Making Kothu At Home

Kothu roti ,meaning chopped roti ,is a Sri Lankan dish made from Godhamba roti  ( wheat roti). Kothu can be found in  restaurants  in  all parts of Sri Lanka and is usually eaten for dinner.It is relished among the young especially during parties. You can enjoy  a variety of kothus with ingredients like beef and chicken  added according to your taste. Even vegetarians,like my second daughter gets  to indulge in the vegetable kothu ,with vegetables like spring onions,carrots and cabbages added.  In recent times, Cheese kothu also has been introduced in the menu  by  kothu enthusiasts.

Routinely the kothu is made  on a large hot iron surface ,exclusively  used  for  mixing  the various ingredients to assemble  the  kothu .Even from a distance ,you will know that the kothu is being prepared because of the unique sound the metal blades make, when cutting and mixing all the ingredients together.

Kothu can be made from scratch ie you make the rotis at home and then make the kothu or simply buy the  parathas  from the shop and assemble the kothu with the  other ingredients.I was wondering what to do with the  left over parathas( roti) from last nights dinner.So it was a good idea when  my husband asked me to make some kothu for dinner.The rest of the ingredients I had at home so it did n’t take much time to get the dinner fixed. Next time you have some left over parathas, don't hesitate to  try out this recipe and impress everyone at home, like I just did.

Preparing Kothu at home

4  parathas ( roti)  ( shredded)

1 big onion

2-3  green chillies

1 tsp  fennel seeds

1 tbspoon ginger slices

1 tbspoon garlic crushed

1 tomato chopped

½ tsp curry powder

1 tsp cumin powder

3-4  pieces of cooked chicken ( shredded)  with  gravy.( 1/2 cup)

2 eggs

A handful coriander leaves ( cilantro) chopped

Salt to taste

2 tablespoon oil.

Method

Heat oil in a tawa.Add fennel seeds .Then  add  the chopped  onion and cook until translucent. Next add ginger and  green chilies and cook for 1 minute, add the crushed garlic. Mix in  the curry powder, cumin powder  and the  tomatoe and cook  until soft. Add shredded Parathas  and cook until  the heat penetrates  all the way through. At this stage add the  shredded chicken and the gravy. Break the Eggs into the mixture and continuously  keep mixing till the eggs are completely cooked. Add salt to taste.

Toss the  Cilantro in and give it a final mix .Cover with a lid. Turn off the heat. Serve hot.( serves 3-4 persons)