Restaurants Travel Diary

A Little Slice of Home on the LES: Kottu House (New York, NY, USA)

As many time as I’ve visited the Big Apple, I failed miserably to eat food from my childhood, when I grew up on the beautiful island of Sri Lanka. This ended recently (thank the lord!) and I found a little slice of home on the Lower East Side with Kottu House.

What on earth is Kottu? ‘Kottu’, ‘Kothu’ or ‘Koththu’ Roti is a Sri Lankan dish made from a Sri Lankan roti called Godhamba roti mixing together vegetables, egg, meat, and a truck load spices. This dish was very rarely made at home and we would often find ourselves ordering some when we were out and about, often after enjoying several libations out on the town. 

The Damage

  • Beef Rolls (Beef cooked in Sri Lankan spices and curry filled with vegetables)
  • Classic Chicken Kottu
  • Crispy Prawn Kottu
  • Pol Sambol (Sri Lankan chili powder mixed with fresh grated coconut, lime and black pepper)
  • Minchi Sambol (Green chilies, garlic & mint mixed with fresh grated coconut)
  • Lunu Sambol (Raw red onions, tomatoes, green chilies, Sri Lankan chili flakes and lime)
  • Lion Lager

 

Click on an image to begin slideshow and hover on lower third of image, or the dot on the bottom right on mobile, for a description.

Kottu House did the one thing I wanted it to do: take me back. I will confess it has been almost 10 years since I’ve left Sri Lanka but there’s something about eating the food from there anywhere in the world that will send you back, sans mosquitoes and massive humidity. Ha.

 

Did you stop by at Kottu House? What did you think? Or know of any other killer Kottu in the city? Let me know by connecting with me on Twitter, Instagram or Email.

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