Calcutta:
The Calcutta girl who makes “the next best wrap after Pashmina” rolled out her sixth kati roll shop in New York in November and has another one lined up in March.
Payal Saha, who comes from a music family that runs Hindusthan Records of 1932 vintage, has five stores serving up kati rolls in Manhattan New York , where she is based, and a solo near Oxford Street in London.
The newest store of The Kati Roll Company opened at Grand Central in New York and the earlier ones are at Greenwich Village, East Village, Midtown West and Midtown East.
Daughter of a college professor and an entrepreneur, Payal perhaps had it in her blood to excel in business. Both her grandfathers were entrepreneurs, she said over an email chat from New York.
Payal’s paternal grandfather founded Hindusthan Records after training in Germany. “He travelled through India looking for regional content from the brothels of Varanasi, recording recitals by baijis to Bade Ghulam Ali and Debabrata Biswas,” she said. The Akrur Dutta Lane studio of Hindusthan Records was inaugurated by Tagore where he also recorded his songs.
Her maternal grandfather jumped ship on Staten Island as an illegal immigrant in NYC and went on to become a chemical engineer from New York University before returning to Calcutta to open a paint factory.
The first store of Kati Roll Company opened in 2002 and soon became a raging trend for “fast casual dining” in New York. It has been widely covered in the American and London press, including The New York Times and BBC America. “After 15 years we still have snaking queues and on weekend nights we need bouncers to manage the rush. Last year, we sold over a million rolls,” Payal said. The bestseller: Chicken Tikka Roll with Achari Paneer a close second.
The decor at her stores is very street and Bollywood with film posters and a rugged charm.
Payal studied at Loreto House before moving to Lawrence School in Ooty for her PLus II and Jesus and Mary College in New Delhi for her graduation. She left for New York in 2000. “My husband (Anil Bathwal) was working in advertising and found a job in New York,” she said.
While Payal missed her Calcutta food, it was the kati roll that she most yearned for. Her personal favourite: Golden Spoon on Middleton Row near her school. “I also like the rolls at Stop and Go near Ballygunge Phanri,” she added.
Soon, Payal started experimenting with recipes and came up with The Kati Roll Company. On her next visit to Calcutta, she visited as many roll shops as she could – from Anamika in New Alipore to Badshah in New Market. She also gained some hands-on experience at a kati roll shop run by a Bengali in Mumbai. “I was determined to make it taste like the best of Calcutta rolls, if not better,” she said.
In the early days, Payal made everything on her own, with just one helper. “We would grind the spices, make the parathas and marinate the fillings. It was a lot of work.”
With several shops under her wings, operations stabilised and a baby to take care of, she now depends more on her “capable managers”.
The core menu is authentic kati roll but for healthy eating, she offers chapatti instead of paratha. Recently, Payal started a line of flavoured lassi with organic yogurt. Mango Lassi and Mishti Doi Lassi made with patali gur are among the top picks.
Her one earnest wish: Bengal should apply for a GI tag for the kati roll.
source: http://www.telegraphindia.com / The Telegraph, Calcutta,India / Home> Calcutta / by Anusuya Basu / January 02nd, 2018