Sri Lankan Kottu Roti with Peak-Harvest Vegetables, Egg and Curry Leaves

Stack the roti and slice them into thin ribbons, then cut across to make rough 1-inch shreds. Set aside.

Serves 4

Ingredients

• 6 roti or paratha (about 12 oz), day-old is best
• 3 tablespoons coconut oil
• 1 large leek, halved and thinly sliced
• 2 carrots, cut into thin matchsticks
• 1 cup shredded green cabbage
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger
• 2 green chilies, thinly sliced
• 20 fresh curry leaves
• 3 large eggs, beaten
• 2 teaspoons curry powder
• 1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric
• 1/2 cup chicken or vegetable stock
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce

Instructions

1. Stack the roti and slice them into thin ribbons, then cut across to make rough 1-inch shreds. Set aside.
2. Heat the coconut oil in a very large skillet or wok over medium-high heat until it shimmers. Add the curry leaves and let them crackle for 15 seconds.
3. Add the leek, carrot and cabbage with a good pinch of salt. Stir-fry for 4 to 5 minutes, until the vegetables soften at the edges but keep their snap.
4. Push the vegetables to one side, add the garlic, ginger and green chilies to the bare pan and fry 30 seconds until fragrant, then stir everything together.
5. Pour the beaten eggs into a cleared space in the pan, scramble them loosely for about a minute, then fold them through the vegetables.
6. Sprinkle in the curry powder and turmeric, stir for 30 seconds, then add the shredded roti. Toss hard to coat.
7. Pour in the stock and soy sauce and keep chopping and tossing with two spatulas for 2 to 3 minutes, until the roti has drunk up the liquid and the whole thing is glossy and steaming.
8. Taste for salt, pile onto plates, and serve immediately while the edges are still crisp.
9. Kottu is Sri Lanka's great street-food percussion piece — cooks chop it on a flat-top with two heavy blades, and the metallic clatter is how you find a kottu stall after dark. It began as a way to use yesterday's roti, which makes it the perfect vehicle for whatever the market gave you this week: late cabbage, sweet carrots, a fat leek. Keep the heat high and the tossing constant, and you get the texture that matters, tender and chewy with crisped edges throughout.

Nutrition (estimated, per serving)

• Calories: 540 kcal
• Protein: 17g
• Fat: 24g
• Carbohydrates: 64g
• Fiber: 6g
• Sugar: 7g
• Sodium: 890mg