Sri Lankan cuisine is well-known for its distinctive combinations of herbs, spices, fish, vegetables, rices, and fruits. The cuisine is heavily centred on various types of rice as well as coconut, which is a common plant throughout the country. Seafood, whether fresh or preserved, plays an important role in the cuisine. Contact with foreign traders, as a country that was a hub on the historic oceanic silk road, brought new food items and cultural influences, in addition to the local traditions of the country’s ethnic groups, all of which have helped shape Sri Lankan cuisine. The most noticeable influences are from Indian (particularly South Indian), Indonesian, and Dutch cuisines, with Sri Lankan cuisine sharing close ties with other neighbouring South and Southeast Asian cuisines.
Cinnamon was historically famous in Sri Lanka. To reflect its Sri Lankan origins, the true cinnamon tree, or Cinnamomum verum, was previously botanically named Cinnamomum zeylanicum. This is a popular spice in Sri Lanka, and it has a more delicate, sweet flavour than Cinnamomum cassia, which is more common in some other South Asian cuisines. In comparison to neighbouring regions’ cuisines, Sri Lankan cuisine is distinguished by unique spice blends that make extensive use of Sri Lankan cinnamon and black pepper, as well as the use of ingredients such as Maldivian fish, goraka (garcinia cambogia), pandan leaf, lemongrass, and jaggery made from kithul palm syrup. Sri Lanka also consumes a variety of red rice varieties, some of which are considered heirloom rices in the country. Tea is also a popular beverage in the country, and Sri Lanka is known for producing some of the best tea in the world.
The food that you must try
Jackfruit seed curry
Ingredients
- Jack fruit seeds – 50
- Coconut – tblsps, freshly grated
- Sri Lankan Curry powder – 1 ½ tbsps, roasted
- Pepper – ½ tsp, ground
- Red onions – 8
- Chili powder – 1 tsp, roasted
- Rice – 2 tbsps, raw
- Fenugreek – ½ tsp, roasted
- Turmeric powder – ½ tsp
- Curry leaf – 2 sprigs
- Pandan leaf – 1 inch piece
- Green chilies – 3
- Light coconut milk – 2 cups
- Thick coconut milk – 3 cups
Instructions
Preparing the jack fruit seeds
- Clean the jack fruit seeds well with water. Do not take off the outer plastic-like skin around the seed. We need it intact.
- Boil the seeds in a pot of water. This might take around 20 minutes. You can check whether they are done by trying to smash one with the back of a spoon. If the seed crumbles to a crumb-like texture, it is done.
- Once the seeds are cooled, smash them slightly. Be careful because you just want to crack the seeds just enough to break through the crisp outer covering.
Preparing the kalu pol
Dry roast the coconut and the rice until browned and fragrant. Grind together to a fine powder
Preparing the curry
- In a clay pot (preferably), combine the prepared jack fruit seeds, the coconut – rice mixture and all the other dry ingredients. Use your hands. It’s more fun
- Add to this the thin coconut milk. Cook on medium heat until the onion and the curry leaves are cooked
- Once the mixture seems reduced, add the thick coconut milk. Simmer until the curry thickens to the consistency you desire. I prefer the consistency of thickened cream.
- Serve hot with rice. And see if you can keep yourself going for seconds.