April 14 will mark Sri Lankan New Year this year. Sri Lankan New Year is an important time for all Sri Lankans. Full of rituals, and the signalling of a new beginning for all involved. There are the rituals of cleaning the house and lighting the oil lamp adorned with a proud rooster. Traditionally the hearth…
Category: Sri Lankan Sweets
Lankan Butter Cake
Have you ever heard of a cake smash? If you have a little tyke, you probably would have. It’s a uniquely American, though now a much more ubiquitous concept, of presenting a child with a cake on his/her birthday that can be smashed to their hearts content. The more mess, the better. Owing to…
“Pancakes” and Pani Pol
Afternoon tea is just about my favourite time of the day. Sitting down to a hot cup of milky, black tea accompanied by something sweet or some cheese and biccies (crackers). This Sunday just gone I told Mr Firehouse that I had a real hankering for Sri Lankan style pancakes with their sweet coconut filling….
Kiri (Milk) Toffee
On occasion, at unreasonable times during the night (FYI 9pm is unreasonable when you have a baby) I get the urge to cook or bake. When I was pregnant I would make caramel popcorn at 10pm and then refuse to go to bed till it was all finished. Then I’d complain all night about feeling…
Chocolate Biscuit Pudding
Chocolate biscuit pudding is one of those childhood dishes that make me truly happy. Can you imagine my excitement when my cousin informed me that Latin American grocery stores stocked Marie biscuits, made by Goya brand. I was thrilled! I couldn’t wait to make it and when I spied a grocery at Pike Place…
Caramel Pudding/ Cheats Creme caramel
This is a really easy and simple pudding that is famous in Lanka. Everyone makes it and everyone loves it. This is Mr Firehouse’s absolute favourite. It’s guaranteed to win me “wifey of the day.” Ingredients 1 cup white sugar 1 can sweetened condensed milk I can full of water 1 tsp vanilla 4 eggs…
Lavariya
This is a post dedicated to my cousin Ruwanthi who specifically asked for the how-to. I don’t claim to be an expert, only that I have executed the process with some success. Some, being the operative word. Lavariya as I know it is basically a caramelised coconut wrapped in a string hopper. Great with a…
Unduwel – Panni Walalu
Growing up, we had a friend called S. She would visit us in the holidays and pester us to entertain her…apparently it was our duty. She would arrive very early in the morning and wake us up. She would then ask us to make her holidays fun…we were none too impressed. We would have to…
Passionfruit Marshmallows
I’ve been experimenting with marshmallows lately. It’s something we’ve been making for years in my family according to the classic Doreen Peiris recipe. A simple treat to make and one that made store bought marshmallows pale in comparison. With our influx of visitors we also have a special treat that is very hard to find…
akkis kitchen 