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Lankan rendezvous
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It's simply Sri Lankan, this time
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Lunch, Lanka style A typical New Year meal
Ayubowan on Aluth Avuruddha! Aluth Avuruddha is celebrated as New Year in Sri Lanka when the harvest ends and the sun moves from Pisces to Aries bringing in an abundance of tropical vegetables and fruits. The festival involves preparing special avuruddha sweets and curries. Often unnoticed and unsung is the delicious vegetarian cuisine. Curries are made from ash plantain, banana flower, jackfruit and even pineapple. Small onions (or `sambar' onions) with their sharp bite are preferred to the large `bombay' onions in curries. Mallung or stir-fried greens, garnished with coconut and parippu or dhal, is the accompaniment to rice. The curries are cooked in chutties or clay pots flavoured with aromatic spices and chillies leaving the faint hearted with sweating brows but craving for more. Coconut is the main ingredient in most curries.
Yellow Rice
1 1/2 cups small grained rice, washed and drained
Coconut milk as required to cook the rice (equal quantities
of both thick and thin milk extracted from one coconut)
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
2 tbsp peppercorns
10 cardamoms
8 cloves
Ghee for seasoning
1 tbsp of cashew nuts
1tbsp of raisins
2 onions, thinly sliced
A lemon grass stalk
Few sprigs of curry leaves
Salt to taste
Method: Heat ghee and fry onions till brown and toss in lemon grass, curry leaves and sauté to release the aroma. Add washed rice and stir for two minutes. Stir in coconut milk, turmeric powder, peppercorns and salt. Cover and when half cooked add cardamom and cloves. Garnish yellow rice with cashew nuts and raisins seasoned in ghee.
Vambetu pahi (brinjal curry)
6 brinjals, cut lengthwise
Oil for frying
1 tbsp mustard coarsely powdered
6 green chillies, slit lengthwise
1 tbsp chilli powder
2 cups coconut milk
5 flakes of chopped garlic
5 medium sized onions, sliced
1 tbsp curry powder
Quarter cup malt vinegar
2.5 cm ginger, julienne
A lemon grass stalk
5 cm cinnamon
1 tsp sugar
Salt to taste
Method: Rub salt and turmeric into the brinjal. Deep-fry them until golden brown. In a pan, fry onions till brown and add all ingredients, except sugar and cook on low heat. When the gravy thickens add fried brinjals and sugar and simmer for five minutes.
Murunga (Drumsticks)
12 drumsticks, peeled and cut into 5 cm pieces
5 onions, sliced
Ghee for frying
6 green chillies slit lengthwise
4 tbsp curry powder
11/2 cups thin coconut milk
A sprig of curry leaves
A lemon sized ball of tamarind, soaked in half cup water
11/2 cups thick coconut milk
Salt to taste
Method: In ghee, brown onions and green chillies. Add remaining ingredients, except tamarind and thick coconut milk. Cook on low heat till the drumsticks are tender. Extract tamarind pulp and add to curry. Add the thick coconut milk to murunga and simmer till the curry thickens.
Ash Plantain Curry
2 ash plantains, skinned and thinly sliced lengthwise
Half a tsp fenugreek seeds
2.5 cm cinnamon
Half a tsp turmeric powder
1 onion sliced
2 green chillies slit lengthwise
A sprig of curry leaves
A stalk of lemon grass
1cup thin coconut milk extract
Half a cup thick coconut milk extract
Salt to taste
Method: Put all the ingredients, except the thick coconut milk in a pan and cook on low heat till ash plantain is cooked. Add the thick coconut milk and simmer till gravy thickens.
Annasi Curry (Pineapple)
1 medium sized pineapple cleaned, peeled and diced
Oil for cooking
2 onions chopped
A stalk of lemon grass
Sprigs of curry leaves
1 1/2 cups thick coconut milk
1 tsp mustard coarsely powdered
1 tsp cinnamon powder
6 dry red chillies, powdered
A pinch of turmeric powder
Salt to taste
1 tsp fennel seeds dry roasted and powdered
Method: Fry half the onions, lemon grass and curry leaves till onions are brown. Add the remaining ingredients, except fennel powder and simmer till done. Sprinkle the fennel powder and remove annasi curry from stove.
Parippu (Dhal)
2 cups masoor dhal, washed
A pinch of turmeric powder
2 green chillies, chopped
1 tsp curry powder
3 onions chopped
A few sprigs of curry leaves
2.5 cm cinnamon
2 cups thin coconut milk
1/2 cup thick coconut milk
1 tsp cooking oil
1 tsp mustard seeds
2 dried red chillies
Salt to taste
Method: In a pan, put the masoor dhal, turmeric powder, green chillies, curry powder, onions, curry leaves, cinnamon and thin coconut milk and let it simmer. Extra water can be added. Cook till dhal is soft and creamy. Pour in the thick coconut milk and bring to a gentle boil. Splutter mustard seeds, dry red chillies in oil and season the cooked parippu.
Date Chutney
125gm de-seeded dates finely chopped
125gm sugar
6 tbsp vinegar
2 1/2 tsp chilli powder
A flake of crushed garlic
1/2 tsp ginger paste
1/2 tsp mustard seeds coarsely ground
1/2 tsp cinnamon powder
1/2 tsp clove powder
125 gm seedless raisins, washed
Salt to taste
Method: Put sugar and vinegar in a pan and stir on low heat till sugar dissolves. Add all the remaining ingredients, except raisins and salt. Keep stirring the mixture on low heat till thick. Finally add the raisins and salt. Cool and store chutney in a jar.
Sri Lankan Curry Powder
2 cups dried red chillies
2 tbsp cumin seeds
1 tbsp peppercorn
3 tbsp coriander seeds
2.5 cm cinnamon
1 tbsp turmeric powder
Roast all ingredients except turmeric powder. When cool, add turmeric powder and grind to a fine powder. Store in an airtight jar.
LAKSHMI SHANKARAN
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