Kitchen Experiments: Chicken Kathi Roll / Frankie / Baida Paratha / Nizam's Roll

After having sampled the delicious (albeit very oily) avataar of the Chicken Kathi Roll / Frankie /Baida Paratha / Nizam's Roll at 'On A Roll' at Phoenix Mills (opposite PVR cinemas), I really really wanted to recreate the magic of succulent spicy chicken encased in an egg-swaddled crispy roti at home - without the grease overload.

I got all the ingredients together one rainy Sunday afternoon.....and finished with a flourish in the evening. In other words, its a multi-step, kind of time-consuming process.......though the good news is most of the steps can be completed well in advance to avoid being rushed.


Here's the flowchart for my version of the famous-by-many-names Roll:

Step 1: Prep the chicken filling
Step 2: Make the masala/sauce
Step 3: Prepare the other additions for the filling
Step 4: Make the roti
Step 5: Coat it with egg to make baida, or egg paratha.
Step 6: Assemble the roll
Step 7: EAT!!!

Step 1:
There are lots of variations you can do for this step. I went with shallow-frying Venky's Chicken Seekh Kebab in very little oil till golden brown on all sides.


Possible alternatives that strike me are:

1. Leftover tandoori chicken, torn into bite-sized pieces, or leftover chicken tikka, or leftover chicken cutlets/burger patties cut into chunks

2. Pieces of marinated (marinade: yoghurt, red chilli powder, turmeric, salt, ginger-garlic paste, garam masala/chicken masala/tandoori chicken masala) boneless chicken fried in a pan or microwaved. If you use this option, you can skip Step 2

Step 2:
This is actually an optional step. I went for it cause I wanted the filling of the Roll to be nice and moist.

What I did was fried finely chopped onion and garlic with some garam masala, red chilli powder, turmeric and whole jeera. Added finely chopped tomatoes, a dash of sugar, and let it cooked till the oil started separating from the masala.


In short, a North-Indian version of the famous Tamilian Tomato Chutney.



Easier options can be:
1. Any chutney of your choice (Mint chutney / Raw mango, coriander, mint and jaggery chutney) - any chutney with clean, fresh, spicy flavours

2. Chilli sauce with a bit of tomato sauce added (to balance the heat)

Step 3:
I really think onion complements spicy chicken like nothing else, so was keen to pack it into the roll. I sliced an onion lengthwise and fried the strands in the oil leftover from frying the chicken kebabs. The onions absorbed the spciy, chicken flavours in the oil (I was loathe to waste that flavourful oil - I am thrifty!) so well that all they needed was a pinch of chat masala and a squeeze of lemon juice to make them into an amazing condiment with the chicken.

You needn't get into anything this elaborate, just fresh sliced onion with lemon juice and chat masala will be wonderful too - in fact the crunchiness of raw onion will enhance the texture of the roll.



Step 4:
I kneaded a dough of 1/3 parts maida (superfine flour) and 2/3 parts whole wheat flour (atta) and water (with a touch of oil and salt)

Rolled out thin rotis and partially cooked them on both sides on a tawa (griddle)


You can use tortillas or leftover rotis as well. Do not use parathas preferably cause the roti has to be thin enough to first take on an armour of fried egg and then be rolled around the chicken. A thick paratha will not be flexible enough for this.

Step 5:

Break open the egg(s), add salt, chopped green chillies and chopped garlic. Whisk well.


Pour into a frying pan and press a roti onto the egg before the egg sets into an omelette. This way, the egg will adhere to the roti to make a egg paratha.

You can spoon on some egg misture on top of the roti and then flip it so you have egg on both sides of the roti. I did this, but you can skip it.




Step 6.

This is assembly time!

Spread the sauce/chutney/gravy/masala over the egg paratha.
Spoon the chicken slightly off-centre in the paratha, and add the onion on top.


Roll up the paratha over the chicken-and-onion. If your roll is very thick, you might need to secure it with a toothpick.


Note: If you have done Steps 1 through 4 in advance (Step 5 onwards have to be on-the-spot for the roll to be yummy), re-heat the chicken before use.

Step 7:
Bite into a glorious, piping-hot, glistening eggy paratha laden with spicy chicken, and don't bother to wipe the trickle of masala/sauce/chutney that WILL dribble over your chin.

Seven magic steps to some serious culinary magic. :)