Rachael Ray

It was Sunday night and my husband, Sumit, and I were committed to a gentle evening with a home-cooked meal. Of course we made that commitment on Friday night, it didn’t seem ambitious at the time, but then life happened and the weekend took its serial twists and turns, leaving us flat out exhausted by Sunday night. Since the promise was already out there, it would have felt flaky to turn our backs on it; besides who said it had to be a painstakingly laborious affair?

When we are short on time, fish becomes our “go to” ingredient and by the time I am done singing Let There Be Love (or I Will Survive, depending on the mood), it’s done and ready to be devoured. One of my favorite ways to eat fish is in a wrap. No, I don’t mean a lifeless deli wrap that fails to seduce. I mean a wrap that is crisp yet soft, stuffed with a diced salad, a mouth-puckering yogurt, mint sauce and of course a fillet of spice-rubbed, pan-fried fish.

The ultimate street food dish, known as a Frankie or Kathi in my mother land, India, this dish was born out of convenience at a time of cultural and social change when India was under the British rule. Men with push carts as magical as Mary Poppins’ bag assemble what they consider to be snacks, but what would suffice as a complete meal for many. Watching them assemble this perfectly balanced “snack” with speed and the utmost economy of movement is what inspired me to make Kathis at home. Yes, it is convenient, but is anything but what we think of as fast food or convenience food in the USA.

Perfect on many levels, in one bite, one experiences balance through opposites; the soft flaky fish with a crisp salad, the sweetness of the tomatoes against the sharpness of the lemon-marinated onions and the heat of the fresh chilies against the cool of the yogurt sauce. As mysterious as the culture, the flavors that blend together are concealed within this tightly wrapped bread.

I am using fish for this dish, but one can feel free to use vegetables (potatoes, cauliflower or paneer) or any meat. The signature flavor in the dish comes from the spice rub known as Tandoori Masala. You can buy this mix at any specialty store and it is the perfect pantry item to brighten up any stir fry or roasted dish with just a simple sprinkle. I like to use cod for this dish because of its meaty flesh and its unctuous and buttery mouth feel, but feel free to use any firm white fish.

Recipe for Fish Kathi

Ingredients

Fish kebab

• 1lb white fish, slightly smaller in length to the tortilla
• 1 tbsp. grated ginger
• 2 tbsp. tandoori masala

Roti (bread)

• 1 packet of soft flour tortillas
• 2 eggs

Kutchumber (Koo-choom-bar)- Chopped salad

• Onions
• 2 tomatoes
• 1 Israeli cucumber
• 1 green chili, deseeded for reduced heat
• Handful of cilantro leaves, removed from stem

Lemon-marinated onions

• ½ onion, thinly sliced soaked in juice of 1 lemon
• ¼ tsp salt

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Mint yoghurt sauce

• 1 ½ tsp mint sauce
• Plain yogurt
• Salt

Directions

We will be working backwards with this recipe, the components are quick to assemble and must be completely prepared when you are ready to fire up the fish.

1) Mint yoghurt sauce - Beat the mint sauce and yoghurt to a smooth consistency. Season with salt

2) Lemon-marinated onions - Season the lemon soaking onions with salt and allow to stand for at least 5 minutes to absorb acidity

3) Kutchumber (Koo-choom-bar)- Chopped salad - Combine all Kutchumber ingredients and allow to chill

Cooking

4) Heat  two frying pans

5) Fish kebab - Add a tablespoon of oil to the pan, rub the fillets with ginger, coat with the dry rub and cook on medium/high heat to form a crust. If you can lightly push down with the side of a fork and it starts to flake, remove from heat

6) Roti (bread) - Make an egg wash by beating the eggs. Dip the tortilla lightly in the egg and cook in the 2nd frying pan over medium heat

Assembly

7) Kathi assembly - Lay the fish in the center of the tortilla, layer with 1 tbsp. of the kutchumber, 1 tbsp of sauce and a few slivers of marinated onions. Fold the roti tightly around the filling and wrap the sandwich at the bottom with foil to grab those valuable juices

Saira Malhotra is a classically trained French chef and graduate from the French Culinary Institute. A British born Punjabi, Saira has grown up around food with her family pizza business where she helped spreading tomato sauce and smuggling cheese for her own little stash. Having studied in France and Italy and living in the Big Apple for the past 12 years, Saira has brought her European, Asian and American influences together via the palate and communicated through her food blog: www.passportpantry.com