Pritha's Chicken Roll
I am so very late with this post for the star of the week Pritha Chakrabarty of Guilt Free! I had all good intentions of making Chicken Roll for our anniversary dinner last Tuesday. But Tuesday morning found me otherwise indisposed. My tennis elbow had flared up which forced me to go off using my right arm for three straight days. My tonsils were the size of golf balls and I had lost my voice. For three days I could barely whisper a sentence or two every couple of hours. I guess that was the best anniversary gift I could have given the husband - no hounding or harrying for three full days! He must have had the time of his life! I can talk now, but I sound 'weird' - the 5 year old keeps reminding me that. And so does everyone that I talk to on the phone. I like to think of it as my 'sexily husky' or 'huskily sexy' voice (are those even adjectives?! The noggin's been kinda muddled)
About Pritha. A journalist by profession, she blogs from Guilt Free. Bubbly and vivacious, she always has this twinkle in her eyes which will make one like her almost instantly! Even though I have not met her in person, I have a sneaky feeling that she has a hearty infectious laughter. She might be a newcomer on the blogging front, but she has some killer recipes on her blog. She loves to play with flavors, try out new things and is so committed. She did a 30-day Eat like a Bong series where she covered 30 quintessentially Bengali recipes in 30 days. In a row! What a tremendous feat! This Chicken Roll is from that series, and it turned out SO awesome. And I have followed her recipe almost to the tee.
I know the husband for 18 years now! More than half of my lifetime. Phew! His cousin (and my friend) introduced us on fateful day way back in 1996 (I was still in school then, and he had just started college). Resources were sparse when we started dating but we would almost always end up in an eatery. And almost always he would order a Chicken Roll. I would always settle for a cup of tea and something else. But never a Chicken Roll. Then one day, I took a bite, and boy was I hooked!And thus my love affair with Chicken Roll started. The husband and I had several favorite joints all over of Kolkata that we frequented just for their Chicken Rolls. I used to think we were 'berosik' to the core, but now I know, we have always been 'khadyorosik'. So the Chicken Roll seemed to be the perfect choice to celebrate 12 years of married life! But life had other plans and we ended up having Spicy Tuna Fresh Rolls, Frozen Biriyani, Vanilla Cheesecake and a beer named Bengali from Wholefoods. I made the Chicken Roll 3 days later. Boy, what a treat it was!
Ingredients: Yield: 6 rolls
For the Chicken filling
Marinade for the Chicken:
For the Parathas:
Whisk together everything under "Marinade for Chicken", give it a quick taste for seasoning, adjust if required before adding the cubed bite size chicken pieces to it. Mix well so that the marinade coats the chicken pieces nicely and leave in the fridge overnight.
Next Day: In a bowl, whisk together flour and salt. Add the oil and mix using your fingers till you get a crumbly mixture. Add water little by little and knead till you get a soft dough. Pinch out 6 equal balls from the dough, using the palms of your hands shape into smooth little balls, cover and let it rest for at least half an hour.While the dough rests, heat 1 tbsp oil in a pan and fry the onions till they start caramelizing. Throw in the sliced bell peppers and cook for 3-4 minutes. Drain on a paper towel, sprinkle some salt and set aside.
To the same pan, add 1 tbsp oil and fry the chicken pieces (marinade and all) for couple of minutes, then cover and cook on medium high heat. Once the oil starts to leave the sides, uncover and cook for 5 or 6 minutes till all the liquid dries up. Scrape and stir as required. Take off heat and keep aside.
Now, roll out the pinched out dough-balls. Heat a tawa/pan and add ghee or oil (couple of teaspoons) to it. Fry each rolled-out paratha one by one. Flip once you see the paratha puff up. I followed Pritha's tip and sprinkled few drops of oil around so that the edges crisped up but the middle remained soft. If the entire paratha crisps up, then it will not roll up pretty!
Now it is time to assemble the Chicken Rolls. Lay each paratha flat and place a straight line of chicken pieces around the 1/3rd line mark. Top it with the fried onions and bell pepper, squeeze a little lemon juice, adorn it with little specks of green chilies and sprinkle the chat masala. Now roll the paratha and wrap it in a piece of parchment paper. Serve hot!
Once again the original recipe is here! And do visit a blog. It is such a fun read!
PS: Please don't judge my parathas - they were victims of my tennis-elbowed arm. Wait, is that even an adjective?!
About Pritha. A journalist by profession, she blogs from Guilt Free. Bubbly and vivacious, she always has this twinkle in her eyes which will make one like her almost instantly! Even though I have not met her in person, I have a sneaky feeling that she has a hearty infectious laughter. She might be a newcomer on the blogging front, but she has some killer recipes on her blog. She loves to play with flavors, try out new things and is so committed. She did a 30-day Eat like a Bong series where she covered 30 quintessentially Bengali recipes in 30 days. In a row! What a tremendous feat! This Chicken Roll is from that series, and it turned out SO awesome. And I have followed her recipe almost to the tee.
I know the husband for 18 years now! More than half of my lifetime. Phew! His cousin (and my friend) introduced us on fateful day way back in 1996 (I was still in school then, and he had just started college). Resources were sparse when we started dating but we would almost always end up in an eatery. And almost always he would order a Chicken Roll. I would always settle for a cup of tea and something else. But never a Chicken Roll. Then one day, I took a bite, and boy was I hooked!And thus my love affair with Chicken Roll started. The husband and I had several favorite joints all over of Kolkata that we frequented just for their Chicken Rolls. I used to think we were 'berosik' to the core, but now I know, we have always been 'khadyorosik'. So the Chicken Roll seemed to be the perfect choice to celebrate 12 years of married life! But life had other plans and we ended up having Spicy Tuna Fresh Rolls, Frozen Biriyani, Vanilla Cheesecake and a beer named Bengali from Wholefoods. I made the Chicken Roll 3 days later. Boy, what a treat it was!
Ingredients: Yield: 6 rolls
For the Chicken filling
- Chicken - 1 lb boneless, cut into bit-size pieces
- Onions - 1 Cup, thinly sliced into half-moons
- Green Bell Pepper - 1 Cup, thinly sliced
- Lemon Juice - few squeezes
- Oil - 1 tbsp + 1 tbsp
- Green chilies - 2 or 3 or more, finely chopped
- Chat masala - as required
Marinade for the Chicken:
- Grated Garlic - 2 tbsp
- Grated Ginger - 1 tbsp
- Greek Yogurt/Hung Curd - 2 tbsp
- Lemon Juice - 2 tbsp
- Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
- Cumin powder - 1 tsp
- Coriander powder - 1 tsp
- Paprika - 1 tsp
- Garam masala - 1/2 tsp (Spice mix of 1/2 inch cinnamon stick, 2 green cardamoms and 2 cloves)
- Salt to taste
For the Parathas:
- All Purpose Flour/Maida - 1 1/2 Cup
- Oil - 3 tbsp
- Salt - 1/2 tsp
- Water - enough for kneading into a dough
- Ghee or Oil - enough for frying (I used ghee)
Whisk together everything under "Marinade for Chicken", give it a quick taste for seasoning, adjust if required before adding the cubed bite size chicken pieces to it. Mix well so that the marinade coats the chicken pieces nicely and leave in the fridge overnight.
Next Day: In a bowl, whisk together flour and salt. Add the oil and mix using your fingers till you get a crumbly mixture. Add water little by little and knead till you get a soft dough. Pinch out 6 equal balls from the dough, using the palms of your hands shape into smooth little balls, cover and let it rest for at least half an hour.While the dough rests, heat 1 tbsp oil in a pan and fry the onions till they start caramelizing. Throw in the sliced bell peppers and cook for 3-4 minutes. Drain on a paper towel, sprinkle some salt and set aside.
To the same pan, add 1 tbsp oil and fry the chicken pieces (marinade and all) for couple of minutes, then cover and cook on medium high heat. Once the oil starts to leave the sides, uncover and cook for 5 or 6 minutes till all the liquid dries up. Scrape and stir as required. Take off heat and keep aside.
Now, roll out the pinched out dough-balls. Heat a tawa/pan and add ghee or oil (couple of teaspoons) to it. Fry each rolled-out paratha one by one. Flip once you see the paratha puff up. I followed Pritha's tip and sprinkled few drops of oil around so that the edges crisped up but the middle remained soft. If the entire paratha crisps up, then it will not roll up pretty!
Now it is time to assemble the Chicken Rolls. Lay each paratha flat and place a straight line of chicken pieces around the 1/3rd line mark. Top it with the fried onions and bell pepper, squeeze a little lemon juice, adorn it with little specks of green chilies and sprinkle the chat masala. Now roll the paratha and wrap it in a piece of parchment paper. Serve hot!
Once again the original recipe is here! And do visit a blog. It is such a fun read!
PS: Please don't judge my parathas - they were victims of my tennis-elbowed arm. Wait, is that even an adjective?!
I am sending this to Kolkata Food Bloggers KYB2
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