Flatbread chopped on a hot griddle with two metal blades, tossed with vegetables, egg, meat and curry gravy.
What makes it kottu roti
Godamba roti — a thin, stretched flatbread — cut into strips.
Chopped and mixed on a flat griddle with two blades.
Leeks, cabbage, carrot and egg, with chicken, beef or mutton.
Curry gravy worked in and served alongside.
Where it comes from
Kottu means chopped, and you usually hear it before you see it: the rhythmic clatter of blades on the griddle is the sound of a Sri Lankan street at night. Its origins aren't certain — it's often said to have begun as a way to use up leftover roti, and it seems to date only from the second half of the twentieth century.
It's now eaten all over the island and wherever Sri Lankans have settled, with a bowl of curry gravy alongside to pour over.
How it varies
Cheese kottu
With melting cheese folded through — a newer favourite.