Sri Lanka is an island located in the India ocean which has rich nature and a great food culture. It's a well know and popular country among all those Asian food lovers around the world. In Sri Lanka, the main food is rice and curry. Here Sri Lankan cuisine offer many varieties of both vegetarian and non vegetarian dishes mixed with loads of natural, aromatic and health spice collection. But, have you ever hear that ''Kottu roti" or in simply they say "Kottu"? You can’t ever visit Sri Lanka and leave without eating kottu roti. Kottu is a popular evening street food which is made out of chopped flatbread mixed and mashed together with chicken and vegetables. If you take a stroll down a busy street in the heart of Sri Lanka, Colombo, in the late evening, you’ll be greeted with the sounds of street vendors making kottu roti. Oh yeah! Kottu has it's own rhythm! But wait, did you know a food which has it''s own unique sound? Okay, now you know there is specific sound you will get to hear when making the kottu which make the dish super delicious. Not only in the main capital but also in every urban, sub-urban and village streets also have installed small stalls that make Kottu roti. See how popular this dish in here! Kottu is made with special type of flatbread called “Godamba roti” that is shredded and then mixed with vegetables, meat and eggs, aromatic spices and sauces. Whole mix is then chopped and mixed together on a large flat griddle with two large steel chopping blades, which produces that characteristic sound and the theatrics of making kottu roti. There are different versions kottu roti options you can choose from. Some of them are,
- Chicken kottu roti (roasted or curried chicken)
- Vegetable kottu roti
- Egg kottu roti
- Cheese kottu roti
- Chicken and Cheese Kottu roti
- Vegetable and Cheese kottu roti
- Beef kottu roti
- String hopper kottu (Made with string hoppers instead with roti)
The most favourite type among lots of SrI Lankans are "Chicken and Cheese Kottu" as it is comforting, and it also works splendidly as an anti-hangover meal!
Let's see how you can make your own chicken and cheese kottu roti by yourself!
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp chopped onion
- 2 tbsp vegetable oil
- 1 tbsp minced garlic
- 1 tbsp minced ginger
- 1 cup chopped leeks or spring onions
- ¼ of a cabbage
- 2 cups of cooked chicken with gravy
- 1 cup grated carrots
- 2 eggs
- 1 cup shredded cheese
- Salt and pepper
- 1 lb chopped godhamba Roti
Method
- Onto a non-stick pan, add some vegetable oil. Let it heat over medium-high heat and add the onion, garlic, ginger and sauté until softened.
- Add the chopped cabbage, carrot and a generous pinch of salt and stir-fry for a few minutes.
- After few minutes of cooking, create a well in the middle of the vegetable mix and add the eggs into this well.
- Don't forget to season it by adding salt and pepper.
- At this stage you can add the chopped "Godamba roti" along with the shredded chicken and it's gravy. Spices rich gravy tastes better!
- In Sri Lanka, they use two metal plates to mix those ingredients all together, since it's not in your home you can use two spoons to mix it well.
- After few minutes of cooking you can add the shredded cheese and mix the roti until completely coated with cheese
- Now add the chopped leaks or spring onions before turning the flame off.
- If you don't like eating chicken you can simply add any other non-vegetarian dish such as shrimps, beefs as per per your taste.
- Serve while hot with extra leftover curry sauce and enjoy the Sri Lankan most popular kottu roti!
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