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.
S Pillai
This looks really good. I have been looking for some good Sri Lankan recipes after watching Anthony Boudains show on travel channel.
Aparna
Unfortunately for me, this is the fag end of the mango season so no raw mangoes here. 🙁
This brings back memories for me. When I was in school, my mum had two SriLankan colleagues who were excellent cooks and we got to sample a lot of their cooking.
A lot of SriLankan food (especially the Tamil cooking) is influenced by Kerala and Tamilnadu, though Sinhalese food is a lot different.
Nags
Thanks Home Cooked Oriya Food 🙂 (It sounds a bit weird addressing you that way, doesn't it? :D)
Raj, let me know once you try it, please?
raj
that looks so easy!! and i have tons of coconut milk at home 🙂 i'm definitely trying this recipe this week! maybe tomorrow even.
thank you!
Home Cooked Oriya Food
Lovley recipe and click... I loved your attention to detail. lovely site...
Kalai
Looks awesome, Nags! Thanks for the kind words you left on my blog. My heartfelt condolences to you and your family during this difficult time.
bee
sri lankan food is top notch. i wish i got mangoes like those here.
A_and_N
We've never tried SriLankan cuisine for all the stuff that we try out man! And the pandan leaves pic is one of the best ever, I think.
Mahimaa's kitchen
mango in coconut milk should be very tasty. nice combo.
TBC
Not familiar with anything Sri Lankan except maybe idiappam which is called something else there...:D