Srilanka Food series- Coconut Roti

Ah, we were up and on the road once again. This time we were driving from Nuwara Eliya to Mirissa/Galle via Bandarawela.. It was nearly 8.30 and the two of us were quite hungry. We had just a cup of tea in the morning and hunger pangs were getting to us. The weather was chill, which added to the hunger. We told Suchintha, our driver to stop somewhere for a bite to eat and he promptly pulled into a roadside cafe that looked decent. Like in many other places, we saw a board reading "Rice & Curry" ready, it had us wondering how much rice did the people in Sri Lanka eat. 

We walked in, and a lady from behind the counter came around to greet us. Through Suchinta we conveyed that we wanted something to eat, and we were veg. She asked Rice & Curry? We asked "Bread, roti, string hoppers?" and she replied "Roti- yes". We also asked her for Sambol, and she obliged. We also strolled around and found Aama Vadai, something that looked like samosa, and another which had idiyappam exterior and coconut+jaggery mix inside. It was neatly rolled up. We asked for 1 of each and few rotis. Within minutes, she brought a plate with 2 thick rotis and freshly made sambol. 

Biting into a piece of the roti had us both amazed, we wondered how it was made. We asked her and she said it was made with wheat flour, water and freshly grated coconut, a pinch of salt and cooked on a hot plate. It was thick like pita bread or bun and was just yummm.. Surprisingly it did not have coconut texture, was quite soft & smooth. Perfect morning breakfast with sambol, veg curry and a hot cup of tea.  She went on to tell us that the roti was not rolled out but flattened using the fingers/palm onto the plate.