AI-generated image
Vegetable kottu roti
Kottu roti: chopped godamba roti stir-fried with vegetables, egg and curry gravy, Colombo street style
After dark in Colombo you hear kottu before you see it: the rhythmic clang of two steel blades chopping roti on a hot flat-top at every street stall from Pettah to Wellawatte. Shredded godamba roti is stir-fried with leeks, carrot, cabbage, onion, chilli and egg, then moistened with a spoonful of spicy curry gravy so it's soft, smoky and messy in the best way. Stalls usually ladle on chicken curry gravy; we make a quick vegetable curry sauce instead, and the egg keeps it vegetarian rather than vegan. Leftover parathas or frozen flaky flatbreads stand in well for godamba roti. The common mistake is overcrowding a small pan, which steams everything; cook in two batches if your pan is under 30 cm. Chef's tip: chop the roti into strips while it is still slightly warm, then let it dry for 10 minutes so it fries rather than turns mushy.
- Total time
- 40 min
- Difficulty
- medium
- Serves
- 3
Ingredients
For the curry sauce
For the kottu
Shop this recipe on Amazon
What you'll need
Spices & pantry
Fresh ingredients (11)
Links open Amazon in a new tab. As an Amazon Associate, WhatToEat.Today earns from qualifying purchases.
Method
0/8 doneStep 1: Make the curry sauce: heat 1 tbsp vegetable oil in a small pan over a medium heat and fry ½ onion for 4 minutes until soft. Add 3 garlic cloves and ⅓ oz fresh ginger for 1 minute, then 2 tsp Sri Lankan roasted curry powder, 1 tsp chilli powder and 1 tbsp tomato purée for 30 seconds.
6 minStep 2: Stir in ¾ cup coconut milk, ½ cup water and ½ tsp salt and simmer over a low heat for 5 minutes, until it is the thickness of single cream. Keep warm.
5 minStep 3: Spread the strips of 4 godamba roti or flaky parathas on a tray and leave them to dry out for 10 minutes while you prep the vegetables.
10 minStep 4: Heat 3 tbsp vegetable oil in your largest frying pan or wok over a high heat until it shimmers. Add 1 onion, 2 green chillies and 10 fresh curry leaves and stir-fry for 2 minutes, until the onion starts to char at the edges.
2 minStep 5: Add 1 leek and 1 carrot and stir-fry for 2 minutes, then 5 ½ oz white cabbage for 1–2 minutes more. The vegetables should be bright and just wilted, still with crunch.
4 minStep 6: Push the vegetables to the side, pour 3 eggs into the clear space and scramble for about 1 minute until barely set, then mix them through the vegetables.
1 minStep 7: Add the roti strips, ½ tsp salt and ½ tsp ground black pepper. Using two metal spatulas, chop and toss everything together over a high heat for 3–4 minutes, until the roti is hot, a little crisp at the edges and evenly mixed.
4 minStep 8: Pour over about two-thirds of the curry sauce and keep chopping and tossing for 1 minute until it's absorbed; the kottu should be moist, not wet. Serve at once with the rest of the sauce on the side and 3 lime wedges.
1 min
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 640 kcal
- Protein
- 18 g
- Carbs
- 70 g
- Fat
- 32 g
- Fibre
- 6 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does vegetable kottu roti take?
- About 40 minutes in total: 15 minutes to prepare and 25 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 3 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it vegetarian?
- Yes. It has no meat or fish.
- Is it very spicy?
- It has some heat. Use less chilli for a milder version, or more if you like it hot.
- What can I use instead of onion?
- 2 shallots per onion.
- What can I use instead of garlic cloves?
- ½ tsp garlic paste or ⅛ tsp garlic powder per clove.
Reviews
No reviews yet. Be the first to cook it.
Rate this recipe
Sign in to rate and review this recipe.
You might also like
Polos curry
Polos is the tiny unripe jackfruit picked in the Western and Sabaragamuwa provinces long before it sweetens, and cooked low and slow it becomes one of the island's most loved festival curries, especially at Sinhala and Tamil New Year in April and at wedding lunches. The firm, pale flesh soaks up a very dark roasted curry powder, garlic, ginger, goraka (a smoky souring fruit) and coconut milk until it turns almost black-brown and tastes rich, sour and meaty. Fresh polos is hard to find abroad; tinned young green jackfruit in brine works well. A frequent mistake is not cooking it long enough, which leaves it squeaky; the pieces must be soft enough to break with a spoon. Chef's tip: oil your hands and knife before cutting fresh jackfruit; the sticky white sap washes off oiled skin but not dry skin.
Mazorca desgranada
Food trucks and street corners in Bogotá and Medellín sell mazorca desgranada in plastic tubs, late into the evening: sweet corn kernels cut off the cob, fried in butter and layered with shredded chicken, melted cheese, crunchy potato sticks, pineapple sauce and salsa rosada. Some stands add bacon, beef or quail eggs; this version keeps to chicken. It is sweet, salty and gooey, and a hit with teenagers. Using tinned corn without draining it well is a common error: the water dilutes the sauces and the tub gets soggy. Chef's tip: fry the corn until a few kernels brown and pop; that caramelised edge stands up to all the sweet sauces. For a vegetarian tub, skip the chicken and use a cheese made with microbial rennet.
Colombian
Thai bean burger
A Thai-flavoured veggie burger: butter beans are blended with fresh coconut, spring onions, coriander, roasted peanuts and red curry paste into coarse patties, shallow-fried until crisp and stacked in toasted buns with lettuce, onion and a little sweet chilli sauce. Filling, crunchy and full of flavour. Serve with a salad or chips.
Thai