Griddle Percussion · Chopped Flatbread Stir-Fry
Kothu Parotta
Photo: KARTY JazZ / Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0
Vendors chop the layered parotta bread right on the hot griddle using two flat blades, and the loud, rhythmic clanging of metal on metal is so distinctive that a kothu parotta stall can be picked out by ear before it's seen.
Leftover or freshly made parotta is torn and minced on a griddle with egg, chopped onion, chili, and a curry of meat or vegetables, all worked together with a chopping and tossing motion using two flat metal blades. Roadside 'military hotels' and late-night parotta stalls across Tamil Nadu serve it hot straight off the tawa.
Why it's made this way: The dish adapted Sri Lanka's kottu roti technique to Tamil Nadu's own layered parotta bread, turning a way of using up leftover bread into a stir-fry so tied to the state's roadside stalls that the chopping sound itself has become part of the street-food experience.
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Part of World of Street Food — 3248 dishes from 118 countries.
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