Easy Spicy Kathi Roll Recipe for Winter Mornings in Big Bear

If you’ve been out snowshoeing all morning, leading tourists on the best snowy hike anywhere in the San Bernardino National Forest, slogging through powder like an underpaid Hot Chocolate welding Sherpa who didn’t sign up for this, then yes—this is absolutely the recipe your life has been missing. Burn 6,000 calories pretending you’re on the Iditarod? Congratulations. You’ve earned the right to shove a carb (or sixty) directly into your face. By 11 a.m., this Professional Snow Walker is ready to devour an authentic Anglo-Indian brunch before I start gnawing on my own arm.

And listen, after fasting for 36 hours for “health reasons”—which, back in my day, we simply called anorexia—I am feral for a hot, spicy Indian breakfast. Some mornings, my beloved Thai Chicken Bone Broth just isn’t cutting it. This Snowshoeing Snack Sherpa needs a rib-sticking, sinus-clearing, fully soul-warming meal, preferably one that could knock a Victorian housewife flat.

6,000 Calories Later: The Anglo-Indian Breakfast I Deserve

If you’re looking for the perfect Christmas morning breakfast, honey, this is it. You can prep the aloo masala the night before and refrigerate it like the responsible adult you pretend to be. I use fresh, high-quality tortillas for this recipe, but if you want to go the traditional route, parathas are the classic choice.

And yes—I wish we were spending Christmas under coconut palms somewhere in sultry southern India, such as tropical Poovar Floating Cottage Resort, but this year my heart belongs to the snow here in southern California. It just doesn’t feel like Christmas when you’re floating in a pool, slowly dissolving into a daiquiri.

Kathi Rolls: The Spicy Holiday Wrap Your Bland Breakfast Fears

Kathi Rolls are one of the best street snacks in all of southern India. In Mumbai, they’re known as Bombay Frankies—and let’s get real, they are light years better than anything from bland, personality-free Chick-fil-A here in the U.S. of A. Whenever we make it back to India to visit family, you can bet my once-flat ass I’m at the Kathi Kart immediately, happily trading my rupees for a roll of Spicy Heaven Breakfast Goodness.

Bombay Frankies — the ultimate Anglo-Indian Christmas morning delight for anyone who snowshoes too much, fasts too long, or simply wants to eat something spectacular.

Anglo-Indian Kathi Wraps: The Ultimate Snow Day Breakfast

Nothing says Snow Day like shoving these potato-filled treats straight at your face!

Kathi Rolls with Omelette, Aloo and Masala

1/2 of a red onion, sliced thin

1 serrano, chopped thin

1 teaspoon grated fresh garlic

1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger

1/4 teaspoon dried mango powder

2 medium-sized Dutch potatoes, boiled for 12 minutes and mashed

5 teaspoons of ghee

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1/4 teaspoon ground turmeric

1 teaspoon ground coriander

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

2 teaspoons of ketchup

1/2 teaspoon of salt

2 teaspoons fresh cilantro

4 eggs

2 teaspoons Greek yoghurt

4 tortillas

Choose your adventure toppings:

Pickled red onions

Tamarind Date Chutney

Mint Chutney

Firstly, cut your potatoes into bite-sized pieces. Boil them for about fifteen minutes until fork-tender. Drain the potatoes, salt them with 1 teaspoon of salt and set aside.

In your ghee, roast your red chilis and set them aside. Roast your red onion slices in the remaining ghee until nice and brown. This step should take ten minutes. Set the onions in a NutriBullet to cool slightly, along with the chilis. Give them ten minutes to cool, then return the onions to the heat along with the grated garlic, fresh ginger, cumin, coriander and turmeric. Add a bit of water so your spices do not catch, and roast your spices for a good ten to fifteen minutes until they are not raw. Mix in the black pepper and the ketchup. Mix in your potatoes.

Have your oven preheated to broil. On a greased baking sheet, layer out your aloo into long rectangular patties. These are going to be rolled up in your tortillas like a burrito, so your patty should be about the size of a hamburger but thinner and more rectangular in shape, so they fit well. Roast the patties in the broiler for 6 minutes until well browned on top. Remove them from the broiler while you get started on the Kathi Rolls.

To make the very thin omelettes, set your broiler temperature too high. Place your eggs and Greek yoghurt in a NutriBullet with a sprinkling of salt and a touch of pepper. Blitz until just foamy. Add this to a very hot, well-oiled cast-iron skillet coated with ghee on all sides. Once the omelette starts to cook, turn down the heat to low, let it cook for about 2 minutes and put in the broiler. As you do, set the broiler temperature to low. Cook the omelette for about 6 minutes in the broiler. It should be a very thin omelette that cooks very quickly. You can tell it is done when it puffs up.

In a pan, heat just a bit of oil. Throw in a tortilla and fry one side. On this cooked side, add your very thin omelette,  add in your aloo, a teaspoon of date chutney and a few pickled red onions. Then roll up the sides like a burrito. Return to the hot pan and fry both sides of the Kathi Roll. Now you are ready to serve this authentic Bombay-style breakfast with the Mint Chutney on the side.