Kothu roti is a type of street food widely spread throughout Sri Lanka. In the Tamil language, the verb kothu means “to cut,” and in this dish it refers to the method of preparation. In the recipe we recreated, we use a store-bought roti (a traditional type of flatbread) to speed and simplify preparation. Alternatively, you can purchase frozen dough and bake it following the instructions.
Ingredients for 4 portions
- Roti canai or paratha already cooked, coarsely chopped 4 pieces / 320 g
- Boneless chicken leg, cut into strips 340 g
- Cinnamon sticks 2,5 g
- Cardamom pods 2,5 g
- Cloves 2 g
- Chilies 5 g
- Turmeric 2,5 g
- Curry for meats 15 g
- Coriander 5 g
- Cumin 2,5 g
- Lime juice 5 g
- Crushed ginger and garlic paste 10 g
- Onions, thinly sliced 200 g
- Coconut milk 100 g
- Tomato concentrate 30 g
- Sugar 2,5 g
- Peppers of various colors, sliced 200 g
- Cabbage, shredded 200 g
- Carrots, cut into julienne strips 200 g
- Eggs 60 g
- Peanut oil 60 g
- Curry leaves 3 g
- Halls q.b.
- Coarsely ground black pepper 5 g
Preparation
First marinate the chicken strips for about 30 minutes with half the spice mix, lime juice and salt.
Heat half the oil in a frying pan, add the whole spices, curry leaves, and half the sliced onions and sauté until the onions turn golden brown.
Add half of the ginger-garlic paste and saute for one minute, then add the marinated chicken. Season with the remaining spice mix and continue browning until the chicken is half cooked.
Combine the tomato paste, salt, 75 g water, and coconut milk and continue cooking until the chicken is fully cooked and the curry has begun to thicken. Add sugar, adjust salt, and set aside.
In another pan, heat the remaining oil and add the rest of the ginger-garlic paste, onions, and a few curry leaves. Cook onions until translucent.
Add the peppers, cabbage, carrots, salt, and a pinch of ground black pepper. Sauté the vegetables until half cooked.
Gather the vegetables on one side of the pan, add the eggs, and scramble them. In the same pan, add about two-thirds of the already cooked chicken curry, the chopped roti, and mix thoroughly.
Cook the whole thing for a few more minutes. Adjust the seasoning to your taste.
To limit our impact on the environment, we advise you to remain within 1 kg CO2-equivalent per meal, including all the courses you eat. Bear in mind that plant-based dishes are more likely to have a low environmental impact.
Even though some of our suggestions exceed the recommended 1 kg CO2-equivalent per meal, that doesn't mean you should never make them; it's the overall balance that counts. Regularly eating a healthy and eco-friendly diet in the long term offsets even the dishes with the most impact, as long as you don't make them too often.