Lunchbox Series – Kothu Parotta (Scrambled Spicy Tortilla/Parotta)

A very Happy New Year to all. I know this is a belated wish as with most of my recent posts. I’m not going to start this year with another resolution like last January….resolutions are jinxed, at least mine seem to be:).
Amidst the pick ups and drop offs from school, work and back, its been chaotic. But there is always time for food, lunch box food and otherwise. I try hard to not compromise on that. Its just writing it all down that I find it hard to keep up with. Trust me, I’m trying to get better at it, so hopefully 2011 will be a better year for RKK.

I had not personally tasted Kothu Parotta as it is dished out in the streets of South India, Chennai and south of it. Girish told me about it as he remembers eating it while in college in Chidambaram at the Railway Station. So when our local Indian restaurant (the same one that had Pondicherry Masala Dosa on their menu) had this on their menu, we had to venture out to try it. That was my first taste of Kothu Parotta, probably not close to the authentic street food version, but enough to tantalise my taste buds and try it for myself. A search online led me to Kanchana’s blog “Married to a Desi“, where she tastefully recounts her connection to India after being Married to a Desi, that is. I used regular wheat chapathis here but as she specifies, layered parottas or flaky flat bread will add to the aunthentic taste. I followed her recipe for the most part, and Nikhil loved it for lunch. I added some cucumber
raita as an accompaniment and to cool it down a bit (we like our food spicy if you haven’t figured it out with the extra green chilies in the recipe:)
Ingredients:

• 2-4 leftover or store bought parottas torn into pieces (if using store bought, use the Malaysian parathas or any parathas with layers)
• 1 large tomato chopped or 2 small tomatoes
• 1 red onion chopped
• 1 tsp turmeric
• 1 tsp chili powder
• 2 tsp pav bhaji masala
• 3 Thai green chili minced
• 1″ piece ginger minced
• 1/2 cup chopped cilantro
• 1 egg beaten (optional)

Method:

Saute the green chilies, ginger, and then onions in oil. Add the turmeric, and chili powder.

Add the tomatoes and cook them until they get mushy. You may also add the salt to make it a little pasty. Add the beaten egg now and mix well till it resembles a scrambled mixture (this step is completely optional as the parotta tastes great even without eggs) Add the pav bhaji masala, and then the parotta and mix. Garnish with cilantro. Serve with a squeeze of lime, and cucumber or onion raitha.