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: Its origin is contested: it resembles Sri Lanka's kottu roti, but Tamil Nadu made it its own with layered parotta, and the dish is now 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 — 3443 dishes from 118 countries.
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