Kathi Kabab - Indian Chicken Paratha Wrap

I've never been to India! I want to, desperately, but will wait until the little chefs are a little bit older. I have lots of Indian friends and have enjoyed learning to cook with them. This dish, Kathi Kabab, was made for me many years ago by a good friend in NZ. I sorted through my recipes recently and found a piece of notepaper that she'd written her recipe on, smiled when I remembered the fun times we spent in the kitchen together, donned my Apron and thought I'd give it a whirl.

You can make your own paratha, but in this case I've used the frozen paratha you can buy readily in supermarkets and that worked fine.

Thanks Deepti for the memories and the recipe.

Kathi Kabab

• 2 teaspoons coriander seeds, roasted in a dry pan and ground
• 1 dried chilli, ground
• 1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric
• 1 teaspoon cumin seeds, roasted in a dry pan and ground
• 1 teaspoon garam masala
• 3 tablespoons ghee
• 6 cloves garlic, crushed
• 2 cm piece of ginger, grated
• 2 medium tomatoes, chopped finely
• 2 small green chillies, seeds removed, chopped finely
• 3 tablespoons coriander leaves, chopped
• 400 grams chicken breasts, cut into small 1cm cubes
• oil for frying
• 8 eggs, lightly beaten
• 4 frozen parathas

Method

1. Half cook the paratha, i.e. cook each side until half cooked, set aside
2. Heat the ghee in a pan and fry the garlic and ginger over a medium heat until starting to soften, be careful not to burn the mixture. Add the chilli, ground coriander and cumin seeds, turmeric and garam masala and fry for a minute or two until fragrant.
3. Add the tomatoes and cook for 7-8 minutes until the tomatoes start to turn into a pulp. Add the green chillies, half of the coriander leaves and the chicken. Stirfry for about 10 minutes until chicken is cooked. Set aside, and keep warm.
4. Pour a little oil into a non-stick pan and add 1/4 of the egg mixture, swirl to cover the base of the pan. Pop a paratha on top. Cook for a minute or two to set the egg and then turn the paratha over and cook the base for another minute or two until it is cooked through.
5. Place a quarter of the chicken mixture down the centre of the egg topped paratha, sprinkle with coriander and fold in half. Repeat with the remaining ingredients.
6. This is great on it's own but Dee used to make a mint chutney to go on it. Simply, puree in a food processor - 2 cups mint leaves, 2 cups coriander leaves, 2 green chillies, 4 cloves of garlic, 2cm of ginger, a teaspoon of sugar, juice of a lime and a big pinch of salt.