Saturday 15 November 2008

kati roll

kati roll is reminiscent of t.r.p (a pakistani roll enterprise) albeit a more sophisticated version of it. this soho eatery is incredibly cheap and very tasty. it is also one of the many wrap places that populate london’s quick, cheap, food-to-go options.

a kati roll is a sub-continental inspired wrap. it is essentially a paratha (a thin round of bread griddle fried in oil). to this the creators of kati roll have added a number of flavorful meat or veggie fillings. the roll itself is presented in a foil wrap with red onions and a generous amount of mint chutney – o had an achari paneer kati roll whilst i had a beef tikka one to assuage my red meat cravings. achar is an oily indian pickle a bit heavy on the spice but is tasty accompanied by bite sized cubes of fresh indian paneer (cheese) akin to tofu. the two offset each other well. my beef tikka was bite sized cubes of meat that was well cooked and wrapped with onions and chutney. both of them were finger licking good, almost as good as t.r.p

t.r.p, the shortened version of taimoori roll paratha , when it arrived in islamabad was a roadside kiosk offering similar rolls and was located in f-10. it was so good that it warranted a trip from f-7 to f-10 when the t.r.p craving hit (islamabadites will understand the zipcode syndrome). t.r.p was much spicier than kati roll but they are both are a calorific tasty treat.

i am definitely going back for an aloo tikki (potato cutlet) sandwich for no other reason than the invocation of food memory. mama’s aloo tikki’s were a wonderful affair of well mashed potatoes seasoned with a smattering of asian spices – coriander and cumin seed, fresh green chilies, sometimes pomegranate seed. they were formed into tikki’s, dipped in a lightly beaten egg, then rolled in bread crumbs and shallow fried until the breadcrumb coating was a reddish brown. i loved eating these on toast, mashed slightly under the fork to spread them over the toast. they were great cold as well and were a packed lunch staple, either crimped in toast like a pakistani rarebit or between untoasted white bread.