Kottu
Kottu Roti (Koththu Roti)
Kottu roti, also spelled koththu, is Sri Lanka's most famous street food: shredded godamba roti stir-fried on a hot griddle with egg, vegetables, spices and leftover curry, to the clang of two metal blades. Loud, fast and endlessly adaptable, it is how you turn yesterday's chicken curry into a smoky, savoury, chewy plate of dinner.
Sri Lanka's most famous street food: chopped roti stir-fried with egg, veg and curry. This is where last night's curry goes to become tonight's dinner.
- Total time
- 35 min
- 20 min prep · 15 min cook
- Serves
- 4 people
- Difficulty
- Medium
- Spice level
- Medium
- Country help
- USA · UK · AU · CA substitutes included
CeylonCooking
ceyloncooking.com/recipes/kottu-roti
Kottu Roti (Kottu)
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Nutrition
Estimated values, per serving.
About This Dish
You hear kottu before you see it. The clatter of two flat metal blades chopping and tossing on a steel griddle is the sound of a Sri Lankan evening, and every night market and roadside stall has its own rhythm. What they are chopping is godamba roti, a thin, stretchy flatbread, shredded into ribbons and fried hard with egg, vegetables and a ladle of curry until the whole lot comes together in one smoky, savoury tangle. Koththu, as it is also spelled, is street food at its most theatrical.
Kottu began as a clever way to use up leftovers, roti and curry that needed a second life, and that humble origin is still its genius. There is no single recipe; it bends to whatever is in the kitchen. Chicken, beef, vegetable, egg, cheese, the gravy-loaded versions: every cook and every stall has their own. What stays the same is the technique, the chopping that never stops, breaking the roti into bite-sized strips and working the curry through every piece.
A good kottu is all about contrast and char. You want strips of roti that still have a bit of chew, edges caught and crisped on the hot metal, sweet softened onion and leek, ribbons of egg, and enough curry gravy that nothing turns dry. It is messy, generous, eaten fast, and at its best straight off the griddle while it is still steaming. Nothing else on the street quite does what it does.
What Is Godamba Roti?
Godamba roti (also spelled godhamba) is the flatbread at the heart of kottu. It is a thin, stretchy, slightly chewy roti made from a soft wheat dough that is oiled, rested and flung out paper-thin before being folded and griddled, a close cousin of Malabar paratha and roti canai. Shredded into ribbons, it is sturdy enough to take the constant chopping without turning to mush, which is exactly what kottu needs. Frozen paratha is the easiest stand-in, and it works very well.
The dish itself goes by several spellings: kottu, koththu and kothu all refer to the same thing, from the Tamil and Sinhala word for 'chopped'. So kottu roti, koththu roti and chopped roti are one and the same. From there it splits into endless styles: chicken kottu, vegetable kottu, egg kottu and the gravy-soaked cheese kottu, all built on the same shredded-roti base.
What It Should Taste Like
Savoury, smoky and a little chewy, with bits of roti soaking up curry gravy, sweet onions and leeks, soft ribbons of egg and a slow chilli heat at the back of the throat. It is built for a big appetite.
Ingredients
This recipe makes 4 servings. Change the number and every amount below updates with it. Substitutes for hard-to-find items are in the sidebar.
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- Godamba roti or parathashredded into thin strips4
- Eggsbeaten3
- Cooked chicken curry (with gravy)or any leftover curry1 cup
- Onionsliced1
- Leekssliced1
- Carrotjulienned1
- Garlic3 cloves
- Ginger1 tbsp
- Green chilliessliced2
- Curry leaves1 sprig
- Sri Lankan curry powder1 tsp
- Soy sauce1 tbsp
- Oil2 tbsp
- Salt and pepperto taste
Method
Follow these 6 steps. Each one explains not just what to do, but why it matters.
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- 01
Prep Everything First
Kottu is fast, so have the roti shredded into thin strips and all the vegetables, eggs and curry measured out and within reach before you even look at the stove.
This is the most important step, and the one home cooks skip. Once the pan is hot, kottu comes together in a few frantic minutes, and there is no time to chop an onion or hunt for the soy sauce. Street cooks line everything up in little piles for exactly this reason. Treat it like a stir-fry: everything ready first, then cook.
Tip: Shred the roti while it is at room temperature, not warm. Cold-ish roti tears into clean ribbons; warm roti just squashes together.
- 02
Char the Vegetables
Heat the oil in your largest flat pan or griddle over high heat. Fry the curry leaves for a few seconds until they crackle, then add the onion, leeks, carrot, garlic, ginger and green chilli and cook until soft and a little charred at the edges.
High heat and a wide pan do the real work here. You want the vegetables to catch and char at the edges rather than steam, because that smoky note is half of what makes kottu taste like kottu and not like a soft stir-fry. Keep them moving, but let them sit just long enough between tosses to take on colour. That char is the whole point.
Tip: If your pan is small, cook in two batches. A crowded pan steams, and you lose the char entirely.
- 03
Scramble the Egg
Push the vegetables to one side, pour the beaten egg into the cleared space and scramble it until just set, then fold it back through the vegetables.
Scrambling the egg directly on the griddle, rather than stirring it in raw, gives you distinct ribbons of egg running through the finished kottu instead of a damp coating that clings to every strip. Let it set into soft curds before you fold it back through, so it keeps its texture against the roti.
Tip: Salt the egg as it scrambles, just a small pinch, so it is seasoned from the inside. The rest of the dish gets seasoned at the end.
- 04
Stir in the Curry
Stir in the leftover curry with its gravy, then the curry powder and the soy sauce, and let everything heat through.
The gravy is not optional, it is the soul of the dish. It carries the seasoning, keeps the roti from drying out, and is exactly what people mean when they order their kottu 'with extra gravy'. The curry powder and soy sauce deepen and round out whatever curry you are using, so even a plain leftover curry tastes like it was made for this.
Tip: Err on the side of more gravy than looks right. The roti drinks it up the moment it goes in.
- 05
Chop in the Roti
Add the shredded roti and toss-chop everything together with two metal spatulas (or a sturdy spoon), cutting and folding for 4-5 minutes until it is combined and hot right through.
This is the signature move, and the rhythm matters. Use the two spatulas like blades, chopping down through the pile and folding it over, again and again, so the roti breaks into short strips and every piece gets coated in curry and catches the heat. The clatter is not just for show. That constant cutting is what gives kottu its texture.
Tip: Stop while the strips still have some chew. Chop too long and the roti turns to mush, and a good kottu is never mushy.
- 06
Season and Serve
Season with salt and pepper, give it one more toss, and serve it hot, with extra curry gravy on the side if you have it.
Taste before you season, because the curry and the soy sauce have already done a lot of the work. Kottu waits for no one, so plate it the moment it is done, while the edges are still crisp and the whole thing is steaming. A little extra gravy poured over at the table is how it is meant to be eaten.
Tip: Go straight from pan to plate to table. Kottu sitting in a serving bowl loses its crisp edges within minutes.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
- Not having everything prepped. Kottu cooks in minutes and it won't wait for you.
- Skimping on the curry gravy, which is the only thing keeping the roti from going dry.
- Over-chopping the roti into mush. You want strips with some chew left in them.
- Crowding a small pan. Use the biggest flat pan you have, and cook in batches if it is still tight.
Serving Ideas
- With extra curry gravy poured over at the table.
- Topped with a fried egg if you are properly hungry.
- With a cooling cucumber salad on the side.
Building a whole plate around it? Start from our sri lankan party menu menu, which sets out what to cook alongside it and in what order.
Storage and Make-Ahead
Best fresh and hot, straight off the griddle. It keeps for a day in the fridge; reheat it in a hot pan with a splash of water so it steams back to life. It doesn't freeze well.
Two Ways to Cook It
Use frozen paratha and leftover curry, keep the veg simple (onion, carrot, egg), and chop with two metal spatulas in a big non-stick pan. Same dish, half the work.
Use freshly made godamba roti, a leftover chicken or beef curry with plenty of gravy, and chop on a hot flat griddle with two blades so you get the full rhythm and the char.
Lighter and Healthier Version
Kottu is hearty street food, but it bends easily to lighter eating. Because you decide the roti, the oil and the fillings, a few small swaps cut the carbs and the fat without losing the smoky, savoury character that makes it kottu.
Load up the Vegetables
Double the leeks, carrot, cabbage and onion and cut the roti by a third. You keep the volume and the flavour while lightening the plate, and the extra veg brings the fibre.
Go Easy on the Oil
A wide non-stick pan or griddle needs only a tablespoon of oil to char the vegetables. Most of the richness comes from the curry gravy, not from frying in a lot of oil.
Make It Vegan
Skip the egg and use a vegetable or dhal curry for the gravy. The shredded roti, the charred veg and the spices carry the dish on their own.
Leaner Protein
Use shredded chicken breast or leftover lentils instead of a rich meat curry, with a lighter coconut gravy, for a bowl that is higher in protein and lower in fat.
Try a Wholemeal Roti
A wholemeal godamba roti or wholewheat paratha adds fibre and keeps you full longer, and it still goes that same chewy way once it is chopped through.
Frequently Asked Questions
Kottu roti, also spelled koththu, is a Sri Lankan street food made from godamba roti, a thin flatbread, shredded into strips and stir-fried on a hot griddle with egg, vegetables, spices and curry. It gets its name from the chop-chop of the two metal blades that mix it.
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