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Best Kottu in New York

“Chopped roti tossed with meat curry, egg, onions, and chillies—a Sri Lankan dish born in Tamil regions.”

Kottu

What the real thing tastes like

Kottu roti (Tamil: கொத்து ரொட்டி; Sinhala: කොත්තු රොටි), alternatively spelled kothu roti, is a Sri Lankan Dish consisting of chopped roti, a meat curry dish of choice (such as beef, mutton, seafood, chicken) along with scrambled egg, onions, and chillies. It is mostly thought to have originated from the Tamil regions of Sri Lanka, particularly the towns of Batticaloa and Trincomalee.The word Kottu is simplification of the Tamil word koththu. A variation of the dish is found in the south Indian states of Tamil Nadu and Kerala, known as kothu parotta (Tamil: கொத்து பரோட்டா; Malayalam: കൊത്തു പൊറോട്ട), which is made using parotta instead of roti. Kottu roti can also be found internationally in restaurants in regions containing Sri Lankan diaspora populations.

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Kottu roti is a Sri Lankan chopped-roti dish—think shredded flatbread tossed with your meat of choice, scrambled egg, onions, and chillies into something textured and alive. Born in the Tamil regions of Sri Lanka, particularly Batticaloa and Trincomalee, the dish has traveled with diaspora communities worldwide. A southern Indian cousin exists too: kothu parotta, which swaps in the flakier, layered bread. The name itself is a simplification of the Tamil word *koththu*, the sound of knife against griddle.

Order it here when it has

  • Found in multiple regional variations
  • Established diaspora presence internationally
  • Clear meat and vegetable integration

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