I could go on and on because I am quite smitten by this cuisine. Similar yet so different from what I am so used to.
The first dish I tried from the book is this Mango Curry. It's similar to our mango pachadi recipe but has its subtle differences. I was disappointed to see that the author hadn't mentioned the local name for this dish, but anyway, the next recipe I tried, beetroot thel dala seems to be uniquely Sri Lankan and seems to be quite popular too.
Sri Lankan Mango Curry
Serves: 2
Preparation time: 30 mins
Source: Sri Lankan Flavours by Channa Dassanayaka
Ingredients:
1.5 cups cubed raw mangoes
½ onion, chopped fine
2 teaspoon crushed garlic
1 teaspoon crushed ginger
(or use 2 teaspoon ginger garlic paste)
1 teaspoon mustard seeds
2 tablespoon vinegar
4-5 curry leaves
1 pandan leaf cut/torn into bits
a 1" cinnamon stick
½ cup thick coconut milk
½ cup light coconut milk
1 tablespoon oil
Instructions:
1. Peel mango and cut into long, thin pieces. I made the mistake of not peeling the mango and the curry came out slightly bitter. So please take the time and do it!
2. Grind mustard seeds and vinegar together to form a coarse paste.
3. Heat oil in a pan and add the onion, ginger, garlic, curry leaves and cinnamon. Saute until onion turns golden - about 5-7 mins.
4. Add the mango, light coconut milk, pandan leaf bits and the mustard seed mixture and bring to a boil.
5. Reduce heat and simmer until mango is cooked and tender. Add the thick coconut milk and simmer for another 10 mins. Add salt.
Notes:
- You can use store-bought coconut milk for this recipe. I used it and to get the light coconut milk, I added equal amounts of water to the coconut milk. It won't curdle if you cook it in very low fire
- The dish will taste just fine without pandan leaves. It will be like making an Indian dish without curry leaves - a certain flavour will be missing but that won't break the dish totally, so don't worry 🙂
Sri Lankan raw mango curry is usually served with rice and some meat curry during a typical Sri Lankan lunch.
Pavithra
As usual great shots dear...
Pavithra
Yummy recipe nags and looks tempting ...I am missing pandan leaves after coming to US.. HAVE to see if it availble any where.
Nags
Pandanus leaves are called Rampe in Hindi. I have never seen or heard of these during my days in Kerala or Hyderabad. I am not sure if you get these in typical Asian stores. They taste nothing like curry leaves, the flavour is totally different and is an acquired taste, in my opinion 🙂 Don't worry if you don't have it.
Mangala Bhat
Cool ...yuumy recipe ...wow! i have book marked dera Thanks for sharing
Nags
Bingo Prajusha! I did buy the pandan leaves from NTUC Fairprice in Singapore 🙂
RAKS KITCHEN
Looks so cool! Pandan leaves I have heard here in Singapore,but I have not tried or tasted! Recipe sounds good!
Marta
Oh wow Nags! This looks increadibly tasty and creamy and comforting and fabulous! Must-try it! Printing the recipe right now! I'll let you know how it turns out 🙂
Cham
Mango and coconut milk very unusual flavor!
Nags
Sharmila and SJ, great questions. Yes you can use store bought coconut milk. Just add water to make the lighter version. Pandan leaves can be avoided if you can't find it, no issues.
Since these are valid questions that others may have, I have added it to the end of the post 🙂
Superchef
i made a Srilankan egg curry too, yet to post it..loved the spices in their curries..it gives you some feel of Kerala cuisine but yet distinctively different as well!