Kothu roti

My (Sri Lankan) friend’s mum is a really good cook. I love the way she makes tomato rice, string hoppers (the best ever) and Sri Lankan-style potatoes and dry coconut chutney.

But, one dish of hers that fascinates me the most is the “kothu roti.”

Kothu roti is a popular spicy Sri Lankan street food, which is a stir-fry of shredded roti (Indian flatbread), vegetables (and/or meat and egg), and coconut-based spice mix.

I had been wanting to try this dish out myself for the longest of time.

Yesterday for lunch, I finally did. My friend always says that it is the quickest thing to whip up – and I got to test this claim for myself.

She was right! This dish only took me 15 minutes to make (I had roti’s ready on hand), and another 5-7 minutes to devour it up entirely.

When it comes to flavors – you will be floored by the warm comforting tastes from the coconut spice – the combination of coconut and curry leaves make everything so warm and earthy. And the chopped tomatoes provides just the perfect balance of tanginess that is needed to complement the sweetness from the coconut. Once this spice paste combines with the roti’s, it is an absolute medley of flavors.

Because I took the quick, cheats way out, I didn’t bother putting in any vegetables. But you can add shredded vegetables. If you eat eggs, be sure to add them too – scrambling eggs into kothu roti is very popular.

One last thing before moving on to the recipe – the pic below isn’t my proudest capture. I was obviously too excited and plated it up while it was still piping hot, resulting in a fogged, somewhat mushy looking thing. BUUUUUUUUT it’s really good in taste. So ignore the way my miserable image looks and hop right over to this incredible recipe!

Ingredients:

• Roti: 3-4, shredded
• Onion: 1/2, finely chopped
• Tomato: 1 medium, finely chopped
• Coconut milk: 1/2 cup
• Garlic clove: 1, minced
• Curry leaves: 6-7
• Dry red chili: 2
• Mustard seeds: 1 tsp
• Turmeric: 1 tsp
• Red chili powder: 1 tsp (or more, based on your spice preference)
• Coriander powder: 2 tsp
• Oil: 1 tbsp
• Salt: To taste

Method:

• Heat oil in a pan and add dried red chilies, mustard seeds and curry leaves
• Once the mustard seeds start spluttering, add turmeric, red chili powder, coriander powder and salt
• Stir well and add chopped onions and garlic
• Saute the mix under medium flame for 2-3 minutes,or till the onions soften
• Next, add in the tomatoes and give a good stir
• Cook the mix till the tomatoes become tender, and the mixture starts assembling into a unified paste
• Lastly, add in the coconut milk and stir well
• Cook till the solution slightly thickens and switch off the flame
• Remove the spice into a separate bowl
• Place the pan back onto the stove, and under medium flame, toss in the shredded roti’s
• Give a quick stir and once the roti’s are evenly heated (they should start to crisp up at this point), add in the coconut spice mix
• Stir quickly, ensuring the roti’s are well coated with the spices.
• Switch off flame and serve hot