Chicken and Marinade
| Ingredient | English | 1x | 2x | 3x | 4x |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken Thighs (boneless, skinless)breast works too, but thighs add fat and juiciness | 6 thighs, chopped into chunks | 900 g | 1.8 kg | 2.7 kg | 3.6 kg |
| Garlic | 4 cloves | 15 g | 30 g | 45 g | 60 g |
| Ginger | 1 peeled knob | 20 g | 40 g | 60 g | 80 g |
| Saltplus a sprinkle for the garlic-ginger paste | 10 g | 10 g | 20 g | 30 g | 40 g |
| MSG | 3 g | 3 g | 6 g | 9 g | 12 g |
| Lime Juice | juice of 1/2 lime | 15 mL | 30 mL | 45 mL | 60 mL |
| Ground Cumin | 4 g (1 full spoonful) | 4 g | 8 g | 12 g | 16 g |
| Kashmiri Chili Powder | 1 spoonful | 5 g | 10 g | 15 g | 20 g |
| Turmeric | 1/2 spoonful | 2.5 g | 5 g | 7.5 g | 10 g |
| Black Pepper | 15 cranks | 1 g | 2 g | 3 g | 4 g |
| Plain Greek Yogurt | 50 g | 50 g | 100 g | 150 g | 200 g |
| Tomato Paste | 10 g | 10 g | 20 g | 30 g | 40 g |
Mint-Cilantro Chutney
| Ingredient | English | 1x | 2x | 3x | 4x |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lime Juice | juice of 1/2 lime | 15 mL | 30 mL | 45 mL | 60 mL |
| Roma Tomato | 1/2, cubed | 40 g | 80 g | 120 g | 160 g |
| Salt | 5 g | 5 g | 10 g | 15 g | 20 g |
| Green Chilies | 5 small (bird's eye, serrano, or jalapeno) | 20 g | 40 g | 60 g | 80 g |
| Fresh Cilantroadd more to adjust consistency | 1 big handful | 30 g | 60 g | 90 g | 120 g |
| Fresh Mint Leaves | 15 leaves | 5 g | 10 g | 15 g | 20 g |
| Unsweetened Coconut Flakes | 15 g | 15 g | 30 g | 45 g | 60 g |
| Water | a splash, for blending | 30 mL | 60 mL | 90 mL | 120 mL |
For Assembly
| Ingredient | English | 1x | 2x | 3x | 4x |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Parathasuse the flaky paratha recipe; frozen works great | 8, cooked (frozen or fresh) | 8 piece | 16 piece | 24 piece | 32 piece |
| Ghee | a little, for frying | 30 g | 60 g | 90 g | 120 g |
| Pickled Onions | plenty | 100 g | 200 g | 300 g | 400 g |
| Cucumber | 1, thinly sliced | 150 g | 300 g | 450 g | 600 g |
| Egg | optional, for egg kathi rolls | 1 piece | 2 piece | 3 piece | 4 piece |
| Chili Sauce and Ketchupfor the street-style egg variant | optional, for egg rolls | — | — | — | — |
Pantry swaps
| Original | Swap1 | Swap2 | Swap3 | Swap4 | Swap5 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Garlic | Garlic powder | ||||
| 1 | 0.125 | ||||
| Ginger | Ground ginger | ||||
| 1 | 0.333 | ||||
| Lime Juice | Lemons or lemon juice | ||||
| — | — | ||||
| Turmeric | Ground turmeric | ||||
| — | — | ||||
| Black Pepper | Ground black pepper | ||||
| 1 | 0.75 | ||||
| Plain Greek Yogurt | 1 cup sour cream (thicker; less tart) or buttermilk (thinner; use in baking, dressings, sauces) | ||||
| 1 | 1 | ||||
| Fresh Cilantro | Parsley (for color only; flavor cannot be duplicated) | ||||
| — | — | ||||
| Egg | 2 yolks plus 1 tablespoon cold water | 3 tablespoons vegetable oil plus 1 tablespoon water (for baking) | 3 tablespoons mayonnaise (for cakes) | 2 1/2 tablespoons of powdered egg substitute plus 2 1/2 tablespoons water, or 1/4 cup liquid egg substitute | half a banana mashed with 1/2 teaspoon baking powder |
| — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Chili Sauce and Ketchup | Dried chili flakes | 1 cup tomato sauce plus 1/4 cup sugar plus 3 tablespoons apple cider vinegar plus 1/2 teaspoon salt plus pinch of ground cloves combined | 1 cup chili sauce | ||
| 1 | — | 1 | 1 |
Method
- Set the oven to broil on high. In a mortar and pestle, add 4 garlic cloves, a peeled knob of ginger, and a tiny sprinkle of salt. Bash into a rough paste – crushing releases more flavor than mincing.
- Chop 6 boneless, skinless chicken thighs: cut each in half lengthwise, then cut across into chunks.
- Set a large bowl over a scale and add the chicken. Add 10 g salt, 3 g MSG, juice of half a lime, 4 g ground cumin, a spoonful of Kashmiri chili powder, half a spoonful of turmeric, 15 cranks of black pepper, 50 g Greek yogurt, 10 g tomato paste, and the garlic-ginger paste.
- Mix with your hands until the chicken is completely coated. This marinade is a lower-calorie alternative – no extra added fat, which comes from the paratha roll itself.
- Spread the chicken onto a baking sheet with space between every piece – this lets liquid steam off and gives charred bits around the edges. Use two trays if needed.
- Slide the sheet under the broiler and cook for 8-10 minutes, until the chicken has nice color and crispy edges and the thigh fat is sizzling.
- While the chicken cooks, make the chutney: to a blender add the juice of half a lime, half a cubed Roma tomato, 5 g salt, 5 small green chilies, a big handful of fresh cilantro, 15 fresh mint leaves, and 15 g unsweetened coconut flakes. Add a splash of water and blend until completely smooth. Adjust consistency with more cilantro, and adjust salt and citrus to taste.
- Set a pan over medium heat with a little ghee. Fry the parathas (fresh or frozen) until golden brown and crisp on the exterior.
- Assemble the chicken roll: spread a couple of spoonfuls of chutney on the bottom of a paratha. Follow with plenty of the marinated chicken, pickled onions, thinly sliced cucumber, and more chutney on top.
- Wrap the paratha up quite tightly. In street-food fashion, wrap a piece of parchment paper around the bottom third to hold it together and keep your hands clean; tuck the excess into the bottom of the roll.
Egg Kathi Roll (Street-Style Variant)
For vegetarians or a quick classic: scramble an egg over the paratha as it cooks by flipping the paratha over into the pan with the egg on top. Fill with pickled onions, cucumber slices, chili sauce, and – oddly enough – tomato ketchup. Whatever you throw in, it ends up delicious.
Notes
Servings: 8 (per roll). Per serving (estimated): 520 kcal, 40 g carbs, 30 g protein, 26 g fat, 3 g fiber. Macros estimated from ingredients; actual values depend on paratha size, chicken portion, and ghee used.
Kathi rolls were born on the streets of Kolkata: typically skewered meat wrapped in flaky parathas, with a protein, fresh or pickled vegetables, and a sauce. This version is optimized for a weeknight – oven-broiled marinated chicken instead of skewers over coals, plus the mint-cilantro chutney with a secret touch of coconut.
Source: Ethan Chlebowski, “Chicken Kathi Rolls, the perfect weeknight dinner” – companion to his paratha video.
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