As you probably already know, I’m a big lover of pumpkin. Especially pumpkin soup. It’s warming, sweet, creamy and comforting. However, when I have made it for Sri Lankan relatives, especially male ones, they don’t seem to get it. I suspect this curry has a lot to do with it. Pumpkin, cooked Sri Lankan style,…
Category: Vegetarian Curries
Carrot Leaf Sambol
Sri Lankans don’t really do salad, not in the traditional Western sense anyway. A green leaf sambol or mallung is about as close as we get. Mind you, it’s a pretty good substitute. Seasoned with chilli, and lime juice and mixed with crunchy fresh coconut it’s both tasty and nourishing in the truest sense. These…
Green Mallum
Mallum is Sri Lanka’s answer to a salad. A bevy of greens wilted, spiced and combined with shredded coconut amongst other wonderful spices. It’s often served as a condiment, an addendum to a meal. Something to add flavour, colour and vivid green health. It’s a healthy alternative to lettuce and greens doused in dressing and…
Parippu – Sri Lankan style dhal with coconut milk
I’m not going to mince words here. If you want to call yourself a serious Sri Lankan cook, this recipe has to be in your repertoire. No buts. Dhal really is the centre of Sri Lankan cuisine, some would probably argue the centre of many South Asian cuisines. It’s cheap, it’s quick and it’s delicious….
Beetroot Curry
I still remember walking into my grandmother’s kitchen and finding my Aunty chopping beetroot. I was fascinated by the red stains it left on her hands. She tried to convince me it was blood, I wasn’t so easily fooled. Besides, I remember I was wearing my twirly dress and being able to twirl out of…
Watakolu (Ridged Gourd) and Potato Curry
During high school I took home economics (culinary arts) like most students. During our year seven classes, the teacher would parade a rare and unusual spice and ask us to name it, dangling the grand prize of a merit award in our face. I’ll be the first to admit I was a total goody-two-shoes,…
Bandakka (Okra) Curry
Okra is a very divisive vegetable. I feel you either love the slimy texture or you don’t. I’m a fan. Always have been. So when I saw some fresh, green okra at our local Saturday farmer’s market I grabbed a handful straight away. It was only when I got home that I thought about Mr…
Breadfruit Curry (Del Curry)
In Sri Lanka there is an expression that goes something like “Ala del vela”. It literally translates to the potatoes have turned into breadfruit. It’s akin to the English; ‘it’s all gone pear shaped’. What it refers to is that a bad, overcooked potato curry will look like the thicker, more mushy breadfruit curry….
Nelum Ala (Lotus Root)
I was listening to a show on NPR here (national public radio, kinda like the ABC if you’re in Australia) where the Asian American author of novel Soy Sauce for Beginners, Kirsten Chen, bonded with the Indian American newsreader over their being tied to two different cultures. Here were two educated, well respected women who…
Devilled Potatoes (Ala Theldala)
Me and this dish had a falling out some years ago. Twice a year the Sri Lankan Buddhist community in Sydney would throw a food fair to help raise money for the temple. Groups of people would host stalls serving traditional Sri Lankan fare; string hoppers, roti, koththu etc. The hopper stall was…
akkis kitchen 