Kottu (also, kottu roti)

You cannot visit Sri Lanka and leave without eating Kottu roti (also spelled Koththu or Kotthu). It will be hard to avoid it anyway. If you stroll down a busy street in central Colombo late in the evening, you'll be greeted with the sounds of street vendors making kottu roti from far away, followed by the aroma of tantalizing meal that will make you hungry.

Kottu roti is made with a type of flatbread called "Godhambara roti" or "Godamba roti," which is shredded and then mixed with vegetables, meat, and eggs (or not, for vegetarian or vegan options) and aromatic spices and sauces. The mixture is then chopped and mixed on a large flat griddle with two large steel blades, creating the signature sound and stage of kottu roti making. This is the Sri Lankan version of “dubstep teppanyaki”!

Kottu is served with a spicy curry sauce, which you can dip or drizzle over your entire plate.

Some of the most skilled kottu chefs have composed their unique songs, singing while they rhythmically slap spoons and knives against the metal frying surface, shredding the roti with each clang.