Cheese Kottu Anyone?
Published on Indulge - the weekend supplement of the Nation newspaper on 14th October, 2007

Now! Who ever thought of a cheese koththu? Certainly not any of our 5-star hotels and not even any of the culinary establishments renowned for their fusion cuisine! And who would have thought that humble Pilows would have such a culinary nerve to mix a koththu with cheese!?!

Yet, it is this modest place where the Colombo night owls hoot for midnight feasts of biryanis and koththus that has come up with this novel koththu. Now before you think, “Eek! Cheese and Koththu” let bojoon.com assure you that it’s one fantastic meal. Come to think of it, it’s not all that outlandish either – after all, what is pizza but bread and cheese baked together with a meat, fish or a vegetable and in some cases fruit topping. Koththu is also essentially a bread mixed with meat and vegetables.

It’s not a cheese crust that’s stretchable or chewable like the pizza’s mozzarella. The cheese is so well incorporated with the koththu that it’s like cream cheese. With the thickly chopped green chilies, it’s not a meek bread and cheese thing either. The chilies will not give you tongue blisters for it gives more of a spicy kick than a chili kick. Then, there are the well-roasted chicken pieces that are well mixed with the koththu.

However, how bojoon.com wishes that they make the bones an option. While many love to nibble bones, to bojoon.com bones in the food, especially stark naked ones, is strongly reminiscent of food cooked for the dog – but that’s the simplicity of bojoon.com and not a fault of the chef. So, next time, bojoon.com will have a special request from the chef to spare the bones and if possible make up for it with more of that delicious chicken.

It just amazes bojoon.com – so much so, that throughout the meal, the predominant thought was, “…and this delicious thing is from Pilows?!?” – to think, it is this simple, modest establishment that not many would even think of walking into has come up with this lovely mix. Goodness knows there are enough and more places where you can grab a good koththu.

Each of these places have more or less of its signature mark and you get a variety of koththus – from dry to with gravy and meat only to vegetarian and with and without eggs and roasts mixed or served separated. However, while all these places dabbled around with the same list of ingredients none thought of adding a new ingredient like cheese.

That’s the thing with most of our culinary establishments. Like the landlord who increases the rent when their tenant’s business is booming, most of our culinary establishments start skimming on quantity and quality when their food becomes popular. Little do they seem to realize that even if they increase the price (within reasonable limits of course), they’ll still have a steady stream of customers.

Unfortunately though, when the profit margin starts bulging – and the food business is indeed one of the most profitable businesses to be in, especially if you have a secret recipe to serve exclusive dishes – the attention gets obsessively fixed on the bottom line. We thus soon lose out on our culinary experience and they lose their business. That’s one of the main reasons why many eating places opens up in Colombo, thrive for a while and almost immediately shuts down.

Amidst all this, Pilows had stood without much of a noise, serving good food and great service. Of course, one reason could be that majority of the cliental they entertain might be, shall we say in a jubilant mood that if things are not up to expectation disappointment could be expressed in more than words. What ever the reason, Pilows food is guaranteed to be great and they’ve come up with a koththu that’s really the best fusion ever.