It’s really hard to imitate koththu roti outside Sri Lanka. The speed and clang of the metal blades can be heard far and wide and when I’m on the streets of Lanka it’s hard to ignore.  Koththu is a dish composed traditionally of chopped up godamba roti, meat curry and vegetables. Since godamba roti can be hard to find in Australia and virtually impossible here there are a lot of substitutes out there. I’ve seen koththu made with lebanese or pita bread (way too dry) and paratha (can be a bit oily). While these are passable substitutes, koththu always tastes better with the real deal. While eating some left-over curry with tortillas I commented to Mr Firehouse that I thought tortilla’s would be a good substitute.

We were feeling a bit sick and sorry after a big night (by our standards) last week and decided to have the traditional Lankan hangover cure, almost as a good at dirty 3am Kebab.

I already had the chicken curry made up and I used half the quantity. Without the extra reserved gravy on top, Callum was able to eat this. If you have the time and inclination why not try this with the real godamba roti?

Here’s how the professionals do it!

Ingredients

• 8 large flour tortillas
• oil
• 1/2 a large onion chopped
• 2 cloves of garlic
• 2 green chillis sliced
• sprig of curry leaves
• 1 leek sliced
• 2-3 carrots shredded
• 1 small tomato diced
• 2 eggs beaten
• 1/2 a quantity of chicken curry meat shredded, bones removed and gravy reserved.
• 2 tbsp. soy sauce

Preparation

 

Brush both sides of the tortillas lightly with oil. Place them in a large frypan over a medium heat until both sides are browned and lightly crispy.  Leave to cool and then chop into small fingers.

In a large wok or frying pan add 3-4 tablespoons of oil and the onions, garlic, chilli and curry leaves. Fry for a few minutes until the onions are browned and then add the leaks. I like to cook the leeks a little bit longer as raw leeks can be a bit like raw onion. Add the tomato and carrot and fry until just soft. Add a couple of tablespoons of soy sauce and extra chilli flakes if you want more spice.

Finally add the chicken and pour over the egg. Mix the egg through and just as it’s starting to cook add the chopped tortillas. Mix and warm the whole mixture through.

The tortilla pieces should soak up the  sauce and any water at the bottom of the wok. They’ll turn a lovely brown and be very flavoursome.     Warm the gravy from the chicken curry and serve the koththu with the gravy poured on top.