Kolkata’s beloved kathi roll, recently ranked sixth among the world’s best wraps by TasteAtlas, has travelled from a humble Esplanade area snack to a global culinary symbol. What began as a quick meal for British officers in colonial Calcutta’s Nizam’s, evolved into a citywide obsession, uniting generations of office-goers, college students, and late-night wanderers. Today, the kathi roll stands as much a part of Kolkata’s identity as the tramlines or the Howrah Bridge, carrying the city’s rich flavours, nostalgia, and spirit in a single, grease-stained wrap.
“The first kathi roll we had was at Nizam’s in the late ’70s. It cost 80 paisa. I remember the excitement in Class XII when two of our classmates went from Ballygunge to Esplanade by cycle to bring rolls for others. They got punished for bunking,” recalled journalist Tapasree Gupta.
For decades, those parathas wrapped around skewered beef, and later chicken and mutton, cheered lunch breaks, late-night conversations and first dates. “I was almost a regular at Nizam’s in the ’80s. The last time I had a kathi roll from Nizam’s was in the early 2000s. After that, I have never had a kathi roll from there. Later, many places replicated the roll, but no one could really bring that same taste,” says retired central-government employee Soumyajit Bhowmick.
The roll’s golden era lined up with Kolkata’s dawn-to-dusk street food culture. “During the ’80s, there was a stifle between the owners and employees of Nizam’s. I do not remember the reason, but I remember it was shut down for some months and they would sell only biryani and rolls on the footpath,” remembers another former government professional, Dipankar Mukherjee.
“It was always beef kathi rolls for us. Two of us Xaverians would walk to Nizam’s in the late 70s and get beef kathi rolls for the others. One would never be enough for us,” says businessman Ritesh Datta.
Those early rolls featured grilled kebabs on sticks (“kathi” means stick in Bengali) wrapped inside a flaky paratha, sometimes with a cracked egg, chopped onions, green chillies and a squeeze of lime. The name stuck even when the wooden or bamboo skewer was replaced.
Over time, many shops drifted from the original recipe to curry-type fillings with heavy sauces. Yet the Muslim-owned shops, especially in the New Market-Park Street belt, held on to the old sensibility with grilled kebabs and minimal fuss.
Now, the kathi roll has moved from a Kolkata culinary pleasure to a global icon. Its sixth place in the TasteAtlas list marks a proud milestone for India’s street-food heritage.
Author Aritra Sarkar, who has written extensively on Kolkata’s culinary history, calls the kathi roll “an accident of necessity.” He explained, “Like many great culinary inventions, the Kathi Roll wasn’t the result of meticulous planning; it was born out of the need to make kebabs easier to eat. During the British Raj, Nizam’s wrapped their kebabs in parathas so the British officers wouldn’t have to touch greasy meat with their hands. Later, when the iron skewers were replaced with bamboo sticks or ‘kathi’, the roll got its name.”
Where to try (other than Nizam’s)
- Kusum Rolls on Park Street, known for its egg-laden chicken rolls.
- Badshah at Esplanade, famed for its mutton rolls.
- Hot Kathi Roll (Park Street area) where many college-goers used to grab late-night rolls.
Make at home
While kathi rolls were originally made with beef kebabs, Nizam’s later discontinued beef and began offering them in chicken and mutton versions. The original recipe is a secret, so this is the closest you can get if you want to enjoy it at home.
Serves: 4 rolls
Prep time: 30 minutes
Cooking time: 45 minutes
Ingredients
For the paratha
- Maida (refined flour): 2 cups
- Salt: ½ tsp
- Sugar: ½ tsp
- Refined oil or ghee: 2 tbsp (plus extra for cooking)
- Water: as needed to make a soft dough
For the kebab filling
- Boneless chicken or mutton cubes: 500g
- Ginger-garlic paste: 2 tbsp
- Kashmiri red chilli powder: 1 tsp
- Turmeric: ½ tsp
- Cumin powder: 1 tsp
- Coriander powder: 1 tsp
- Garam masala: ½ tsp
- Lemon juice: 1 tbsp
- Mustard oil: 2 tbsp
- Salt: to taste
For the roll assembly
- Sliced onion: 1 cup
- Green chillies: 2-3, chopped
- Lemon wedges: for garnish
- Fresh coriander leaves: chopped (optional)
- Paper sheets or butter paper: for wrapping
Method
- In a bowl, mix flour, salt, sugar and oil. Add water gradually to make a soft dough. Knead for 5–6 minutes, cover and rest for 20 minutes
- In a large bowl, mix chicken or mutton cubes with ginger-garlic paste, chilli powder, turmeric, cumin, coriander, garam masala, mustard oil, lemon juice and salt
- Let it marinate for at least 2 hours (overnight for mutton)
- Thread the marinated meat onto skewers and grill over an open flame, in a tandoor, or on a heavy tawa till cooked and slightly charred. (Mutton may take longer; add a splash of water and cover if pan-cooking.)
- Divide the dough into balls, roll out each into a thin circle. Cook on a tawa with a little oil or ghee till golden and flaky on both sides
- Place a hot paratha on a flat surface, line with grilled kebab pieces, sliced onions, chopped chillies and a squeeze of lemon. Sprinkle a few coriander leaves if desired
- Tightly wrap in paper from one end so it’s easy to hold, and serve immediately