"Kotthu Rotti" - A Popular Food Culture in Sri Lanka
Food is very much a part of popular culture, and the beliefs, practices, and trends in a culture affect its eating practices. Popular culture includes the ideas and objects generated by a society, including commercial, political, media, and other systems, as well as the impact of these ideas and objects on society.
To satisfy individuals who want to eat well at home but are short on time or do not want to prepare elaborate meals, many eateries also offer take-out meals or items. Fully or partially prepared "TOTE" (take-out-to-eat) foods, including home-delivered meals, are generally referred to as convenience foods. As more women enter the labour force, people's desire to save time increases along with the use of convenience foods. Fast-food restaurants have become very common, and are visited by all types of people.
Considering the trend in Sri Lanka, similar characteristics can be found. Sri Lankan cuisine is one of the most complex cuisines in South Asia. Due to its proximity to South India, the cuisine of Sri Lanka shows some influence, yet is in many ways quite distinct. As a major trade hub, it draws influence from colonial powers that were involved in Sri Lanka and from foreign traders. Rice, which is consumed daily, can be found on any occasion, while spicy curries are favourite dishes for lunch and dinner. Some of the Sri Lankan dishes have a striking resemblance to Kerala cuisine, which could be due to the similar geographic and agricultural features with Kerala.
Sri Lanka has long been renowned for its spices. Since ancient times, traders from all over the world who came to Sri Lanka brought their native cuisines to the island, resulting in a rich diversity of cooking styles and techniques. The island nation's cuisine mainly consists of boiled or steamed rice served with curry. This usually consists of a "main curry" of fish, chicken, pork or mutton (typically goat), as well as several other curries made with vegetables, lentils and even fruit curries.
Side dishes include pickles, chutneys and "sambols". The most famous of these is the coconut sambol, made of ground coconut mixed with chilli peppers, dried Maldive fish and lime juice. This is ground to a paste and eaten with rice, as it gives zest to the meal and is believed to increase appetite. Another well-known rice dish is kiribath or paalsoru , meaning "milk rice." In addition to sambols, Sri Lankans eat "mallung", chopped leaves mixed with grated coconut and red onions. Coconut milk is found in most Sri Lankan dishes to give the cuisine its unique flavour.
Sri Lankan people use spices liberally in their dishes and typically do not follow an exact recipe: thus, every cook's curry will taste slightly different. Furthermore, people from different regions of the island (for instance, hill-country dwellers versus coastal dwellers) traditionally cook in different ways while people of different ethnic and religious groups tend to prepare dishes according to their customs. Although Sri Lankan food appears similar to South Indian cuisine in its use of chilli, cardamom, cumin, coriander and other spices, it has a distinctive taste and uses ingredients like dried Maldive fish which are local to the area.
Sri Lankan food is generally equivalent in terms of spiciness to South Indian cuisine, yet many spicy Sri Lankan preparations are believed to be among the world's hottest in terms of chilli content (Comparable to Sylhet and Bengal). While native Sri Lankans are born into this cuisine and develop a healthy tolerance to spicy food, many visitors and tourists to the country often find the spiciness excessive. As a result, many local restaurants in developed and tourist areas offer special low-spice versions of local foods to cater to foreign palates or have an alternative western menu for tourists. It is generally acceptable for tourists to request that the food is cooked with a lower chilli content to cater for the milder Western palate. The chilli content in food cooked for public occasions is typically much less than in home-cooked food.
Considering the different kinds of ways in which a particular product and the ideas related to it could become popular in the place of importance, there are examples which can be gathered and pointed at from various different aspects. In that way, one of the most popular food, famously known as ‘Kothu’ in Sri Lanka and also known as Koththu Parotta or Koththu Rotti, can be considered a popular food culture in the regions, especially in Sri Lanka. Not just the food, but the ideas and artefacts associated with it which is an important element in this food is considered a popular food culture.
Kothu or Koththu Roti is a Sri Lankan dish made from a Sri Lankan roti called Godhamba roti and vegetables, egg or meat, and spices. Kothu can be found in almost all parts of Sri Lanka and is generally eaten for dinner. The most common varieties of Kothu are beef and chicken, with egg and vegetables, there is Kothu available for vegetarians. Famously known as ‘Beef Kothu’ and ‘Chicken Kothu’, the Kothu trend even extends to various other additions to the categories. Cheese Kothu has recently been introduced and appears to be becoming a mainstay.
It is traditional to make the Kothu on a heated iron sheet, used specifically for the purpose, and the cutting up and mixing of the Kothu is done using two blunt metal blades. This clashing of metal on metal creates a very distinctive sound — come late evening the beat of kottu being prepared can be heard coming from any small roadside restaurant.
Kothu roti originated in Batticaloa, in the Eastern part of Sri Lanka during the early 1970s by the local Muslim and Tamil people. Etymologically the name is from the Tamil language meaning "chopped roti" (chopped wheat roti mixed with curry sauce). The basic roti is made of Gothamba flour. The name itself is Tamil: Gothamba (a form of Kathamba-meaning a flour made out of a variety of grains-referring to the white flour, and roti). Slowly it has spread to other parts of the country as the strife continued and has now caught up and has become extremely popular. It can be found in many Sri Lankan restaurants in other countries, where there is a large Sri Lankan population. Kothu is a food that has successfully transcended social boundaries in Sri Lanka.
Kothu, which used to be a cheap, takeaway meal for lower socioeconomic classes, has now become almost a staple diet for those of upper socioeconomic classes as well, especially among the young and outgoing. It is now common practice for nightclubs and party-goers in Sri Lanka to end their nights with a Kothu as a midnight snack. As restaurateurs explore ideas, a variety of Kothu variations have become available. The main ones are where the roti is substituted for pittu or string hoppers, hence the Pittu Kothu and String Hopper Kothu.
It is interesting to notice that through the last four decades this food which originated from the eastern part, has now extended to all parts of the country, especially the capital city Colombo. Several artefacts have been drawing relevance to this food culture which is becoming popular day by day and has the potential to be adopted according to the need of the hour. Several Baila music songs and recent genres of music have incorporated the Kothu culture as part of them. Kothu has also become an important part of the lifestyle of middle-class families. It is a food which has importance in the social gatherings of the middle class. The advertising industry has been experiencing the influence of Kothu in various kinds of soft drinks advertisements, which were advertised as a good companion to have with Kothu, a typical example is the Elephant Ginger Beer (EGB) and Coke.
There has been a clear transition observed in the image Kothu had among the people. Earlier, in the days in which it was introduced, it was considered street food, but now it has become a regular contributor to dinner menus and a few places for lunch too. In Colombo, the regularity of having Kothu for lunch began. In some parts of the country, it is only made for dinner. An interesting fact about Kothu is that it has failed to be good homemade food. The Kothu being made at houses is not preferred by many. Koththu remains an 'eating hotel' choice.
Neil, Anderson. "Foodfest." Trending Stand. N.p., 12 April 2009. Web. 4 Dec 2013.
Iranga, Sam. "Kothu Roti." Island Nation. N.p., 25 Feb 2009. Web. 4 Dec 2013
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