A brief trip to Juarez acquainted me with the magic of Mexican cuisine and what ensued was a lifelong friendship [...end of Casablanca?]. Be it in terms of presentation, pattern or spread Mexican cuisine seemed very familiar – hot, interesting, clumsy, not fussy yet very definitive. Surprisingly the cooks wouldn’t stop from snubbing someone asking for extra chicken-shreds in a Burrito if that’s likely to spoil the taste – and they would tell you that too! Last evening something similar unfolded before me In Gariahat that only brought the Mexican memories back. At the feted ‘Bedouin Roll Centre’, a rookie – fiercely keen on designing his own Mutton-roll, faced a timely rebuff from the attendant.
A Roll is a meaty story served wrapped in a Paratha and told many times in many ways. Its making is a ‘spectacular’ process involving a host of culinary activities, perfected over the years, contributing in equal measure to the unfolding of a work of art - starting from the making of the pliable dough-balls to turning them into flaky golden Parathas to cradle the succulent kebabs - laced with LOVE, dash of lime, chopped onion and chilli TO THE EXCLUSION OF EVERYTHING ELSE, mind it.
Despite having a rather fortuitous and humble beginning in an unkempt corner of Calcutta circa 1930, this ‘fast-food’ item obediently underwent some notable culinary modifications alongside making steady inroads into the world of serious gastronomy. Of them, to me, the most eloquent one was replacing the iron skewers with wooden ones - making the kebabs take in the defining flavour of burnt wood.
So, it’s apparently very simple, isn’t it? NO! NEVER! This impression of simplicity has often rendered the ‘Kathi Roll’ unjustly trivialized to many clouding the culinary ingenuity and hardship invested into making it what it is today! Thus to the lesser mortals it was never a delicacy but just 'cooked meat wrapped in Paratha'.[I conveniently look at it as a providential ploy to preserve its glory with a chosen few]. Today, in Kolkata, sadly a shrinking lot of joints serve the Bona fide Roll, namely – Nijam, Kusum Roll Centre, Hot Kati, Nizamia, Badshah, Nandini [PaikPara], KhanSahab [Bangalore] etc. [What the ‘Rogues’ sell as ‘Kathi Roll’ is just minced meat flippantly wrapped in a limp Paratha. To that they add varieties of tasteless sauces summarily killing the taste and all that a Roll is cherished for.]
Typically feasting on a Roll starts with placing the order. The tantalizing sight of dangling bamboo skewers is meant to feed, whet and curb the interim voyeuristic fancy. Finally, the delivery call comes from across the counter putting an abrupt end to a pulsating wait – and the wrapped beauty changes hands. It’s time to hold the lady wearing a sheer off-shoulder top. An old hand would take a while before making the first move – it’s the time to behold it with love and start a brief discourse lasting till the last bite and twirl the roll decisively to see where to start from! The inviting aperture at the top offers a peep into a meaty bliss. The wrapping paper is gently torn off letting the brown skin breathe and be seen…and the journey begins! The thrill booms with every bite…
Ting tong – “Dada, apnar double-stick Mutton Roll ready!
Tissue laagbe? Eei je…”
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