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Tawa Chicken Frankie Roll

February 28, 2014 by manjirichitnis 20 Comments

Frankie – Popular Indian street food

Tawa Frankie Roll – How I decided to re-create this popular Indian street food at home. In 2014, global flavour leader McCormick, the parent company of leading herbs and spices brand Schwartz, is celebrating its 125th anniversary. The yearlong celebration kicks off with the launch of the 125th Anniversary Edition of the Flavour Forecast (a new, annual prediction of what ‘flavours’ will be most popular in the cooking world) and the Flavour of Together programme, with the goal of connecting people around the world as they share 1.25 million stories about the special role food and flavour plays in our lives through.

To inspire people to share their flavour stories and tell the blogger community about Flavour Forecast, McCormick challenged me and a few other bloggers  to come up with a new recipe that is based on the Flavour Forecast trends :

1. Chillies Obsession: Food lovers everywhere are seeking out their next big chilli thrill.

2. Modern Masala: Indian food is finally having its moment, breaking free of its traditional confines with modern interpretations.

3. Clever Compact Cooking: Proving that big flavours can come from small spaces, cooks in urban kitchens are making the most of what’s available.

4. Mexican World Tour: Mexican flavours are making their way around the globe, with people everywhere discovering new aspects of this bright, casual cuisine.

5. Charmed by Brazil: The world’s attraction to Brazilian cuisine is heating up, thanks to its seductive mix of global and native influences.

I decide to take up Modern Masala as a flavour trend. Coming from India, using a complex mix of spices as part of our daily diet has always been a part of my life. The beautiful large open fruit n vegetable markets even in major cities are a visual treat and there is a lot of passion involved in say getting the right type of chilli powder. So I think my recipe is an amalgamation of these two big flavour trends together – Chillies Obsession and Modern Masala and of course because I manage all my culinary experiments in my tiny urban kitchen which is the size of a postage stamp I am sure my recipe also covers the theme Clever Compact Cooking!

My most vivid memory of spices being sold loose is of this huge wholesale and retail market in an area called Parel, Mumbai in India. There are many tiny shops and vendors which hand carts with huge piles of spices, bright red chillies in jute sacks, and mini yellow mountains of turmeric and ever imaginable spice being sold in the open. Of course, with our modern industries being so well developed we always used masalas out of a packet but the sheer variety available locally in any small town in India is mind-boggling.

Pune, India - spice market
Pune, India – spice market

In London, whenever I trudge to my local Indian shop and purchase Indian spices, I secretly wish that I could get an unlimited supply of aai’s homemade masalas. Her garam masala and red chilli powder where she carefully selects 2 types of chillies with varying degrees of heat and roasts them in a kadhai after they have been dried in the blistering hot afternoon sun! Then she takes it to a local mill where it is ground and packed into a large ceramic jar and then stored at home.

I have made a simplified version of Tibbs Frankie using boneless mutton and a variety of Schwartz spices which were sent to me. You could safely say that this fella ”Frankie” is a distant cousin of the Fajita and the Kathi Roll.

How this Frankie came into being is also a very interesting story which I shall share in a few lines here. These lines are from the Tibbs Frankie website

”The year 1967 Mr. Amarjit Tibb on returning back from England had a stopover in Beirut. During his brief stop there he stumbled upon a very ingenious Lebanese preparation, which was a pita bread wrap, with a variety of stuffing’s, this fascinated him. Upon his return the idea still lingered on and he kept innovating it to suit the Indian palate, after a year of research along with his wife they hit upon the perfect concoction. This Indianised wrap was soon tried among friends and family and after testing brilliantly it hit the markets. That was a new era to the term fast food in Mumbai, it caught on like fire in the Jungle, people accepted it and kept asking for more.Now came the problem of naming the product, again a number of brainstorming became the order of the day till a unanimous decision on the name was taken i.e. Frankie”

This explosion of flavours in a handy easy to eat roll which was given a  modern food truck makeover is a gastronomic delight and is available in a large variety of stuffings both veg and non-veg.I have rather fond memories of my college days and spending my pocket money which was always in short supply on these spicy, tasty rolls with a bunch of friends giggling away and then gathering any loose change we had left amongst us to buy a bottle or two of some fizzy cola to quench our thirst. Alert : have been suddenly been hit by a huge wave of nostalgia 🙂

I have created what is my version of a tawa chicken roll (tawa meaning pan in Hindi), the original Tibbs frankie filling is a tangy spicy  taste which they attribute to a secret ”Frankie Masala” – humm , well I think I got pretty close 😉 – evil laugh follows 🙂  You can go crazy and creative with the fillings and use this recipe idea to use up meat from your sunday roast, try various different veg and non veg patties with meat and masalas rolled into boiled potato casing and shallow fried. Great way to use a lot of colorful veggies and create a stir fry filling too – the possibilities are endless.

Tawa Chicken Frankie Roll
Tawa Chicken Frankie Roll

Tawa Frankie Roll

Manjiri Chitnis
Popular Indian street food, this was created in Mumbai and is a deliciously paratha stuffed with a variety of fillings and green chutney
5 from 7 votes
Print Recipe
Prep Time 5 mins
Cook Time 20 mins
Course Main Course
Cuisine Fusion Indian
Servings 2 People

Equipment

  • Tawa – Flat frying pan
  • Saptula

Ingredients
  

Tawa Chicken Filling

  • 50 Grams Chicken breast
  • 1 pinch Asafoetida
  • 2 tsp Garam Masala
  • Onion salt as per taste
  • 1/2 tsp Garlic Minced
  • 2 tsp Coriander Powder
  • 1 tsp Cumin Powder
  • Red Chilli powder as per taste
  • 1/2 thum-sized Fresh Ginger fresh peeled
  • 2 medium Red onions finely chopped
  • 1 tsp Turmeric
  • 2 lage Jjuicy tomatoes chopped very fine
  • 1 large Green chilli split lengthwise
  • 1 Red pepper slit lengthwise
  • 3 tbsp Cooking oil

Mint and Coriander Chutney

  • 1 large bunch Fresh Coriander
  • 1 small bunch Fresh Mint leaves
  • 2 Green chillies
  • 1/2 Lime – freshly squeezed
  • Salt to taste

For the Frankie filling

  • 1 large Red onion chopped lengthwise

For the Paratha coating

  • 2 small Eggs
  • Salt for seasoning

Instructions
 

To make the Chicken Filling

  • Heat a saucepan on medium heat and add the oil
  • Once the oil is hot, add the asafoetida
  • Then add split green chilli and crushed fresh ginger
  • Saute' and add the garlic granules
  • Saute' and add the garlic granules, when the garlic begins to give out a strong fried aroma its time to add the finely chopped red onion
  • Cook the onion till it reduces and turns a delicious brown, then add the coriander and cumin powder and garam masala and mix well
  • Then add the finely chopped tomato and add very little water and cook for 1 -2 minutes without lid
  • Stir frequently, so as to ensure the mixture does not stick to the saucepan
  • Now the spices have been thoroughly cooked along with the onion and tomato to make a thick gravy
  • Cut the chicken breasts and red peppers into lenghthwise strip and add to the gravy
  • Add onion salt to the mixture, red chilli powder and turmeric
  • Cover and cook until done

To make the Mint and Coriander Chutney

  • Wash the coriander and mint leaves, blend to a smoothpaste with a green chilli
  • To reduce the heat use 1 chilli de-seeded.Add the salt and lime juice and sblend once again
  • A smooth thick green paste is the consistency we are after – add some water to adjust the consistency
  • This chutney stores for upto 10 days in the freezer in a clean ,air tight jar – rarely lasts that much in my house though -I love making Bombay sandwich for dinner with this delightful chutney

To make the coating for the Paratha

  • Crack the eggs in a bowl and beat with a fork, add salt to taste
  • Using a plastic brush spread on the surface of a frozen ready to eat paratha
  • Place the eggy side down on a hot pan coated with some cooking oil
  • Ready to eat frozen parathas are readily available in most supermarkets and Indian grocery stores

How to put the Frankie Roll together

  • Once the paratha coated with egg has been cooked on both sides, slather it with the mint and coriander chutney and add some red onion chopped lengthwise
  • Add a generous helping of the chicken filling , roll and wrap one end with some kitchen foil or baking paper. Enjoy hot
  • Dip into the chutney or tomato ketchup as you munch along
Keyword Frankie
Tawa Chicken Frankie Roll
Tawa Chicken Frankie Roll

After I received the samples and wrote up my flavour story, my left hand was operated on (unexpected rescheduling) – a minor but rather errrmmm painful surgery and I walk around most of the time with a sling (promptly remove it as soon as OH leaves home for work hehe) So I had a bit of a panic attack about getting this post up on time,I know I missed the deadline by a few days  🙁

But am really grateful to the kind folks up at McCormick for bearing with me. Also I would like to thank OH for patiently chopping and cutting all the fresh ingredients for me and helping me to click these lovely photographs – what would I do without you? Sighh…

The company has pledged to donate $1 to United Way Worldwide and it’s UK partner Focus on Food, for every story shared on the Schwartz website, Facebook page or other social channels.

Disclaimer: Schwartz Samples and voucher for ingredients purchase sent by McCormick I was not required to write a positive review and was not compensated monetarily for this post. As always, all opinions expressed here are entirely my own.

Filed Under: Food, Indian, Product Reviews, Quick and Easy, Recipe Index Tagged With: 125th anniversary, asafoetida, big flavours, Bombay, breaking free, brush, chicken breast, Chillies Obsession, chopped very fine, Clever Compact Cooking, cooking oil, cooks in urban kitchens, coriander, Coriander Ground, Cumin Ground, eggs, Fajita, finely chopped, Flavour Forecast, food lovers, garam masala, Garlic Minced, Ginger fresh, green chilli, India, Indian Food, Kathi Roll, large juicy tomatoes, large tablespoons, lime juice, making the most of what’s available, McCormick, McCormick Schwartz Flavour Challenge, McCormick Spice Challenge, Mexican World Tour, mint, modern food truck makeover, modern interpretations, Modern Masala, Mumbai, Mumbai Street food, next big chilli thrill, Onion salt, parathas, Pune, red chilli powder, red onions, red pepper slit lengthwise, saucepan, small spaces, split lengthwise, TAWA Chicken filling, Tawa Chicken Frankie Roll recipe, Tibbs Frankie, traditional confines, turmeric, UK leading herbs and spices brand Schwartz

Young Entrepreneur Farrah shares how MOOSE MAPLE BUTTER was conceived- in her first-ever Interview.

July 26, 2013 by manjirichitnis 12 Comments

This is the first ever interview Farrah has given, she confessed, when we spoke over the phone trying to decide where we could meet. I told her that I would promise to keep it simple and conversational and I am so glad we spoke like long-lost friends exchanging ideas and chatting away. We decided on a beautiful pub called The Bolingbroke in Battersea and it was a hot, summer evening with the sunlight streaming in through open doors onto thick wooden tables.

Farrah is an especially inspiring person to meet; she seems to emit these waves of positivity around her in tiny, invisible bubbles; landing on me, they made me feel as if I could win any war I wanted to.

A high-flying lawyer by profession, Farrah divides her time between New York and London; and when she isn’t acting as legal counsel to some very big names, she is busy in her home kitchen making an extremely delicious spread called Moose Maple Butter. And yes, the recipe is a secret!

Read on to find out how she came about making this heavenly tasting, pure, wholesome goodness of butter.

(As it goes with my interviews, we shall refer to me as MJ and to my new-found friend as FM short for Farrah ‘’Moose’’; MMB is short for Moose Maple Butter)

MJ: What inspired you to create this amazing new product?

FM: Soon after a detox in France, where I spent a few weeks learning about healthy eating habits and especially learning to avoid “added sugar’’ in my diet, I was in New York for work and having breakfast at a hotel. I was looking for something sweet to spread on my already buttered, hot toast but I wanted to avoid added sugar at any cost. The jam and chocolate spread options available on the table were all laden with sugars and other artificial nasties that I really wanted to avoid! Finally, and really through a lack of choice and an insatiable desire for a sweet taste that morning, I poured some of the organic maple syrup – on the table for pancakes – over my toast. It was that ‘’Eureka’’ moment, coupled with the fact that I couldn’t find maple butter to buy in any shops, either Stateside or in England, that prompted me to experiment at home until I came up with my current recipe for Moose Maple Butter.

Image 1 MMB sample close up shot

MJ: Great! That’s an interesting and ever so creative way to make a whole new product. Now for my old favourite trusted question, why the name Moose?

FM (With a big smile) Well I have to admit, even though it’s probably going to make me sound a bit odd, that I have been obsessed with moose for years.  I have moose things everywhere!  I was doodling for the maple butter logo and cute, funny images of moose kept appearing … Moose Maple Butter just seemed a natural choice, especially as there are generally moose around where maple syrup is produced!

MJ: I must mention here that Farrah has the most beautiful and neat handwriting I have ever seen and her notebook has beautiful doodles, hardly doodles really, but neat, cartoon creations of a moose which ultimately became her logo, I even managed to get this quick picture of her final drawing that is now her officially registered logo. I love it. The little black doodle near the jar at the bottom of the page is the moose’s nose; talk about perfection and practice!

How the MOOSE logo was born

MJ: So now that you have created this wonderfull product and christened it, what happens next?

FM: Well, I have only just had the brand and logo registered, both in Europe and the US, so I now feel confident about getting Moose Maple Butter out there to as many people as I can! It’s a brand awareness campaign in full swing from now until November this year, when hopefully you’ll find Moose Maple Butter on the shelves of supermarkets!

MJ: Wow, that’s good news, pity you can’t give away any names (naughty smile). Any other ways of promoting MMB then? (Moose Maple Butter = MMB)

FM: Yes! I am looking at actively promoting MMB at various food fairs, events and festivals in the run up to November. As you know, I had a stand and basically introduced MMB, at the recently concluded Food Blogger Connect (FBC5). That was wonderful for MMB! I’m so glad they found me.

(Heck, so am I Farrah, or I wouldn’t have met you and would have lived my life not knowing Maple Butter existed! No way!)

MJ: Tell me more about your ‘’Eureka’’ moment and what followed.

FM: Initially, I was really only making Moose Maple Butter for family and friends and then also supplying, on request, to family and friends of friends! Everyone kept asking for more and where they could buy it and it all got me thinking!  Every time I had kids over at home, I had a little ‘’tasting’’ session and would lay out hot toast slathered with my maple butter spread along with some toast with chocolate spread on it and some with the usual butter and jam. It was always reassuring to see ALL the toast with Moose Maple Butter being gobbled up in comparison to the other offerings! That, along with lots of encouragement from everyone around me, gave me the shove I needed to sell Moose Maple Butter at a few of last year’s school Christmas fairs, in London and Los Angeles (Farrah’s second home). I have been flooded with requests ever since from a rapidly growing group of mothers and fathers alike and have been selling tubs of MMB ever since.

Of course there are all the not-so-fun things to deal with, like premises inspections and registrations and food hygiene certification and all the rest! I was so relieved when the local council left very impressed with my clean and shiny, brand-new kitchen!  I think I have a bit of an obsession on the cleanliness side!

(Farrah: I totally agree – I am sure I have cleanliness OCD geee)

MJ: I notice you have a very nicely done Facebook Page for Moose Maple Butter, I love it!

FM: Thank you! I love sharing art work done by my little fans who send me their pictures. You will see quite a lot of creative ones on the page. Of late, a lot of food bloggers have asked me for samples too and have created so many beautiful and delicious recipes.

Any recipe that calls for butter and sugar is a possible one for using Moose Maple Butter instead and results in a more wholesome but equally tasty outcome!

MJ: How does MMB compare to butter and spreads in its nutritional content?

FM: I am so glad you asked this question! MMB in comparison to say a chocolate spread is much more well ‘’spreadable’’ and hence you use up much less than say a thick peanut butter. Since I only use purely organic Maple Syrup at all times, what you get is much more taste with very little MMB.

So in the case of Moose Maple Butter a little goes a long way!

So everyone looking for any alternate spread, especially to chocolate spread, Moose Maple Butter it is!

I must say I agree with Farrah here, my first bite of Maple Butter was enough to make me fall madly in love with this new find – Hook, Line and Sinker if you will!

 To put this into perspective:

10 gms of average chocolate spread = 53 calories and one needs at least 30gms to properly cover one slice of toast, whereas only 10 gms of Moose Maple Butter will go a long way on that same one slice of toast! Brilliant! And tasty!

close up MMB close up shot with table details

MJ: So if I was to ask about the shelf life and nutritional contents of Moose Maple Butter what would you say?

FM:  I have currently given samples of MMB to Eclipse Scientific who will provide me with an accurate analysis of the exact shelf life and the precise nutrient content. But like any butter, it needs to be kept refrigerated.

Moose Maple Butter has no artificial additives; it has no E numbers, nothing. It is absolutely nothing but pure fresh butter and pure grade A maple syrup – with a dash of sea salt.  It is a superb alternative to processed sugar-laden products. It is a great, quick and easy breakfast option and just melts into the grooves of a hot crumpet and is of course best paired with pancakes.

Wow! That mention of hot crumpets makes me want to quickly grab hold of those cute sample jars from the table and run home for some tea and crumpet time. But to avoid such madness Farrah has kindly agreed to part with a large pot of Moose Maple Butter just for me to sample and make something delicious out of! So folks watch this space, in a few days you will see some delicious recipe posted on my blog Travelsfortaste with Moose Maple Butter as the divine ingredient.

MJ: What would you like to make of this new venture Farrah? Or put it plainly where do you see yourself in 5 years time

FM:  I’d just love to see Moose Maple Butter become a household name. I think the biggest kick would be when some kid I don’t know asks me if I’ve ever had Moose Maple Butter – that would be a great moment.

Our conversation becomes something of a friendly banter. The glorious sunshine refuses to go away but the shadows have shifted. The pub is filled with loads of families, kids running around; there is a buzz of activity. The usual lone ranger, armed with a net book and ale, occupies the table opposite us and looks down on me with disdain as I take some snaps of the cute jars.

(Image below is a picture of Farrah – the creator of Moose Maple Butter)

Farrah's Pic

I hate to tear myself away from this happy pub and evening chat but the promise of a dinner and movie by the hubby beckon.

Just realised that, of all the entrepreneurs I have met so far, 4 in all including Farrah, three of these entrepreneurs had never been interviewed before!

(To read the older blog posts with these inspiring entrepreneurial stories just click on the links below:

  • Dum-a-Dum Biryani Biryani & Kebabs – An Interview with an entrepreneur and a passionate foodie
  • Interview of Pune’s Leading Fruit Wine Manufacturer
  • Escape the Urban Jungle – Go Adventure ”Eco Camping” at Panchgani

I am sure Farrah is as excited as I am if not more,about her first ever interview where she has shared her story and how Moose Maple Butter was born. Now can’t wait to use her creation in my home kitchen!

Apart from the fair amount of persuasion it took to meet the two first time interviewees in India, I must admit that the one common thing amongst ALL entrepreneurs is their humility and their generosity to share their dreams, a few apprehensions and most of all, their time. I cannot thank you all enough.

Do leave your thoughts and comments about this interview and while you are at it, spread the MOOSE!

Say Hello to MOOSE at: http://www.moosemaple.co.uk/

Find MOOSE on Facebook:https://www.facebook.com/MooseMapleButter

Follow MOOSE on Twitter: https://twitter.com/FarrahMoose  (@FarrahMoose)

Buy Moose Maple Butter (or pick up a free sample) at The Petal Pusher in Kew.

Share the MOOSE folks!

Filed Under: Lifestyle, Miscellaneous Tagged With: 2013, Battersea, blogging, chocolate spread, Delicious.Spread The Moose, detox, E numbers, eat healthy, Eclipse Scientific, entrepreneur, Exclusive First Interview at sliceoffme, food and travel blogger, food blogger connect, food blogging, food lovers, France, great BRITISH summer, hot buttered toast, hot crumpets, Kew Gardens, Lawyer, london, Los Angeles, Manjiri Chitnis Kulkarni, Moose Maple Butter, Mumbai, New York, no artificial additives, nutrients, organic maple syrup, Pune, Pure, Share the Moose, simple, tasty, testing for food, The Bolingbroke, The Petal Pusher, You read it first on Sliceoffme, yummy

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