35+ Best Easy Picnic Food Ideas
With several shortcuts, these chicken kathi rolls are a fabulous way to enjoy Indian street food. You can customize them with any toppings you like - make them spicy or not. Any which way, they're delicious!
Ingredients
Chicken kebabs
- 1 tsp ginger paste or minced fresh ginger
- 1 tsp garlic paste or minced fresh garlic
- ½ tsp paprika (hot, sweet, smoked or a combination) or red chili
- 1 tsp garam masala
- 1 tsp Tandoori masala
- ½ tsp dried fennel leaves (optional)
- 1 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 6 ounces plain Greek yogurt (nonfat, low, or full fat)
- 2 tsp oil (any type - canola, corn, grapeseed, olive, safflower, etc.)
- 2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken, either breasts or thighs, cut into 1 to 2-inch cubes
Shells
- 8 paratha or burrito (flour tortilla) shells about 8-inches in diameter
- 1-2 tbsp oil, ghee, butter or a combination
- 4 eggs, lightly beaten
Toppings
- ¼ - ½ cup pickled red onions
- ¼ - ½ cup chutney
- ¼ cup chopped cilantro leaves
- lime wedges (squeeze juice over the roll before closing)
- ¼ - ½ cup mixture of yogurt, minced jalapeno, dash of cumin, squeeze of lime juice, and small dollop of minced garlic or garlic paste
Instructions
Chicken Kebabs
- In a medium-sized bowl, mix all the ingredients together except for the chicken.
- Add the chicken cubes and mix again to completely cover the cubes. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 3-4 hours.
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F or start the grill. If using the oven, cover a half-sheet pan with foil with a wire rack on top. Lightly spray the rack with cooking oil.
- Take the cubes out of the refrigerator and thread them on skewers. Allow most of the yogurt/spice marinade to remain on the cubes, but there will still be some left in the bowl. (Because it had raw chicken marinating in it, you must throw this excess out.) Place the skewers on the wire rack or the grill. Cook until done, turning occasionally. It will probably take 20-30 minutes. If using the oven you may need to turn on the broiler at the end to get crusty edges on the chicken cubes.
Making the Chicken Kathi Rolls
- Heat one tablespoon of the oil on a grill or in a large, heavy pan. Once it is shimmering hot, add 1-2 shells (depending on size of grill) and cook on both sides, turning occasionally, until the shells are warmed and slightly puffy.
- Lift up a shell, add a dollop of the beaten egg (about 1/2 an egg), and put the shell on top. Let the egg with the shell on top cook for a few minutes. The egg should adhere to the shell. When it's done, lift up the shell and put it on a plate.
- Once you have cooked the shells, lay them out with the egg-side on the top. Add the 3-4 cubes of the cooked chicken (taking the cubes off the skewers as you fill the shells) and then put on the toppings. Close each shell and enjoy!
Notes
If you use bamboo or wooden skewers, soak them in water for at least 5 minutes before adding the chicken cubes. That soaking prevents them from burning when you place them in the oven or on the grill. Breast (white meat) cooks more quickly than thigh (dark) meat, so plan accordingly. In either event, make sure the chicken cubes are fully cooked.
The best way to test is to use an instant read thermometer. The internal temperature for the cubes, regardless of whether they are breast or thigh meat, should be 165 degrees F according to the FDA. I used store-bought chutney for this batch. In the future, I will try my homemade apple and caramelized onion chutney. Here is a recipe for easy pickled red onions,