Kottu roti ( ta, கொத்து ரொட்டி; si, කොත්තු රොටි), alternatively spelled kothu roti, is a Sri Lankan dish consisting of chopped

roti Roti (also known as chapati) is a round flatbread native to the Indian subcontinent. It is popular in India, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Nepal, Bangladesh, Maldives, Myanmar, Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore, Thailand, Guyana, Suriname, Jamaica, Trini ...

, a meat curry dish of choice (such as

mutton Lamb, hogget, and mutton, generically sheep meat, are the meat of domestic sheep, ''Ovis aries''. A sheep in its first year is a lamb and its meat is also lamb. The meat from sheep in their second year is hogget. Older sheep meat is mutton. Gen ...

, beef, seafood, or

chicken The chicken (''Gallus gallus domesticus'') is a domesticated junglefowl species, with attributes of wild species such as the grey and the Ceylon junglefowl that are originally from Southeastern Asia. Rooster or cock is a term for an adu ...

), along with scrambled egg, onions, and chillies. The ingredients are chopped together using special cleavers as they sautee on a hot griddle. A variation of the dish is found in the

South India South India, also known as Dakshina Bharata or Peninsular India, consists of the peninsular southern part of India. It encompasses the Indian states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and Telangana, as well as the union territ ...

n states of

Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is a state in southern India. It is the tenth largest Indian state by area and the sixth largest by population. Its capital and largest city is Chennai. Tamil Nadu is the home of the Tamil people, whose Tamil language ...

and

Kerala Kerala ( ; ) is a state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile regions of Cochin, Malabar, South ...

, known as kothu parotta ( ta, கொத்து பரோட்டா), which is made using

parotta Parotta or Porotta is a layered Indian and Sri Lankan flatbread made from Maida or Atta, alternatively known as flaky ribbon pancake. It is very common in the Indian states of Kerala and Tamil Nadu and widely available in other states like K ...

instead of roti. Kottu roti can also be found internationally in restaurants in regions containing Tamil, Sinhalese and Malayali diaspora populations.

History

The word ''koththu'' means "to chop" in Tamil, referring to its method of preparation. This has been simplified in Tamil and Sinhalese to Kothu or Kottu respectively. It is generally considered that it originated as

street food Street food is ready-to-eat food or drinks sold by a hawker, or vendor, in a street or at other public places, such as markets or fairs. It is often sold from a portable food booth, food cart, or food truck and is meant for immediate consumpt ...

in the eastern Tamil regions of

Trincomalee Trincomalee (; ta, திருகோணமலை, translit=Tirukōṇamalai; si, ත්‍රිකුණාමළය, translit= Trikuṇāmaḷaya), also known as Gokanna and Gokarna, is the administrative headquarters of the Trincomalee Dis ...

or Batticaloa in the 1960s/1970s, as an inexpensive meal for the lower socio-economic classes. The basic rotti is made of Gothamba flour, a flour made out of a variety of grains-referring to the white flour. Another origin theory claims that the dish was created as kothu parotta in

Madurai Madurai ( , also , ) is a major city in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is the cultural capital of Tamil Nadu and the administrative headquarters of Madurai District. As of the 2011 census, it was the third largest Urban agglomeration in ...

, India, where it is made using

from Maida, which is called bleached flour in areas outside South Asia.

Preparation

Kottu, is made up of ''paratha ''or ''godamba roti'', which is cut into small pieces or ribbons. Then on a heated iron sheet or griddle, vegetables and onions are fried. Eggs, cooked meat, or fish are added to fried vegetables and heated for a few minutes. Finally, the pieces of cut ''paratha'' are added. These are chopped and mixed by repeated pounding using heavy iron blades/spatula, the sound of which is very distinctive and can usually be heard from a long distance. Depending upon what ingredients are used, the variations are vegetable, egg, chicken, beef, mutton, and fish ''kottu roti''. It is sometimes prepared and served as a fast food dish.

References

External links

{{Sri Lankan cuisine Flatbread dishes Sri Lankan cuisine Tamil cuisine Kerala cuisine

History

Preparation

See also

References

External links