Chilli Parotta aka Kothu Parotta is a spicy blend of shredded, fried parotta pieces mixed with spiced gravy and served as a main dish with Raita on the side.
These days it is so hard to find some really good place to eat this Chilli Parotta. the flavors are just not the same as they used to be. My husband really misses the good old Kothu Parotta.
This week I am redoing a few of my old posts that need new pictures. One such recipe is this Kothu Parotta / Chilli Parotta which is a very popular street food as well as one of my husband’s favorite when we eat out.
Also, the chilli parotta is way too spicy for us when we eat out. The Kothu parotta is meant to be spicy, but since our heat tolerance levels have gone down, it is quite hard for us to eat it in restaurants.
This week, we had our cousins visiting us for Thanksgiving break and that is when I decided to make it for lunch. Everyone thoroughly enjoyed it and my cousin mentioned that this was the best Kothu parotta he has ever eaten.
When I sat down to edit the post, I noticed that I had made it during the week of my dear blogger friend, PJ’s Birthday. I was paired with her for one of the BM themes and this is one of the recipes that I had bookmarked from her page.
It is such a coincidence that I had again made it exactly on her birthday and redone the pictures in the exact same week. Once again, a very Happy Birthday PJ to you!
What is Kothu parotta or chilli parotta?
Kothu parotta or chilli parotta is a spicy street food that is very famous in Tamil Nadu. It has shredded pieces of parotta in it along with spicy gravy and vegetables.
It also has scrambled eggs in it, but there are versions without eggs as well. I have used frozen Malaysian Parottas for the recipe.
Kothu parotta is a popular street food and often has meat and eggs in it. This is a vegetarian version of the Kothu Parotta .
Ingredients needed
- Parotta (frozen) - 6
- Onion - 1 (finely chopped)
- Bell pepper - 1 large (finely chopped)
- Tomato sauce - 1 tablespoon (I used Ketchup)
- Oil - 2 tbsp
- Salt - to taste
- Cilantro - to garnish
To sauté and grind to a masala paste
- Onion - 1 (chopped)
- Tomato - 2 (chopped)
- Ginger garlic paste - 1 tbsp
- Poppy seeds - 1 tsp
- Cashew nuts - 5
- Chilli powder - 1 tsp
- Dhania jeera powder - 1 tsp
- Garam masala - ½ tsp
Step-by-step process
- Shred the parotta into small pieces. I have used frozen parotta, so I thawed it in a Microwave and then used my food processor to shred it.
- Heat a wide pan and add the shredded parotta to it. Now toast the parotta pieces until they are golden brown and slightly crispy. Traditionally the pieces are deep fried, but I skipped it and toasted the parotta instead. This did work very well!
Transfer the pieces to a bowl and keep it aside.
In the same pan, heat about a tablespoon of oil and sauté all the ingredients mentioned under the masala items. Let it cool down a bit and then grind it into a smooth paste adding no water or very little water.
- In the same pan heat the remaining oil. Sauté the chopped onions until translucent and then add the bell pepper. Fry it for about 5 minutes. Do not let the bell peppers become too soft. It needs to have a crunch to it.
- Now add the ground masala paste, tomato sauce/ketchup and the required salt and fry it until the masala becomes aromatic.
- Now add the shredded parotta pieces and mix them well. Add a tablespoon or two of water if the mixture appears too dry. Cook for 2 -3 more minutes and then garnish with cilantro.
- Serve mixed parotta hot with raita! Onion Raita pairs really well with this recipe, but I had made some cucumber raita to go with it.
Expert Tips
Mixed parotta is a spicy dish. I have made it medium spicy, so change the spice level according to your liking.
PJ had added sambhar powder to the recipe instead of garam masala. Again this is based on your personal liking. If you like sambhar powder, then add it instead of garam masala.
I have used Kashmiri red chili powder for the deep red color.
Also, a couple of green chilies can be added to the chilli parotta recipe. I had omitted it because my boys also ate this and I did not want them to accidently eat one.
Restaurants add channa/chole/garbanzo beans to the dish. I ran out of canned beans the day I was making it.
Traditionally, this is made with parotta, but I have made it at times with leftover roti or pulka . The flavors might not be the same as using parotta, but it will still work.
We can use any kind of parotta. I like using the Kerala parotta or the Malabar parotta as they shred well. I have also used whole wheat parotta. I usually make it with frozen Kerala Parotta.
Kothu parotta is served with raita or salna.
Raita recipes to serve with kothu parotta
- Aloo Raita | Potato Raita Recipe
- Palak Pachadi | Spinach Raita
- Thakkali Pachadi | Tomato Raita
- Mullangi Pachadi | Mooli Raita | Spiced Yogurt With Radish
More street food recipes
Check out my entire street food category to explore more options.
- Spicy Schezwan Fried Rice
- Churumuri | Beach Style Masala Pori
- Bhutte Ka Kees | Indore Style Grated Corn Snack
- Samosa | Vegan Potato And Peas Filled Savory Pastry
Recipe
Equipment
- ▢ spatula
- ▢ saute pan
Ingredients
- ▢ 6 Parotta frozen
- ▢ 1 Onion finely chopped
- ▢ 1 large Bell pepper finely chopped
- ▢ 1 tablespoon Tomato sauce I used Ketchup
- ▢ 2 tablespoon Oil
- ▢ to taste Salt
- ▢ to garnish Cilantro
To sauté and grind to a paste - Masala
- ▢ 1 Onion chopped
- ▢ 2 Tomato chopped
- ▢ 1 tablespoon Ginger garlic paste
- ▢ 1 teaspoon Poppy seeds
- ▢ 5 Cashew nuts
- ▢ 1 teaspoon Chili powder
- ▢ 1 teaspoon Dhania jeera powder
- ▢ ½ teaspoon Garam masala
Instructions
- Shred the parotta into small pieces. I have used frozen parotta, so I thawed it in Microwave and then used my food processor to shred it.
- Heat a wide pan and add the shredded parotta in it. Now toast the parotta pieces until they are golden brown and slightly crispy. Traditionally the pieces are deep fried, but I skipped it and toasted the parotta instead. This did work very well!
- Transfer the pieces to a bowl and keep it aside.
- In the same pan, heat about a tablespoon of oil and sauté all the ingredients mentioned under the masala items. Let it cool down a bit and then grind it into a smooth paste adding no water or very little water.
- In the same pan heat the remaining oil. Sauté the chopped onions until translucent and then add the bell pepper. Fry it for about 5 minutes. Do not let the bell peppers becomes too soft. It needs to have a crunch to it.
- Now add the ground masala paste, tomato sauce/ketchup and the required salt and fry it until the masala becomes aromatic.
- Now add the shredded parotta pieces and mix it well. Add a tablespoon or two of water if the mixture appears too dry. Cook for 2 -3 more minutes and then garnish with cilantro.
- Serve hot with raita! Onion Raita pairs really well with this recipe, but I had made some cucumber raita to go with it.
Notes
- This is a spicy dish. I had made it medium spicy, so change the spice level according to your liking.
- PJ had added sambhar powder to the recipe instead of garam masala. Again this is based on your personal liking. If you like sambhar powder, then add it instead of garam masala.
- I have used kashmiri red chili powder for the deep red color.
- Also a couple of green chilies can be added to the recipe. I had omitted it because my boys also ate this and I did not want them to accidently eat one.
- Restaurants add channa/chole/garbanzo beans to the dish. I ran out of canned beans the day I was making it.
Nutrition
More Street Food
- Green Peas Kachori | Bengali Matar Kachori
- Arancini Recipe (Easy Italian Rice Balls) - Air Fryer or Fried
- Gobi Manchurian | Cauliflower Manchurian | Gobhi Manchurian
- Masala Chaas | Spiced Buttermilk
Chilli Parotta | Kothu Parotta | Mixed Parotta
Equipment
- spatula
- saute pan
Ingredients
- 6 Parotta frozen
- 1 Onion finely chopped
- 1 large Bell pepper finely chopped
- 1 tablespoon Tomato sauce I used Ketchup
- 2 tablespoon Oil
- to taste Salt
- to garnish Cilantro
To sauté and grind to a paste – Masala
- 1 Onion chopped
- 2 Tomato chopped
- 1 tablespoon Ginger garlic paste
- 1 teaspoon Poppy seeds
- 5 Cashew nuts
- 1 teaspoon Chili powder
- 1 teaspoon Dhania jeera powder
- ½ teaspoon Garam masala
Instructions
- Shred the parotta into small pieces. I have used frozen parotta, so I thawed it in Microwave and then used my food processor to shred it.
- Heat a wide pan and add the shredded parotta in it. Now toast the parotta pieces until they are golden brown and slightly crispy. Traditionally the pieces are deep fried, but I skipped it and toasted the parotta instead. This did work very well!
- Transfer the pieces to a bowl and keep it aside.
- In the same pan, heat about a tablespoon of oil and sauté all the ingredients mentioned under the masala items. Let it cool down a bit and then grind it into a smooth paste adding no water or very little water.
- In the same pan heat the remaining oil. Sauté the chopped onions until translucent and then add the bell pepper. Fry it for about 5 minutes. Do not let the bell peppers becomes too soft. It needs to have a crunch to it.
- Now add the ground masala paste, tomato sauce/ketchup and the required salt and fry it until the masala becomes aromatic.
- Now add the shredded parotta pieces and mix it well. Add a tablespoon or two of water if the mixture appears too dry. Cook for 2 -3 more minutes and then garnish with cilantro.
- Serve hot with raita! Onion Raita pairs really well with this recipe, but I had made some cucumber raita to go with it.
Notes
- This is a spicy dish. I had made it medium spicy, so change the spice level according to your liking.
- PJ had added sambhar powder to the recipe instead of garam masala. Again this is based on your personal liking. If you like sambhar powder, then add it instead of garam masala.
- I have used kashmiri red chili powder for the deep red color.
- Also a couple of green chilies can be added to the recipe. I had omitted it because my boys also ate this and I did not want them to accidently eat one.
- Restaurants add channa/chole/garbanzo beans to the dish. I ran out of canned beans the day I was making it.
