Kottu began as a way of using up yesterday's roti, which is exactly what makes it a good Tuesday dinner. The porotta is cooked first, left to cool, then chopped and thrown back into a hot pan with egg and whatever vegetables are about.
The clatter you hear outside a Sri Lankan kottu shop comes from two blades on a steel plate. At home a large knife and a board do the same job, and a wide frying pan gives you the hot metal the dish needs.
Ingredients
- 5 Malabar King Malabar Parotta 5 Pieces 300g, cooked from frozen and cooled
- 2 tbsp Enrich Roasted Curry Powder 900g
- 3 tbsp Gold Winner Gingelly Oil 500ml
- 1 tsp TRS Black Pepper Coarse 100g
- 200g Cream of the Crop Mixed Vegetables 907g
- 3 eggs, beaten with a pinch of salt
- 1 onion and 1 leek, sliced thin
- 3 cloves garlic, chopped, and a thumb of ginger, chopped
- 2 green chillies, sliced
- 1 tsp salt
- A ladle of leftover chicken or vegetable curry, or 100ml hot water
Method
- Cook the porotta from frozen in a dry pan for 2 minutes a side, until puffed and lightly blistered. Spread them out to cool completely. Warm porotta tears and goes doughy under the knife.
- Stack two at a time and cut them into 1cm ribbons, then across into rough squares. You want pieces that still have layers, not crumbs.
- Heat 2 tablespoons of the gingelly oil in your widest pan over a high flame. Fry the onion, leek, garlic, ginger and green chilli for 4 minutes, keeping them moving, until the onion is translucent and the edges catch.
- Add the frozen mixed vegetables straight from the bag and fry for 4 to 5 minutes, until any water has steamed off and the pan is dry again.
- Push everything to one side, add the last tablespoon of oil to the clear half and pour in the beaten egg. Let it set for 30 seconds, then break it up and mix it through the vegetables.
- Tip in the chopped porotta, the roasted curry powder, the pepper and the salt. Toss hard for 2 minutes, lifting from the bottom, so every piece takes on colour.
- Pour the leftover curry or hot water down the side of the pan and keep tossing for another 2 minutes, until it is absorbed and the kottu is moist but not wet. Serve hot, with more curry gravy on the side.
Cook's notes
Roasted curry powder is dark and smoky and is not the same as the yellow curry powder used in raw curries. Add it at the end, where a short hit of heat wakes it up without burning it. If you are using leftover curry, cut the salt by half and taste before adding more. Chicken kottu follows the same steps: fry 200g of shredded cooked chicken with the vegetables.
For chicken kottu, use 200g of cooked chicken, leftover roast or the meat from a chicken curry, pulled into thin shreds. Add it with the frozen vegetables so it fries in the hot oil and picks up some colour before the egg goes in. If the chicken came from a curry, use a ladle of that same gravy at the end and halve the salt. A few extra green chillies and a squeeze of lime suit the chicken version well.
Kottu is best eaten straight from the pan. Leftovers keep a day in the fridge: fry them in a little oil over a high flame with a splash of water, tossing until hot right through. Serve with a bowl of curry gravy, sliced onion and lime on the side.
Questions
Can I make kottu roti with frozen porotta?
Yes, frozen porotta works well. Cook each one from frozen in a dry pan for 2 minutes a side, then let them cool completely before chopping. Warm porotta tears and turns doughy under the knife, while cold porotta cuts into neat pieces that keep their layers.
What can I use in place of a kottu griddle?
A large knife, a chopping board and your widest frying pan. Cut the porotta into squares before it goes in, then toss it hard over a high flame. The pan needs to be wide enough that the kottu fries; a crowded pan only steams it.
Why is my kottu soggy?
Too much liquid, or the vegetables went in wet. Fry the frozen vegetables until the pan is dry again before adding the egg. Pour the curry or water down the side of the pan a little at a time and keep tossing until it is absorbed.
Is roasted curry powder the same as normal curry powder?
No. Sri Lankan roasted curry powder is dark and smoky because the spices are toasted before grinding. The yellow, unroasted kind belongs in raw curries. Add the roasted powder near the end of cooking, where a short burst of heat brings it alive without burning it.
