Nizam Kathi Rolls

Ujwala Prabhu 

If you're from Kolkata you'll surely know what i'm talking about. When I first left home and went to Pune to study the one thing that I kept talking about to my new college friends whenever the topic of food came up was Kathi Rolls. When they didnt understand me I told them that they were Chicken Rolls. They said no problem you can have some delicious ones at Marz-O-Rin. 

And then I waited eagerly till we could go to Camp, where the shop was located - near Kayanis - the Shrewsberry biscuits shop. When it was eventually put in front of me I was terribly disappointed, the Pune Chicken Roll turned out to be hot dog bread with lettuce and chicken with a sweet mayo dressing. I grew to like these too but nothing compares, nothing compares to Nizam Rolls. 

Out of Kolkata I tried the Frankies and the Baida rotis but that was not what my taste buds yearned for. For years I've tried to replicate it at home but not very successfully. So I'd save up all the wanting for my annual visit home and eat these rolls every time! And then a few years ago we heard that Nizam had shut down - labour problems. 

Kolkata has changed so much from when I lived there as a kid. Nizams was an important part of eating out for us and now it's no longer there. Nor is Skyroom or the Chicken Champ place at the petrol pump. For a while when we were in Bangalore, I think for the last two years of our stay, a Nizam outlet opened up in Indira Nagar and their Rolls were finger licking good. 

When I went to Kolkata a few weeks back, I decided to try out the Park Street guy. His rolls are good too but he adds some kind of red and green sauce. I didnt let him add those in mine but there was just that something missing. 

While writing for the meme that Sonali tagged me for I googled for Nizam Kathi Rolls and was dismayed with the recipe that appears all over the web which has mashed potatoes as a stuffing! Scandalous :D 

Here's my version for Chicken Anda Parathas. You could replace the Chicken with Aloo, Paneer, Mutton or Beef. I'm willing to try any suggestions that you may have to make it taste more authentic. 

Ingredients n prep

Knead dough for 6 parathas - i use atta but i'm told that maida makes them more authentic and that's what i'm going to try out the next time.

Make Chicken Tikkas - about 4-5pcs in each paratha - shouldnt be made too dry - soft and succulent is what you want.

6 eggs - beat, add salt and keep aside 

Onions - finely slice and seperate into half rings. mix half with chopped coriander, finely chopped green chilly, salt and pepper and a generous amount of lime juice. Mix well and set aside. The other half of the onions saute lightly and sprinkle some chaat masala n set aside. 

Method 

Braize all 6 Parathas lightly and set aside. 

In the pan add a tablespoon of oil and then add a ladle full of lightly salted beaten egg. Add one of the parathas set aside on top. 

When the paratha starts to expand and bloat upwards flip it and let the other side cook. Be generous with the oil. Remember it has to stay soft but crisp. Dont let it turn too crisp. And I repeat be generous with the oil while cooking. You can wipe some off with tissues later. 

 Keep the other three ingredients - chicken and onions - both types - ready. Remove the Anda Paratha from the Pan and put on the counter. 

Put the egg n next Paratha in the pan before proceeding further. In the middle of the paratha spread some sauted onions mixture. Add the chicken tikka pieces over this. Add another layer of onions. Squeeze some lime. Roll the paratha and roll half of it in some brown paper. This will catch the extra grease and keep the paratha in a roll format. Eat hot. 

Update August 2020 : This has now got incorporated in the making :) - One other change that I intend to make the next time is to lightly saute the onions prior to making a salad out of it. I saw the Park Street guy doing this :P 

 

Update: While surfing to find a picture to put temporarily before I make my next lot and take a picture. I discovered on explocity.com that a Nizams of Kolkata has resurfaced in Delhi! 

 Update : Jul 1, 2006 : Viki Saigal : More locations for similar rolls - Ayub's in Bombay in Kala Ghoda or Sardars at Ballygunje Phadi in Cal or Nizam's at H Block C Circus Delhi and if in SIngapore and reeeeely homesick, try the Prata pepper sausage roll at the Takashimaya food Court in Singapore !! July 01, 2006 4:52 PM - more details in his comment on this post

Update: Sep 8, 2006: anonymous says "Nizam's in Kolkata has re-opened on September 6th with a newly renovated with the same food from the same people. Once again we all can enjoy our good old kathi rolls" - i hope that this is true and now i have one more reason to look forward to the my next trip to Kol :P 

Update: Dec 11, 2006: We found a restaurant in Dhaka which serves Kathi rolls almost as good as those made at Nizams. For those in Dhaka the restaurant is called Dhaba and it is in Banani. 

Update : June 25, 2008 : Vinita Nayar : An article on Nizam, "Beef it up", by Nondon Bagchi on how good the food still is. Have to put this on the top of my list for my next visit to Cal. Thanks Vinita, for the link.

Burmese Khow Suey / Khao Suey

Premika Posaw
Additional garnishes Amina Sarkar

Lost until today! I had Khow Suey for the first time when Premika made it for us and it was delicious! And then I misplaced the recipe for the longest time. The next time I had it was at Meera D's, where it was a favourite with the family. And then I had it at Amina's (photo taken of the spread) a few days ago and that's what had me scuttling around trying to locate this recipe. I plan to make this again some time soon.

Ingredients

1/2 kg boneless chicken cut into bite sized pieces
3-4 onions chopped fine
6-7 cloves garlic grated together with
1 1/2" of ginger
3/4 tbspn besan (gram flour)
Coconut Milk
Haldi, Chilli Powder & Salt

Garnish
Chopped spring onions
Deep fried sliced onions
Chopped coriander
chopped green chillies
Fried garlic flakes
boiled egg chopped small
maggi noodles (raw) fried
peanuts - fried/roasted broken into pieces
soya sauce
lime cut into quarters

Method
Fry onions till soft. Do not brown. Add ginger, garlic paste. Fry till it smells like it is done (!) approx. 3-4 minutes. Add the chicken, turmeric (shld look yellow) and chilli powder. Fry till the chicken turns white and is coated well with the spices. Add besan and mix well. Add coconut milk and an equal quantity of water. Also add the salt now. Bring to boil and let it simmer till the gravy thickens. The coconut milk might threaten to froth over but dont panic, wait for it to settle.

Serve in a bowl - first the noodles, top it with the gravy generously till the noodles are well covered and top with the all the garnish.

( discovered that premika has made no mention of the noodles in her recipe and i havent a clue so will have to chase her up to add that bit. Well, I got laughed at plenty but here it is. Jan 11, '06)

Boil water. Enough to cover the noodles. Put in noodles only after water starts boiling for 7 minutes. Add a pinch of salt, a tsp of oil and a garlic pod to the water along with the noodles. Drain and serve. We ate Khao Suey at Amina's last night and it was fabulous. I've updated the "Garnish" section with a few additions.

Burmese Khow Suey / Khao Suey

Premika Posaw

Lost until today! I had Khow Suey for the first time when Premika made it for us and it was delicious! And then I misplaced the recipe for the longest time. The next time I had it was at Meera D's, where it was a favourite with the family. And then I had it at Amina's (photo taken of the spread) a few days ago and that's what had me scuttling around trying to locate this recipe. I plan to make this again some time soon.

Ingredients

1/2 kg boneless chicken cut into bite sized pieces
3-4 onions chopped fine
6-7 cloves garlic grated together with
1 1/2" of ginger
3/4 tbspn besan (gram flour)
Coconut Milk
Haldi, Chilli Powder & Salt

Garnish
Chopped spring onions
Deep fried sliced onions
Chopped coriander
chopped green chillies
Fried garlic flakes
boiled egg chopped small
maggi noodles (raw) fried
peanuts - fried/roasted broken into pieces
soya sauce
lime cut into quarters

Method
Fry onions till soft. Do not brown. Add ginger, garlic paste. Fry till it smells like it is done (!) approx. 3-4 minutes. Add the chicken, turmeric (shld look yellow) and chilli powder. Fry till the chicken turns white and is coated well with the spices. Add besan and mix well. Add coconut milk and an equal quantity of water. Also add the salt now. Bring to boil and let it simmer till the gravy thickens. The coconut milk might threaten to froth over but dont panic, wait for it to settle.

Serve in a bowl - first the noodles, top it with the gravy generously till the noodles are well covered and top with the all the garnish.

( discovered that premika has made no mention of the noodles in her recipe and i havent a clue so will have to chase her up to add that bit. Well, I got laughed at plenty but here it is. Jan 11, '06)

Boil water. Enough to cover the noodles. Put in noodles only after water starts boiling for 7 minutes. Add a pinch of salt, a tsp of oil and a garlic pod to the water along with the noodles. Drain and serve. We ate Khao Suey at Amina's last night and it was fabulous. I've updated the "Garnish" section with a few additions.

Chicken Fry

Roopa Nayak

Ingredients
1/2 kg chicken cut in small pieces ( about 1" or a bit larger)
1 cup dahi
2" ginger piece
7-8 pods of garlic
1 tsp garam masala
1 tsp red chilli powder

Preparation
Make a paste of the ginger and garlic and add to the dahi. Also add salt, garam masala and red chilli powder. Mix well. Check taste and then add to the chicken. Ensure that all the pieces are well coated. Refrigerate for a minimum of 2 hours.

Method
Heat a little oil in a kadai. Put the chicken and stir till all the pieces are coated with oil. Then cover and simmer for 15 minutes. Open and keep stirring till the water dries and the oil comes to the surface. Serve Hot.

Green Chicken Curry - 2

Roopa Nayak

Ingredients
1 kg Chicken pieces ( broiler )
1 coconut of 1 1/2 cups of coconut milk
2 medium bundles of coriander
11-12 green chillies
11-12 garlic pods
3 marble sized bits of tamarind
4" ginger
4 medium onions

Sabud Garam Masala
1 tsp khus khus
5-6 cloves
3-4" cinnamon
7-8 peppercorns
1 cardamom
1/2 tsp jeera
1 tsp coriander seeds

Method
Make a paste out of one bunch of coriander, 2" ginger, 7-8 pcs garlic and 7-8 pcs green chillies. Apply to the chicken pieces along with salt and a pinch of turmeric and set aside.

Fry one chopped onion, 4 pods of garlic, 2" of ginger and 4 green chillies chopped fine in a kadai. Fry just for a short while to take away the raw smell of onions. Remove from oil and set aside. In the same oil fry the garam masala. Remove, allow it to cool and then put into a mixie along with the fried onions, another bunch of coriander, the tamarind and 2 tablespoons of coconut from which the milk has been removed. Make a masala

Take 3 chopped onions and fry in a pressure cooker till nicely browned. Add chicken and fry for a few minutes. Then close the pressure cooker and allow it time for one whistle. Wait for the pressure to subside before opening to ensure that the chicken is cooked. Open and add the second masala and allow it to boil. Also check to see if the chicken in tender else cook for longer. Then add coconut milk and allow it to simmer for 5 minutes. Add half the quantity of coconut milk add more if the flavor has not come out. If not spice enough add red chilli powder and check and top up salt.

Chicken Malai Kebabs

Malai Kebabs
Lata Ghose

We've had this several times at Lata's but attempted to make it just once when we had a barbecue in Alex. It's a rich recipe and a wonderful melt in your mouth kebab. Definitely will be repeated again. Ideally I would like to have it again at the Ghosh's!

recipe forwarded by Namita Sinha - only to explain the change in style of writing :P

i kilo breast with pierced,
vinegar 1/4 cup,
butter 3 tbs,
onion paste 1/2 cup,
ggp 6 tsp,
cashewnut paste 1 cup,
red chilli powder 2 tsp,
cornflour 1 tbs,
yoghurt 2 cups,
thickened cream 2 tbs,
small elaichi powder 3 tsp,
coriander leavesfinely chopped 1/2 cup,
2-3 green chillies finely chopped.

method- melt butter -fry onion-till gbrown-mix all ingredients-add onion paste-add chicken-marinate for at least 12 hours -bbq -put oil on top fron time to time while bbq.
leaves a lot of spare marinade but guess is ok

Green Chicken Curry

Pushpa Prabhu

Sundays at home when we were growing up wouldnt have felt like Sundays without mama's chicken soup and green chicken curry with parathas and onion rings. Got to get hold of the Chicken soup recipe too!

Total Ingredients:
I kg chicken2 onions
1-cup mint (~50 gms)2 cups coriander (~100 gms)
6 tablespoons oil1 cup grated coconut
12 green chilies1 lemon (juice)
12 garlic cloves3-inch ginger
1-tsp garam masala3 cloves
3 cardamoms1 inch cinnamon stick
10 peppercornssalt to taste

Marination of chicken
Marinate chicken pieces with 1-teaspoon ginger and 1 teaspoon garlic and half cup yogurt for 1 hour

Green chutney ingredients (has been included above) should be ground with all the ingredients listed below
100 gms. Coriander
50 gms mint
12 green chilies
10 garlic cloves
2 inch fresh ginger
1 cup grated coconut
3 cloves
3 cardamons
1 inch cinnamon stick
10 peppercorns
Put all the ingredients for the green chutney in a blender. Add 8 tablespoons of water and blend to a pastekeep aside.

Heat 3 tablespoons of oil in a wok over high heat. When oil is hot add the finely chopped onionsstir and fry for 3-4 minutes until they begin to brown. Add grated 1 teaspoon grated ginger and 1 teaspoon crushed garlic and stir once. Put in the chicken pieces and _ teaspoon of salt. Stir and fry for 2-3 minutes (heat should be high). Add the remaining marinade and then add 120-ml/1/2 cup of water and bring to a boil. Cover and simmer for 15 minutes.

Heat the remaining 3-tablespoon oil in a separate pan over high heat. When hot add chutneystir and cook for 6-8 minutes until the oil separates from the chutney. Add chicken pieces, their juices and _ teaspoon salt. Stir and cook over medium heat for 15 minutes or until the sauce has reduced to just coat the chicken and check to see that the chicken is tender. Add the lemon juice and garam masala and mix well.

Chicken Biryani

Waheeda Sayyid

This is a Biryani to absolutely die for. The process is a bit time consuming but the end result well worth it!

500gms chicken (with bones) cut into medium sized pieces

Ingredients for the Marinade
3-4 tsp Ginger Paste
3-4 tsp Garlic Paste
1/2 tsp Turmeric Powder
2 2 1/2 tsp Chilli Powder
2 2 1/2 tsp Dhania Powder (more if you like)
1 1/2 tsp Garam Masala
1 1/2 Bay leaves
4 5 Cloves
8-10 pcs of Whole Pepper
1 tsp Anardana (roughly ground) Add if sourness wanted
2 Cinamon stick
4-5 Cardamom Black and regular
1 1/2 medium Tomatoes cut in chunky bits
1/3 rd Lemon s Juice
3 tbl spns Yoghurt
3-4 tbl spns Oil
Salt to taste

Mix all the above well with the chicken and set aside for 3 hrs (minimum 1hr)

Ingredients to be fried
1 medium potato quartered and fried - optional
3 large onions finely sliced and deep fried till crisp. The onion should be ready before you begin to cook the chicken.
handful of cashew nuts
handful of raisins

400gms Basmati Rice. Wash and set aside. Start cooking after putting the Chicken on the stove. Cook until 2/3rds done. Then drain and set aside.

Put a pinch of Safron in warm milk and set aside for 20 minutes. The milk should turn yellow.

The Biryani
Put the chicken in a pot on the stove. Add 3/4ths of the fried onions. Cover and cook until the chicken is tender. Stir frequently to ensure that the masala does not stick to the base of the pot.

When ready transfer into the vessel in which the biryani will be made. Add slices of tomato till all the meat is hidden. 1 to 11/2 tomatoes should suffice. Now, spread the rice over the mixture. Pour the kesar/milk mixture over it and spread it to cover the surface.

Close the vessel and cook on an extremely low flame. Keep and eye to ensure that the meat does not stick to the bottom of the vessel and stop when the rice is cooked.

Garnish with the remaining onion some fresh coriander and the cashews and raisins. Serve immediately with raita. Try grated muli and pounded walnuts as optional ingredients in the raita.

Having the ingredients ready and prepared will help you save on cooking time.

Chicken Shammi Kebabs

Sharmila Arora

This has been used by us as a starter at parties in Shanghai - once the recipe was shared :P and to date. Easy to make, store and then fry and serve as required. Fifi used to do a terrific job of making these and samosas and stocking up!

Ingredients:
375 gms minced chicken 2 pieces cinnamon
20 gms Bengal gram (chana) dal
5 cloves
2 green chillies
4 green cardamoms
20 pepper corns
½" ginger &
4 garlic pods
salt to taste
½ cup water
½ coriander
200gms onions


Preparation : very finely cut half of the onions, green chillies and coriander.

Method: Put minced chicken in p. cooker with the remaining onions, ginger, garlic, green chillies, pepper corns, cinnamon, cloves, cardamoms, Bengal gram and water. Place cooker on medium heat. Bring to full cooking pressure, reduce heat and cook for 10 to 15 mins. Allow to cool. Remove all ingredients and grind to a fine paste. Mix paste with the very finely cut onions, g. chillies, coriander and salt. Add whole beaten egg[optional] and bread crumbs.

Make into FLAT BALLS and shallow or deep fry. Serve HOT.

Update: You could also make and place them onto a large plate and freeze for a short while. Then remove and bag in plastic bags and store in freezer. The first step is to ensure that they dont stick to each other. You can then remove and fry the quantity required when needed. Handy snack to serve even with ketchup. Update: You could put a whole 1kg chicken instead of mince for an even better taste put the whole chicken into the oressure cooker.