pop. Now add the ground spices, ginger and carefully sauté till lightly brown, be careful not to burn or you have to restart. Add the chickpeas and sauté for 3-4 minutes. Add the cooking liquid and mash the chickpeas slightly. The curry should not be thin but more on thick side like in the photo above. Check the Seasoning set aside.

For the mint chutney

2-3 tablespoons, silken tofu or plain yogurt
3-4 tablespoons lemon juice
1 bunch cilantro, leaves and tender stem
1 cup loosely packed mint leaves only,
1 jalapeño or green chilies to your heat levels
2 teaspoons grated ginger
1 fat date or 2 tablespoons raisins or 1/2 teaspoon sweetner of your choice to balance the flavor
¼ teaspoon kosher salt,
1 tablespoon water or just enough to  blend

Place all the ingredient in a high speed food processor. Blend all ingredients until smooth. Taste and adjust seasoning and lemon juice as needed

Pickled Onions

• 1 red onion thinly sliced
• ⅓ cup white vinegar
• ½ cup water
• ⅛ teaspoon salt
• 1/4 tsp sugar

Place the onion with red wine vinegar, water, salt, sugar for about an hour, drain as use as a condiment.

To assemble

Warm the flatbread of your choice. Smear the sweet potato on the entire surface. Place the chickpeas along the center of the flatbread. Place the pickled onions, romaine leaves and mint chutney. Fold the sides then roll the flatbread tightly into a log. Cut in half, serve with extra mint chutney.