Chicken Kathi Rolls Recipe

Chicken Kathi Rolls Recipe, also known as chicken frankie or chicken wrap. Spicy chicken filling stuffed inside paratha, with onions, peppers, lemon and chaat masala is a favourite street foods from Lucknow & Mumbai. Flaky paratha cooked with a layer of egg is stuffed with a spicy chicken kebab mixture and rolled into a wrap. For vegetarian option check my veg kathi rolls and paneer frankie. Learn how to make simple chicken kathi rolls with step by step pictures. and video.

Chicken Kathi rolls

Kathi rolls is one of my favourite dish to pack in kids lunch box or snacks box. Traditional Kathi rolls is made with flaky paratha or malabar paratha which can be time consuming. Instead I use tortilla or chapati for wrap and it taste so good and easy option. 

Jump to:

• About Chicken Kathi Rolls (Chicken Frankie)
• Watch Chicken Kathi Rolls Video
• Chicken Kebab Ingredients
• Chicken Kathi Rolls Ingredients
• How to Make Chicken Kathi Rolls (Stepwise Pictures)
• Expert Tips
• 📖 Recipe Card

Chicken can be marinated a day in advance and cooked fresh when serving. Make sure you top the paratha with lettuce, onions, capsicum, lemon and chaat masala for tasty wrap. 

About Chicken Kathi Rolls (Chicken Frankie)

Kathi rolls or Frankie is a wrap or snack dish similar to a roll which has any cooked protein, veggies and sauce of your choice. Kathi rolls is a popular Indian street food dish in Mumbai or Lucknow and is loved by locals. Because of its convenience, it is portable and loved by college students, office goers and people on the go.

Kathi rolls is same as Frankie. While Kathi rolls is popular in Lucknow and Frankie is popular among Mumbai street vendors. Kathi means “stick” or “cooking in a stick”, Traditionally chicken or other protein like paneer, tofu is skewered in a stick or metal skewer and cooked in tandoor or oven. You can easily pan fry or cook in a skillet at home. 

This chicken wrap is made with tortilla or paratha, grilled spicy chicken, some crunchy veggies. They are so healthy, you can put them in your kids lunch boxes or make it for parties. Chicken Kathi rolls or Frankie have stuffing of chicken which is grilled in spicy masala. Also check paneer frankie, pepper cheese frankie. 

Chicken Kebab can be made in oven or cooked in a grill pan or tawa till cooked. The paratha used is flaky parotta with layers just like malabar paratha. The paratha is topped with cooked chicken kebab, sliced onions, lemon juice and chaat masala. 

Kathi rolls is a famous street food item in Mumbai. And it works great for a picnic, since it becomes handy and filling meal. If you are a vegetarian, instead of chicken you could do this with tofu, paneer or mushrooms. 

Similar Wrap Recipes

Paneer Frankie

Veggie Wrap

Shawarma

Egg Wrap

Peri peri Chicken Wrap

Watch Chicken Kathi Rolls Video

Chicken Kebab Ingredients

Chicken - You can use boneless chicken breast or chicken thigh cut into cubes. While chicken breast cooks faster than chicken thighs. Allow chicken to marinate for 2 hours or overnight for juicy chicken. Chicken can be cooked in a tandoor or skillet.

Yogurt | Curd - use thick yogurt such as greek style yogurt in the marinate. If you don’t have thick yogurt, you can use hung curd such as dahi. 

Spice powders - chilli powder, turmeric powder, cumin powder, garam masala powder, black pepper powder, chaat masala powder is used in the spice masala. 

Ginger & Garlic - equal amount of freshly ground ginger and garlic is used in the marinate. 

Coriander leaves - finely chop coriander leaves or mint leaves in the marinate. 

Gram Flour | Besan - I used besan, chickpea flour or gram flour in the marinate. It acts as binding agent and also makes the chicken kebab juicy.

Lemon - lemon juice or vinegar is used as meat tenderiser and also adds a slight tangy taste to the kebab. 

Oil - you can use some vegetable oil in the marinate to make the chicken moist and juicy. 

Chicken Kathi Rolls Ingredients

Tortilla or Paratha - The paratha used is flaky parotta with layers just like malabar paratha. Traditional Kathi rolls is made with flaky paratha or malabar paratha which can be time consuming. Instead I use tortilla or chapati for wrap and it taste so good and easy option. Spread a layer of egg over some paratha and cook the paratha till done. This egg paratha is used in the making of Kathi rolls. 

Chicken Filling - Marinate chicken with ginger, garlic, lemon, spice powders, gram flour, yogurt and salt. This Chicken can be marinated a day in advance and cooked fresh when serving. Chicken Kebab can be made in oven or cooked in a grill pan or skillet. 

Onions - Sliced onions is added when sautéing cooked chicken kebab. Sprinkle sliced onions over paratha and roll into Frankie. Onions adds crunchy texture and taste to the Frankie. 

Capsicum - Capsicum or bell peppers helps adds texture to the wrap with its unique aroma and taste. 

Lettuce - shredded cabbage or lettuce is used in the wrap.

Chaat Masala - make sure you sprinkle some fresh chaat masala powder over the chicken to adds a zingy taste to the wrap. 

Lemon Juice - A squeeze of lemon juice is a final touch to the wrap. 

Chicken Kathi Rolls in 5 Easy Steps

Marination - Start by marinating chicken with the given ingredients. Mix and Leave this to marinate for 2 hours.

Chicken Kebab - For cooking chicken in skillet, heat oil in a nonstick pan. Add in the chicken and cook till done. Once the chicken is cooked, remove to a bowl and set aside.

Making Chicken Filling - Now for making chicken filling. Heat some oil in a pan, add in onions, capsicum, green chillies and saute on high for 2 minutes. Now add in the ketchup, red chilli powder and toss well. Add some water and mix well. Add in chicken kebab along with some chaat masala and mix well. This is your chicken filling.

Egg Paratha - Heat a tawa with some oil. Add in the tortilla and cook on each side for few seconds. Now lightly beat one egg  and pour half of it over one side of tortilla, flip over and cook on other side till done. Cook both side till slightly golden. Remove to a plate.

Assembling - Now take the egg coated tortilla in a parchment lined work surface. Add the chicken filling inside the tortilla and top it with some chopped onions, capsicum, lettuce, chaat masala and some lemon juice. Roll it up and wrap with parchment paper. Serve.

How to Make Chicken Kathi Rolls (Stepwise Pictures)

Chicken kebab marination

1)Take boneless chicken in a bowl. I am using boneless chicken breast cut into cubes. You can use chicken thighs which results in super juicy chicken kathi rolls. Whatever cuts you use, make sure you cut them in bite size pieces.

Pro Tip: You can cook this chicken kebab in oven using a skewer, But I am going to pan fry the chicken kebab in a skillet.

2)Add in plain yogurt and ginger garlic paste. Like all kebab recipe, yogurt acts as a tenderizer and helps to keep the chicken juicy.

3)Add in salt and spice powders. I am using kashmiri chilli powder, cumin powder, black pepper powder, garam masala powder and turmeric powder.

Optionally you can add amchoor powder and chaat masala powder.

4)I added some chopped coriander leaves. Even though this is optional, it adds wonderful aroma.

Some times I even use chopped mint leaves. You can grind mint and coriander leaves along with ginger and garlic.

5)Squeeze in some lemon juice. You can use vinegar as well but lemon juice is best.

6)Add in some oil. This is plain refined oil which makes the chicken juicy.

Since I used chicken breast, I added 3 tbsp of oil. If you are using chicken thigh, you only need to use 1 tbsp of oil.

7)Now for binding I am using gram flour. it helps seal the chicken breast when frying which ensures the chicken stays moist.

8)Mix this really well and allow this to marinate overnight or at least 2 hours.

Cooking Chicken kebab

9)Heat oil in a pan. I prefer to use nonstick pan, but you can use cast iron pan too. Add in the chicken kebab mixture in the oil. Don't over crowd the pan, else the chicken will leave lots of water and won't sear properly.

Cook on medium high flame to get some colour on the chicken.

10)Flip over the chicken kebab after 2 to 3 minutes to get golden. Once chicken is cooked completely, remove it to a bowl.

Making Chicken Filling for Kathi Rolls

11)Take all your ingredients for chicken filling. I am using sliced onions, capsicum, chillies, lemon juice, cooked chicken kebab, spices and tomato ketchup.

As far as the spices, I used chilli powder and chaat masala powder.

12)Now in the same pan in which we used to cook chicken kebab. Heat little oil if there isn't any oil left.

Add in sliced onions, bell peppers, green chillies. Saute them on high heat for 2 minutes.

13)The onions shouldn't have any raw smell in them. It should be cooked slightly.

14)At this point, add in tomato ketchup and mix well.

15)Now add in red chilli powder and toss well.

16)Now it is combined well. Toss on high heat till it gets mixed well.

17)Pour some water in and let it cook. Don't add too much water, just ¼ cup of water is enough.

18)Add in the chicken kebab and toss with the onion masala on high heat till it is completely coated.

19)Now add in chaat masala powder and lemon juice if needed. Chaat masala adds so much taste to the kebab mix.

20)Now the chicken kebab mix for the kathi rolls are done.

Making Egg Paratha for Kathi rolls

21)Traditional Kathi rolls is made with flaky paratha or malabar paratha which can be time consuming. Instead I use tortilla or chapati for wrap and it taste so good and easy option.

Heat a tawa on medium high heat, drizzle some oil in the pan. Place the tortilla in the pan and cook for few seconds. Flip over and cook on other side too.

22)Crack open 2 eggs in a bowl, season with salt and pepper and mix well. Pour some of the egg mixture over the tortilla and flip over carefully to cook. You can drizzle some oil if needed. Cook the tortilla on both sides till cooked.

Assembling the Rolls

23)Place the egg coated tortilla in the parchment paper.

24)Spoon some chicken filling on top of the tortilla.

25)Sprinkle with sliced onions, cabbage, capsicum.

26)Sprinkle some chaat masala powder on top of the chicken filling.

27)Now squeeze some lemon juice on top.

28)Roll the kathi rolls tightly and secure with a parchment paper.

29)Enjoy.

Expert Tips

• Instead of using tortilla, you can use paratha, roti, chapati or rumali roti too.
• Using egg inside the tortilla is optional but it makes the kathi rolls authentic.
• Chicken kebab mixture can be marinated in fridge for 2 days. 
• You can make the chicken filling a day in advance and reheat when serving.
• You can spread the wrap with some green chutney, red chilli chutney, sauce, mayo if needed. 

Storage & Serving

This wrap taste best when consumed immediately. but you can put in lunch box as well. It cannot be meal prepped and stored in fridge, because it tends to get soggy. But you can store the marinated chicken kebab mixture in fridge for 2 days. You can also make the chicken filling a day in advance and reheat when serving.

More Wraps and Rolls to Try

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