Ingredient appreciation — what makes Kottu Roti special

What sets Kottu Roti apart is the handling of coconut scraped fresh. In lesser versions this is treated as a background note. Here it's central and the fiery and aromatic result shows it. I've started buying it to cook with at home after this experience.

Maldive fish is a uniquely Sri Lankan ingredient with no close equivalent elsewhere. The a Jaffna Tamil restaurant atmosphere was right for this kind of food. I had ginger beer as recommended and it matched well. If you want to understand what makes this cuisine distinctive, Kottu Roti is the place to start.