Kathi rolls

A quick and easy meal on the go, an evening snack, an interesting way to use up left over rotis - any of these descriptions would fit a kathi roll perfectly. Called Frankie in Mumbai, a kathi roll is a medley of vegetables and masalas wrapped inside a flaky roti. Though I have eaten these in restaurants where the outer covering was made of all purpose flour/maida, I have tried to make my version healthy by using whole wheat rotis.

What you need :
Roti/chapati/parotta - as many as needed
Chaat masala
For the filling : (This recipe makes enough filling for 7 rotis)
Potato - medium sized, one - peeled and diced
Carrot - 1,chopped
Capsicum - 1/2, chopped fine
Onion - a small one, chopped fine
Green chilli - 1, minced
Ginger garlic paste - 1/2 tsp
Beans - 8, stringed and chopped
Tomato - 1, chopped
Oil - 2 tsp
Garam masala - 1/2 tsp
Red chilli powder - 1/2 tsp
Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
Juice of half a lemon

Corriander/cilantro - a little, chopped fine
Salt - to taste

Steam cook the potato, carrot and beans.
Heat oil in a pan. Add the green chilli, and chopped onions. Saute until pink. Add ginger garlic paste and saute for another minute on low flame. Add the chopped capsicum and tomato. Cover and cook over a low flame until the capsicum is cooked yet crunchy. Add in the cooked veggies, turmeric powder, garam masala, red chilli powder and salt to taste. Mix well and heat until any excess moisture evaporates. Add lemon juice and garnish with chopped corriander.

To make the roll:
Spread a generous helping of the filling on one side of the roti.
Sprinkle some chaat masala over it and then roll the roti in such a way that the filling is wrapped inside.

 Place a few rolls seam side down and drizzle some ketchup or chutney over it if desired.

This is my second post for Week 3 of Blogging Marathon #47 under the theme Cooking from the menu card of a restaurant - the restaurant of my choice being Puranmal.
Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing BM# 47 

Falafel wrap

When I was a child, rain is something that I always looked forward to. For that matter, I still do love rain. Every year, school would reopen on the first of June or the closest working day to that and the start of school always coincided with the onset of the monsoon. Rain in Kerala is the most beautiful thing you can see. The green that the leaves take on after the first rain is so different from the summer green and so much more refreshing.
Making paper boats during the rains was a major pastime and something of an art. Some of my friends used to come up with double-decker and triple-decker boats!!! Jumping in puddles, getting deliberately drenched in the rain - things that were so commonplace to us, these are the little pleasures that the present generation of kids are missing out on. Walking to school in our new uniforms, squeaky new rain-wear shoes and vibrantly coloured umbrellas was so much fun. To this day, I don't think I've bought a black umbrella - yes, I do have one stashed away in the cupboard, but that's for the DH. Give me my pretty flowered umbrella any day.

This falafel wrap was made a few days back on a nice, rainy day here in Chennai. Unfortunately, the rain is gone and the sun is back in all it's "glory".....but the recipe is a keeper.

What you need:

For the falafel (makes about 20 medium sized falafels)

Kabuli channa/ chick peas - 1 cup, soaked in plenty of water overnight
Onion - 1, chopped into large chunks
Green chilli - 2 or 3
Fresh coriander - a handful
Salt
Juice of one lemon
Garlic - 4 cloves
Cumin powder - 1 tsp
Italian seasoning - 1 tsp (optional - I happened to have a packet that I got from Pizza Hut which I didn't want to throw away....so in it went)
Oil - for deep frying
Take all the ingredients except lemon juice in a blender and grind to a coarse paste adding as little water as possible. Add lemon juice to this. Refrigerate for half an hour.
Shape into lemon sized balls. Flatten slightly and deep fry in hot oil. Set this aside.For the tahini sauce :
White sesame seeds - 2 tbsp
Sesame oil - 1/2 tsp
Salt
Thick yogurt - 1 cup
Garlic - 2 pods
Cumin powder - 1 tsp

Take the sesame seeds and sesame oil in a blender. Add a little water and salt and grind to a smooth paste. To this, add the yogurt, cumin powder, garlic and salt. Blend again. If you'd like to,you can squeeze a lemon over this and also add a tsp of olive oil. I didn't.

To make the wrap:Rotis- as many as needed. I made these thicker than normal rotis, because I didn't want it to get soggy with the sauce. Usually, pita bread is used....but that is not available in my part of the world.
Spread some of your favourite veggies on the roti. I used grated carrots, tomatoes, salt, corriander and squeezed some lemon juice over it. Place one or two falafels over it and then pour some tahini over it.
Enjoy!!!

Recipe source : A cookery show that I watch on Jaya TV.What I think of the dish : Definitely a keeper. I love the tahini sauce....so few ingredients and so much flavour. It turned out to be a little watery, though. Next time around, I think I will reduce the amount of yogurt used. I think it would make a great dip for chips as well. The falafel and the tahini make for a great snack and served this way, in a roti, it is a complete meal.