Wrap Co bringing ‘kathi rolls’ to the streets of Sri Lanka

Saturday, 5 August 2023 00:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

A hot favourite around the world today, this delicious snack was first conceived less than a century ago – at a humble Mughlai food eatery close to New Market. Raza Hassan Saheb set up Nizam’s in 1932, in the bustling New Market area. Nizam’s was the ultimate destination for all the foodies who couldn’t have enough of the scrumptious beef, khiri and mutton kebabs. The ‘desi’ Babus (Indian natives) and ‘Gora sahibs’ (British bureaucrats) made the daily commute to the adjacent business district of Dalhousie Square and on their way, they would stop over at Nizam’s to devour the palatable kebabs – grilled on iron skewers till smoked and charred.

However, the British patrons found it somewhat messy and troublesome to dig into the greasy kebabs with their hands. It was especially inconvenient for those on the go. To make their lives easier, someone at Nizam’s started wrapping the same roasted, succulent kebabs in fried, flaky flatbreads called parathas and further wrapping the paratha roll in wax paper to make sure no gravy dripped from the kebabs

Today, mostly any wrap containing a filling enfolded in an Indian flatbread (roti) is called a ‘kathi roll’. In native Bengali, the word ‘kathi’ roughly translates to ‘stick’, referring to how they were originally made. In Bengal though, the delicacy is simply known as roll. Kathi rolls normally contain coriander chutney, egg, and chicken but the types may vary.

This delicacy is a popular street food item across India, and a staple for the on the go consumer. Its hearty flavourful filling is ideal for the quick meal time fix or for your in between snack time.

Local cloud kitchen chain Wrap Co, has taken it upon themselves to ‘roll’ out this phenomenon in Sri Lanka. With currently five delivery and takeaway outlets strewn across Colombo, and more to come in the pipeline, Wrap Co plans to take the island by storm with this perfect fix for every excited and food crazy audience.

Wrap Co has already curated up to eight varieties of Kathi rolls, ranging from the traditional chicken tikka kathi rolls, to veggie friendly paneer kathi rolls, to fusion flavours such as chilli chicken kathi rolls. Their menu also has your everyday selection of wraps, and they have plans for further expansion into other varieties in the near future.

Wrap Co runs outlets in Thalawathugoda, Mount Lavinia and Crescat Boulevard. They are available for direct takeaway as well!