"Kolkata's street food: an egg-coated flaky flatbread filled with charcoal-grilled meat, onion and lime, rolled in paper. Invented at Nizam's in 1932. Still unsurpassed."
About Kati Roll
Kolkata's greatest street invention — a paratha (flaky flatbread) cooked on a tawa with egg, filled with skewered and charcoal-grilled chicken, lamb or paneer, sliced onion, green chilli and lime, rolled tightly in paper; invented at Nizam's restaurant on New Market in 1932; now replicated in every Indian city but never equalled outside Kolkata.
Kati Roll — a staple of India's cuisine
Kolkata's most important street food: a paratha (flaky flatbread) cooked on a tawa with egg, filled with skewered charcoal-grilled chicken, lamb or paneer, sliced onion, green chilli and lime, rolled tightly in paper. Invented at Nizam's restaurant on New Market in 1932.
The egg is cooked into the paratha surface — spread over the hot tawa and the paratha pressed on top so the egg becomes the inner layer of the flatbread. This egg-paratha technique is specific to the Kolkata kati roll and produces a layered wrapper unlike any other Indian wrap.
What to Expect
At Nizam's in New Market the kati roll arrives wrapped in paper, the paratha slightly flaky, the egg layer visible at the torn end. You unwrap and eat — the char of the grilled meat and the lime and the flaky bread are the combination.
Why Try It
Kati roll is the food that defines Kolkata's street culture — imitated across India but never fully reproduced outside the city.
Insider Tips
Nizam's on Hogg Street in New Market (the original) and Kusum Rolls in Park Street are the two essential addresses.
The egg paratha version is the definitive format — egg cooked into the flatbread, not added separately.
Order extra green chillies on the side — the heat level from the standard application is conservative.
