Okay, I get it. It’s a bit odd that I am providing a guide to vegan Kati rolls in NYC when I make and sell vegan Kati rolls. It would be unsavvy if I didn’t include mine, but I’ve included many others so you, dear reader, can have an overview of the eclectic mix of vegan kati rolls available to you in NYC.
Aside from my Kati rolls and Desi Galli, which was THE first restaurant in NYC to offer a 100% plant-based meat Kati roll, everyone else on this list provides rolls with a different variety of vegetables either in dairy-free paratha or roti. Let’s roll!
THE SPOTS (in no particular order)
The Kati Roll Company, the pioneer of NYC Kati rolls, provides patrons with two vegan roll options: aloo masala roll and chana masala roll. To make it vegan, get both with the roti; their paratha is not vegan.
I was told that the paratha is vegan so you’ll get flakey paratha here sans dairy. However, if you’re looking for plant-based meat with your vegan paratha, you won’t find any here. What you will get, however, is the aloo roll and chana masala roll. Both dishes have dairy-based sour cream added to them so request it be omitted to eat vegan.
I called the restaurant to inquire about vegan options. The paratha here, too, is vegan. There are numerous vegetarian rolls but all of them have mint yogurt (dairy) sauce in them. If you omit the mint yogurt sauce, then most of the vegetarian rolls will be vegan. This restaurant, more so than most on than this list, has the most variety of veg kati rolls.
Options include:
- Aloo Masala Kati Roll
- Amritsari Chana Masala Kati Roll
- Veg Manchurian Kofta Shewan Kati Roll
- Mushroom Achari Masala Kati Roll
- The Cauliflower Kati Rolls (there are numerous)
The roti at Bombay Frankie Roti Roll is vegan. Although they offer numerous vegetarian rolls, you have to specify to make them vegan so the cooks will be prompted not to add default dish finishers such as butter or cream. I was told that if dining there in person, simply tell them that you want your dishes prepared vegan and they will honor your request. If you are ordering in delivery on Uber Eats, be sure to write “make vegan” in notes and I was told your request would be honored that way as well.
Here are the dishes you may request to be veganized:
- Bhaigana Bhartha Frankie
- Tofu Mushroom Frankie
- Channa Masala Frankie
- Bhindi Masala Frankie
I’ll be frank (though not frankie, ha, see what I did there?), I am biased towards Desi Galli as it’s one of the few places in this great city of ours where I enjoyed its offerings before I was vegan and well after.
As I mentioned earlier, Desi Galli was the first restaurant to offer a plant-based meaty Kati roll. PriaVanda Chouhan, Desi Galli’s owner and executive Chef, even writes on her menu, “We are the first Indian restaurant to incorporate Beyond Meat™ to our menu. I hope you love it as much as I do.” I do, Pria, I do!
The Beyond Meat™Kati roll isn’t the only vegan roll on the menu.
There’s also an aloo channa roll, a channa roll, and a seven-vegetable roll. For all or any of them, make sure you order the “Healthy Gluten-Free Chickpea Paratha Wrap,” and then your roll will be vegan. You will be given the options of paratha wrap and naan wrap, but please note that these two wraps have dairy, so make sure you order your rolls with the chickpea wrap!
Everything at Masala Merrynade is vegan, including the paratha and all the “meat” fillings. The menu consists of anywhere from a couple to several types of kati roll a week, with the unda (egg) roll and the chik’n roll being the most popular! Click here to order today or pre-order for another day!
