Dec. 28--Kati rolls are the main attraction at Hakka Bakka, the fast-casual restaurant that opened in late September near DePaul University in Lincoln Park. What's a kati roll? Picture a burrito with one end left open, made with Indian flatbread and sauces like tamarind cream or savory yogurt. Instead of rice, the roll can be loaded up with veggies to accompany meat or cheese.
These wraplike sandwiches, said to hail from Kolkata, the Indian city formerly known as Calcutta, make for a fun, affordable meal that you can tailor to your own taste.
Ordering works much like at a Chipotle; walk down a line, and tell staffers what you'd like to add. Try a chicken kati roll ($7; choose your spice level, from mild to hot) with all four sauces -- tamarind cream, savory yogurt, cilantro and lemon -- as recommended by co-owner Kaushik Guha. The sauces complement one another, Guha says.
For an extra 75 cents, a fiery mix of pickled carrots, lime, mango, ginger, chili and lotus root adds a nice zip. Also, do have your paratha flatbread adorned with a thin layer of cooked egg ($1 extra) before the bread gets griddled; it gives the roll a subtle oomph.
Guha claims Hakka Bakka is the only Chicago area purveyor of Kolkata-style kati rolls. Maybe so, but Bombay Wraps does offer similar (but smaller) sandwiches built on paratha bread at locations in the Loop and Streeterville. Think one Hakka Bakka roll to two Bombay Wraps, and you get the idea of portion size.
"Hakka bakka" means "surprise" in Urdu or, as Guha prefers to define it, "flavor-struck." The rolls at his shop do have a lively and memorable flavor profile. Guha says a number of former Kolkata residents are frequent customers. But if you'd rather make your roll a little differently than they do in India, go for it.
"Some people add rice to make it more like a burrito," Guha adds.
Hakka Bakka, 1251 W. Fullerton Ave., 872-802-3968, www.hakkabakkarolls.com.
wdaley@tribpub.com
Twitter @billdaley
