Incurable Wanderlust

Passport & Plate - Koththu

Sri Lanka | Monday, March 2, 2015 | 5 photos

Ingredients
For the Godamba Roti:

3 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp salt
1 tbsp oil
1 cup lukewarm water
½ cup oil

For the Sri Lankan Chicken Curry:

2 tbsp vegetable oil
¼ tsp fenugreek seeds
10 curry leaves on the stem
2 finely chopped large onions
5 finely chopped garlic cloves
2 tsp grated ginger
1 tsp turmeric powder
1 tsp chilli powder
1 tbsp ground coriander
½ tsp ground fennel
1 tsp ground cumin
2 tsp sweet paprika
2 tsp salt
2 tbsp vinegar
2 chopped tomatoes
6 cardamom pods, cracked
1 cinnamon stick
1 lemongrass stalk, bruised
1 pandan leaf, folded
1 & ½ kg chicken thighs on the bone
250 ml thick coconut milk

For the final dish - The Koththu:

½ cup oil
4 cloves of garlic finely chopped
2 medium sized onions thinly sliced
3 sprigs of fresh curry leaves finely chopped
3 cups sliced cabbage
2 large carrots thinly sliced
1 cup sliced capsicum
3 cups sliced leeks
2 large chopped tomatoes
1 tsp chili powder
5 cloves
5 cardamom pods
1/2 cinnamon quill broken
1 tsp salt
1 & ½ cups Sri Lankan chicken curry
3 cups shredded Godamba roti

 

How to prepare this recipe
To prepare the Godamba Roti:

1) Combine and rub together the flour, salt and the tablespoon of oil
2) Add all at once, the lukewarm water and mix
3) Knead for approximately 10 minutes
4) Divide dough into equal-sized balls
5) Bathe the balls in the ½ cup of oil and leave overnight, well covered
6) Take a little oil from the bowl and grease your cutting board (plastic or marble works best for this dough to avoid the oil from soaking into your board and rolling pin)
7) Take one of the balls and press it down flat into nearly translucent thinness
8) Move the roti carefully to your extremely hot pan, and cook for approx. 1 minute on each side – until golden brown spots appear

To prepare the Sri Lankan Chicken Curry:

1) Heat oil in a pan
2) Fry the fenugreek seeds and curry leaves until the leaves start to brown
3) Add the onion, garlic and ginger. Fry until the onion is soft and translucent
4) Add the ground spices, salt and vinegar. Stir well
5) Add the tomato, whole spices, lemongrass and pandan leaf
6) Next, add the chicken. Stir to coat the chicken pieces in the spices
7) Cover and cook over low heat for 40–50 minutes
8) Stir in the coconut milk and taste for salt

To prepare the final dish - The Koththu:

1) Cut the roti into bite size rectangle pieces for the Koththu
2) Heat the oil in a pan
3) Add the spices (chili powder, cloves, cardamom, cinnamon and salt)
4) Add the garlic, onions and curry leaves. Cook until the onions become transparent
5) To keep the colours of each vegetable, add the carrots first and fry for 7 minutes
6) Next add the cabbage, capsicum and tomatoes. After frying for 5 minutes add the leeks
7) Sauté until the vegetables are half done
8) Push the vegetables to the side in the pan to add the eggs. Scramble the eggs
9) To the same pan, add the cooked chicken curry with the meat
10) Add the shredded roti and mix well. Cook for a few more minutes

Serving Suggestion: Serve with more chicken curry on the side.

 

The story behind this recipe
It was many years back, in Sri Lanka, where my family and I were making the long trip back to Colombo. Our tuk-tuk had come to halt beside a battered down building next to which stood a koththu stall. I’d ‘hear’ the dish before I’d see it. The rhythmic ra-tat-tat-tat drew foreigners much like myself to witness the ‘part show, part food’ spectacle. A flickering white fluorescent light allowed me to feast upon the show.

The chef was a frail man. A sarong was bound around his small waist, styled with a grungy vest. Despite his appearance, this man had power. Two metal blades with wooden handles extended from each of his arms. These very arms furiously chopped away at the koththu. A ‘happy chaos.’ The clashing of the metal blades with the iron skillet composed the distinctive musical sound that rang through the town that night - as if he was drumming to the beat of a Sri Lankan baila song!

Flaky flatbread was chopped along with vegetables. A sprinkling of turmeric ignited a glorious golden glow. He then studded the collaboration with an assortment of spices, finishing with a pour of chicken curry that first simmered (as the roti soaked up the aromatic liquid) then sizzled into a fragrant spice-cloud as it hit the heat. My eyes watered from standing too close to the grill. The heavy, musky spices hovering in the already humid air brought a fresh heat to our surroundings. Yet I continued to peer over the murky glass wall. The fusion of scents would cling to my hair and clothes - for days I would smell of this night!

The roti had the satisfying chew of all good bread, each bite leavened by the subtle crispiness of carrots and leeks. The chilli gave bite, complimenting the slight sweetness of the pandan leaves, cinnamon and cardamom– giving an elegance to this mere street food dish. The flavour carried warm ephemeral aromatics – a flavour that encouraged me to take bite after bite to hold on to the taste that I had begun to trust as the ‘taste of Sri Lanka.’