Kolkata, christened the 'City of Joy' by French author Dominique Lapierre, is also a hotspot for every street-food lover.

The kathi rolls, in particular, are a cult favourite.

But did you know that the city was, in fact, the birthplace of the snack?

The story begins at the Nizam Restaurant in Calcutta’s Sir Stuart Hogg Market (present-day ‘New Market Area’ in Kolkata).

It was around 1932. Sahibs (colloquial term for Europeans and government officers in colonial India)  would stop by the restaurant to get a fill of their favourite mutton kebabs.

One day, without putting much thought into it, the restaurant owner Raza Hassan Saheb wrapped the kebab in a paratha and served it to a visiting sahib.

That was the moment the kathi roll was born! Soon, it became a norm at Nizam’s.

The snack’s ability to tickle the olfactory nerves of many passers-by and the simplicity of its preparation have immortalised the kathi roll.

The dish borrows its name from the bamboo skewers (bamboo is called kathi in Bengali) that substituted the heavy iron ones used to cook the meat.

In the years to come, the kathi roll’s definition expanded to include not just mutton kebabs, but vegetarian options and egg-layered meats.

While Nizam’s can lay claim to the origin of the kathi roll, today, there are a bucketload of places in the city where you can get your fill of the snack.

Some of the popular names include Chaccha Jaan on Chowbhagha Road, Kareem’s, Kusum Rolls, Campari, and Zeesha.