Beef Kothu Parotta/ Kothu Roti- South Indian Street Food

Today's recipe is absolutely comfort food- it is street food at its best, satisfying, and delicious. Kothu Parotta is a South Indian street food delicacy and is popular in Kerala and Tamil Nadu. A variation of kothu parotta is Kothu Rotti popular in Sri Lanka from where this recipe originated. It is a humble dish, but one of the most innovative street food delicacies and an exciting way to use up leftovers. The platter may not be aesthetically pleasing- here you have in front of you heaping bits of chopped flatbread soaked in spicy gravy, topped with vegetables, meat, or scrambled egg. But it is seriously addictive, aromatic, and heartwarming. You will be coming back for more!

But the best experience is watching the street vendor make kothu parotta. It is hard to not notice the musical rhythm of experienced chefs while making kothu parotta. It is cooked on a hot flat griddle, using heavy spatulas that resemble scraper-like blades, continuously mincing and mixing the parottas, meat, the gravy, and the eggs. The word Kothu parotta means minced layered bread.

My first experience of trying kothu parotta from roadside eateries was at Madhurai. I tried the egg kothu parotta. Ever since I have tried the different versions of kothu parotta at home. The taste of thattukada kothu parotta is hard to recreate, but you can make it at home too. Here I have roughly chopped the parotta, but you can use a knife and scissors for finer shredded parotta . Add chicken, beef, mutton curry, egg, or even make it vegetarian. What you add to it is totally up to you. Serve it with extra curry/ gravy and hot cup of lemon ginger tea. If you have never tried this before, give this recipe a try! You don’t want to miss out on this tasty street food experience!

Parotta is the key ingredient in Kothu parotta. It is a chewy, flaky layered flatbread similar to the North Indian lacha paratha. Parotta is popular in thattukadas or roadside eateries or fast food joints. Making parotta is an art by itself. It is made with flour, oil, and eggs. The street vendor stretches the dough waving it around till it gets stretched into thin sheets. It is then pleated and rolled to get the layered flatbread. I have never tried making this at home. I have always been using frozen parottas. You can find Kerala parotta in the freezer section in Indian grocery stores.

For the curry, use leftover beef curry and gravy. Chop up the meat chunks into smaller pieces or use minced beef or mutton to make the gravy. In addition to onions and tomatoes, you can use vegetables like carrot, beans, and cabbage.

Have you tried Parotta with paneer? Paneer is a great protein for vegetarians. Paneer burji is a scrambled paneer. Use paneer burji and vegetable kurma instead of eggs. Check my paneer bhurji recipe.

Chilly Kothu Parotta is something you should try out if you are a fan of Indo Chinese flavors.

Recipe for Beef Kothu Parotta/ Kothu Roti- South Indian Street Food

Cooking time- 15 minutes
Recipe type- snack/ street food
Cuisine- Kerala/ South Indian

Ingredientsfor Kothu Parotta

Frozen Kerala Parotta - 6-7

Egg- 2
Curried Beef- 1 cup
Extra Beef Curry/ gravy- 1/2 cup
Onion 1/2
Ginger garlic paste- 1 tsp
Tomatoes- 2 small
Pepper powder- 1/2 tsp
Chilly powder- 1 tsp
Garam masala- 1/2 tsp
Lemon juice- 1/2 lemon
Coriander leaver- a little

Ingredients to make Beef curry

Beef - 1/2 Kg
Tomato -2
Shallots- 1 cup
Chopped onions-1 medium
Chopped ginger-1 tbs
Chopped garlic- 6-7 pods
Vinegar- 1 tsp
Chilly powder-2 tsp
Turmeric powder- 1/4 tsp
Coriander powder 2 tsp
Pepper powder- 1/2 tsp
Meat masala- 1 tsp
Garam masala- 1/2 tsp
Curry leaves- a few
Coconut oil- 3-4 tsp

Beef Curry

Clean and wash beef and cut into small pieces. Marinate with ginger garlic paste, vinegar, pepper powder, turmeric powder, and salt. Set aside for half an hour.

Cook marinated beef, sliced onion, and tomato in a pressure cooker. Add half cup of water and cook in medium flame till 3 whistles, reduce the flame and continue cooking for another 5-6 minutes and switch off the flame. Allow it to cool down a bit.

Heat coconut oil in a pan and add chopped shallots and curry leaves and saute till golden brown. Add chilly powder, coriander powder, meat masala, and garam masala and mix. Now add in the cooked meat and the gravy and mix well. Simmer for another 4-5 minutes or till the gravy thickens to the consistency you prefer.

To make kothu Parotta

Defrost parotta as per package instruction. Preferably use Kerala parotta. Reheat parotta in microwave or tawa method. Tear parottas into roughly chopped small pieces or use knife and scissors for finer shredded parotta.

Heat oil in a pan. Saute onions till it changes color. Next, add ginger garlic paste and continue to saute till onion turns to a golden brown. Add tomatoes, green chilly, and cook for two to three minutes till tomatoes are soft. Add turmeric powder, chilly powder and saute for a minute. Next add beef and little gravy and allow all the ingredients to come together. Add chopped parotta and little more gravy and mix well. Make a well in the center and add the egg. Scramble and then mix everything well. Stir fry in high heat till everything is well combined and egg cooked. Finally add garam masala and squeeze lemon juice and mix. Garnish with coriander leaves. Serve warm with extra gravy if you prefer.