Quick and Easy Egg Kati Rolls

These crunchy kati egg rolls are absolutely delicious as a quick and easy breakfast. Use frozen or fresh made paratha, add some egg mixture and voila, you have a healthy and hearty snack or breakfast!

Every time I am in Kolkata, I absolutely must have a Kati roll. The street vendors in Kolkata are so talented and sharp in putting these together and the rolls are easily one of the best creations from the city!

I love Kolkata so much as it’s so rich in history and heritage and that heritage directly translates into its food.

We see that history through the creation of Indo-chinese food, which was literally born out of the Hakka Chinese population that moved to Kolkata, from China. That history is a whole different post, but I spoke about it in detail in my food and history workshop with South Asian Heritage month.

The point is, if you’re in India, or planning to go to India, go to Kolkata, because the food there will never disappoint.

Some of my other bengali recipes that are my absolute favourite are begun bhaja, chicken curry and lamb curry!

Origins

The origin of the name comes from the term used to refer to people from Kolkata, they are called ‘Koli-kati’ people. Kolkata sits within West Bengal and so, they are also referred to as Bengalis as well.

The latter half of the word, ‘Kati’ is taken to identify these flaky crispy rolls as ‘Kati Rolls’.

What are Kathi rolls and what are they made out of?  

They are comprised of paratha bread, an omelette, and your filling of choice. A lot of people like to eat them with a paneer, chicken, vegetable and lamb!

Here I am simply making them with the flaky paratha and omelette, as I think for breakfast, this is an ideal meal, or alternatively this could be great as a snack. You can also pair this with a karak chai or  iced chai!

What are Indian parathas?

In contrast to Roti and chapati, paratha is a type of Indian bread that is flaky and layered in nature. The flaky texture is achieved by the method used when it is rolled. Lots of people enjoy this bread with their curries or as an aloo paratha! Aloo paratha is also a phenomenal Indian breakfast to have.

How to make dough for paratha?

Ingredients for paratha:

If you are planning on making the parathas from scratch, then these are the ingredients you will need:

1. Three cups of plain flour / all-purpose flour or atta – I would highly recommend going with the elephant atta, if you are using Indian atta.
2. One teaspoon of salt – be careful not to add more, as I made this mistake and the results were not good!
3. One egg.
4. Roughly a half cup of water.

Note: you might have to eyeball this process a bit and knead accordingly until you get to a firm dough.

Steps for making the paratha dough?

1. Place your flour, salt and egg into a mixing bowl and add a splash of water.
2. Begin mixing the ingredients together. You want to slowly add your water, test the mixture and kneed the dough, and then add more water as required.
3. Kneed the dough well for around 30 minutes or so, until you reach a firm dough texture.
4. Let the dough rest for 30 minutes minimum if you don’t have time. If you do have time , I would let it rest overnight or 24 hours.
5. Once rested, it will increase in size and then you want to take a chunk off with your hand and roll it out into a circle with a rolling pin.
6. Once rolled out, top off with some ghee and then slice through (but only half way), and grab that one sliced end and roll it to the other side of the paratha.
7. Place the dough on its other side and then flatten and roll out again into a circle.

How to make Kathi rolls? A step-by-step guide:

Kathi rolls, from Kolkata to New York and London

Kathi rolls have now found popularity in bustling foodie cities like New York and London, and within its popularity is the story of one Indian business woman, Payal Saha.

Payal moved from Kolkata to New York and missed those amazing and authentic Kati rolls from her home and so set up shop with just her and one assistant.

New York caught on to this delicious street food and the Kati Roll company has grown from Greenwich village NYC, to three further locations in New York, two shops in London and one in Texas. As a fellow Bengali, I feel super proud that we have an authentic representation of the roll over here in London and admire how the business has grown, all while retaining the distinct Bengali character of the Kati roll. and

Other breakfast / brunch recipes?

Some of my other favorite Indian breakfast ideas are the classic eggs kejriwal, tofu bhurji, and my bombay breakfast sandwich.

Pair these with a classic karak chai and you have a perfect breakfast combo.