Soya bean curry

Today’s soya bean recipe is a nice soya bean curry that I like.

Soya bean curry

Time taken: 20 mins (with pre-cooked soya beans)

Serves 3

Ingredients:

Soya beans – ½ cup, boiled
Tomato – 1
Onion – ½
Fennel seeds – ½ tsp
Fenugreek seeds – ½ tsp
Curry leaves – 1 sprig
Curry powder – 1 tsp
Rampe/ Pandan leaf – piece
Salt, to taste
Low fat oil – 1 tsp

Method:

Heat 1 tsp oil in a pan and sauté the fennel and fenugreek seeds, chopped onion and curry leaves for a couple of mins.
Add the chopped tomatoes to the pan. Stir and add ½ cup of water.
Add the curry powder, rampe leaf and salt, to taste and cook for about 5 mins.
Mix in the cooked soya beans and cook for another 10 mins.
Serve with rice or pittu or bread.

Recipe source: Raji Thillainathan.

Beetroot and Garlic Curry

The recipe of my mother’s that I am sharing today is a fusion of the south and north Sri Lankan cooking. Garlic curry is a specialty of the southern province of Sri Lanka and I hope to soon share the recipe of the dish that I had enjoyed during my several trips along the southern coast. In the meantime, my mother’s experimental cooking has fused her beetroot curry with garlic and has resulted in a quite pleasant, unique curry.

Beetroot and Garlic Curry

Time taken: 20 – 25 mins

Serves 4

Ingredients:

Beetroot – ½ cup, chopped
Garlic – ¼ cup, peeled and sliced
Onion – 2, chopped
Coconut milk or water – ½ cup
Tomato – ¼ cup, chopped
Curry powder – ½ tsp or Green chilli – 1, chopped
Salt, to taste
Low fat oil – 1 tbsp

Method:

Heat a tbsp oil in a pan and fry the garlic and onion for a couple of mins.
Add the chopped beetroot to the pan and mix well.
Add the coconut milk or water and salt, to taste.
Add the curry powder or chopped green chilli to the pan and cook for about 15 mins.
When the liquid starts drying up, add the chopped tomato and cook for a further 5 mins.
Serve warm with rice.

Recipe source: Raji Thillainathan.

Spicy Toor Dhal Gravy

Spicy Toor Dhal Gravy

Time taken: 35 mins

Serves 4 or 5

Ingredients:

Toor Dhal/ Thuvaram Paruppu – ½ cup
Chilli powder – ½ tsp
Cumin powder – ½ tsp
Coriander powder – ½ tsp
Pepper powder – ¼ tsp
Turmeric powder – ¼ tsp
Tamarind juice – ½ cup to 1 cup, as required
Salt, to taste
Garlic – 3 cloves, crushed

Method:

Soak the dhal for about 10 mins. Rinse and drain the dhal and transfer to a saucepan.
Add 1 ½ cups of water to the dhal and cook for about 10 to 15 mins, over medium heat.
Reduce to low heat and add the five spice powders (chilli, cumin, coriander, pepper, turmeric).
If the water has dried up, add 1 cup of tamarind extract. If there is some water still in the pan, reduce the amount of tamarind extract added accordingly.
Add salt, to taste and mix well.
Cook for another 10 mins. Adjust gravy consistency by adding more tamarind extract, if required.
Add crushed garlic just before removing from stove. Mix well.
Serve with rice or chappathi.

Recipe source: Raji Thillainathan.

Spicy Pumpkin Tart

Today’s recipe is a pumpkin-centric fusion recipe of my mother.

Spicy Pumpkin Tart

Time taken: 1 ¼ hours

Serves 4

Ingredients:

Wheat flour – 1 cup
Vegetable margarine – ¼ cup + 2 tbsp (sauce/ cream)
Pumpkin – 1 cup, boiled and mashed
Carrot – ½ , boiled
Beans – 4, chopped
Guava – ½ large or 1 medium-sized, chopped
Leeks – ¼, chopped
Capsicum or malu miris – 1, chopped
Green chillies – 2, chopped
Onion – 1, chopped
Ginger – 1 tsp, chopped
Garlic – 1 tsp, chopped
Salt and Pepper, to taste
Vegetable stock – ½ tsp (optional)
Crushed chillies – 1 tsp (optional)
Low fat oil – 1 tbsp
Baking soda – ½ tsp
Tomatoes – chopped, for topping
Onion – chopped, for topping (optional)
Rosemary or mixed spice – 1 tsp
Water, as required

Method:

Mix the flour, margarine, salt and a little water to make a dough. Knead to make it smooth and let the dough rest while making the tart filling.
Heat a tbsp of oil in a pan and fry the ginger and garlic first for a couple of mins.
Then, add the chopped onion followed by the chopped vegetables. Stir fry for a few mins.
Finally, add the boiled pumpkin and carrot as well as the guava. Mix well and continue cooking for about 5 mins.
Season with salt and pepper. Remove pan from stove.
Heat 2 tbsp margarine in a saucepan over low heat.
Add 2 tbsp flour and add ½ cup of water to the saucepan. Stir, for about 10 mins, until it thickens to a cream. Add salt and pepper, to taste, and optional ½ tsp vegetable stock and 1 tsp crushed chillies.
Transfer the vegetable mixture from the pan to the saucepan. Stir.
Add ½ tsp baking soda to the saucepan. Mix well before removing sauce pan from stove.
Roll out the dough and line the pie tray with the dough.
Fill the tart base with the vegetable filling.
Top with chopped tomatoes and optional chopped onions. Sprinkle 1 tsp of rosemary or mixed spice.
Bake the tart at 220⁰C/428⁰F for 30 mins.
Slice and serve warm.

Recipe source: Raji Thillainathan.

Vegetable soup

Update (04/07/4014): I just came across the Soups with SS event being hosted by Sonal and Shruti through the delicious soupe au pistou post of Angie. I wanted to share the only soup recipe that I have posted on my blog to-date. It is a simple vegetable soup.

Today’s recipe is my mother’s recipe for her favourite soup which she makes almost on a weekly basis at home.

Vegetable soup:

Time taken: 40 mins

Serves 4

Ingredients:

Mysore dhal – ½ cup
Carrot – ½ cup, chopped
Cabbage – ½ cup, shredded
Potato – 1, small and chopped
Beans – ¼ cup, chopped
Leeks – ¼ cup, chopped
Celery – piece (optional)
Salt and pepper, to taste
Garlic flakes – a big pinch
Vegetable cube – 1 (optional)
Lime juice – 1 tbsp (optional)
Water – 4 cups

Method:

Clean and chop the vegetables and place them in a soup pot/ pan.
Add 4 cups of water and cook the soup for about 20 mins.
Remove from stove and let the soup cool a little.
Transfer half the soup to a blender and blend. Return the blended soup to the soup pot.
Add salt and pepper, to taste, and garlic flakes to the soup pot. Mix well. A vegetable cube can also be added, if you like. Cook for few mins and warm up the soup.
Just before serving, add some optional lime juice.
Serve with toasted bread.

Recipe source: Raji Thillainathan.

Vendhaya Kulambu

Today’s recipe is Vendhaya Kulambu/ Fenugreek curry, a Jaffna curry that is regularly made at home.

Vendhaya Kulambu

Time taken: 30 mins

Serves 3 or 4

Ingredients:

Onion – 1 cup, chopped
Fenugreek seeds/ Vendhayam – 2 tbsp
Curry leaves – 2 sprig
Coconut milk – 1 cup
Tamarind juice extract – ½ cup
Curry powder – 1 ½ tsp
Salt – ¼ tsp
Low fat oil – 2 tbsp

Method:

Soak the fenugreek seeds in water for about 10 mins. Drain and keep aside.
Heat a tbsp of oil in a pan and fry the soaked and drained fenugreek seeds for a couple of mins.
Add the curry leaves and chopped onion to the pan, along with another tbsp of oil.
Saute till the onion changes colour and the aroma of fried onions wafts about.
Add ½ cup of tamarind juice and ½ cup of coconut milk along with the curry powder and salt to the pan. Mix well.
Increase the heat and let the ‘kulambu’ cook for about 5 – 10 mins. Do not let it dry up.
Add the remaining ½ cup of coconut milk and let it simmer for another 5 mins before removing from stove.
Serve with pittu or rice.

Recipe source: Raji Thillainathan.

Polos Embulla and Kos Melluma

Today’s guest blogger is Maheesa Dayananda, UNDP project staff from Polonnaruwa district. He will be sharing his mother’s recipes for a couple of his favourite dishes.

These are two of my favorite curries and around once in two weeks we cook one of these at home. These two curries should be served with rice and are very popular (especially Polos Embulla) among Sinhalese not only in Polonnaruwa but also in other areas too. Also, these curries come from few generations back. I can remember my grand mother also cooked these curries.

(a) Polos Embulla

Time taken – 75 minutes

Serves – 05

INGREDIENTS

Baby jack 15 pieces (250 gm)
Goraka/Garcinia Cambogia 04 pieces
Garlic 04 cloves
Pepper 01 teaspoon
Cardamom/ enasal ½ teaspoon
Curry Powder 02 teaspoon, roasted
Chilli Powder 02 teaspoon
Turmeric Powder ½ teaspoon
Coconut 01 nut
Curry leaves/ Rampe as per required
Salt to taste
Cinnamon a bit
Water as per required

METHOD

Removing the outer peel of the baby jack, cut it into fairly big pieces, wash well and put them in an earthen vessel.
Mix the pieces of baby jack with chilli powder, curry powder, turmeric powder and salt.
Add some goraka.
Mix crushed pepper, cinnamon and cardamom with the pieces of baby jack.
Pour coconut milk in to the earthen vessel until the baby jack pieces are just covered and cook them till most of the liquid dries up. As the curry should have a little gravy, remove from heat before the gravy completely dries up.
Note: Avoid dipping spoons which have been used for other curries, in polos embulla curry, to keep the stuff fresh for many days.

(b) Kos Melluma

Time taken 45 minutes

Serves 05

INGREDIENTS

Pieces of jack 250 gm
Coriander 02 teaspoon
Cumin Seeds 01 teaspoon
Sweet Cumin/ star anise 01 teaspoon
Green chillies 03 – 04
Coconut ½ nut, scraped
Coconut oil 04 teaspoon
Mustard 01 teaspoon
Turmeric powder as per required
Curry leaves as per required

METHOD

Remove the core/ seeds from the jack-fruit pieces nut and cut them in to small pieces.
Crush about 10 seeds and remove the peel covering the seed.
Place the chopped jack-fruit and crushed seeds in a pan and add turmeric & water as required.
Cover the pan and cook the jack-fruit.
After the jack-fruit is cooked, add curry powder, curry leaves, scraped coconut and kochchi or green chilies and let it simmer together.
Heat some coconut oil in another pan and fry some mustard seeds.
Transfer the cooked jack-fruit with all its seasonings to the pan with the mustard seeds and temper it for a few minutes.
Serve hot with rice.

Recipe source: Maheesa Dayananda.

Savoury vegan pie

The recipe I would like to share today is the recipe for a pie that my mother made recently. It was delicious and very filling and included lots of vegetables and even passion fruit and peanuts.

Savoury vegan pie

Time taken: 1 ½ hours

Serves 6 or 8

Ingredients:

Base:

Wheat flour – 1 cup
Vegetable oil margarine – ¼ cup
Salt, to taste

Filling:

Green peas – ¾ cup
Carrot – ½ cup, chopped and grated
Tomatoes – ¾ cup
Cabbage – 2 tbsp, shredded
Potatoes – 1 or 2
Onion – ½
Chilli – 1
Crushed peanuts – 1 tbsp
Ginger – ½ or 1″, as per taste
Garlic – 3 or 4 cloves
Pepper and salt, to taste
Low fat oil (sunflower or canola) – 2 tbsp

Top layer:

Soya milk – 1 cup
Urad dhal/ Ulunthu flour – 2 tbsp
Wheat flour – 1 tbsp
Passion fruit – 1
Rosemary – 1 tsp
Sesame seeds – 1 tsp
Chilli or capsicum – 1
Onion – ¼
Salt and pepper, to taste

Method:

Make the dough for the pie base by mixing the wheat flour, margarine and salt, to taste and kneading it. Let the dough rest while making the filling for the pie.
Boil the tomatoes and mash them slightly. Boil the potatoes and cabbage.
Heat 2 tbsp oil in a pan and fry the ginger and garlic. Then add the onion and crushed peanuts and fry for a few minutes.
Add the slightly mashed, boiled tomatoes to the pan and then add the carrots followed by the green peas and finally the potatoes and cabbage.
Add pepper and salt, to taste. Keep aside the vegetable filling.
In a saucepan, heat the soya milk with 2 tbsp urad dhal and 1 tbsp wheat flour. Bring to a boil, adding salt and pepper, to taste.
When the sauce begins to thicken, add the pulp of passion fruit to give the mix a tangy and fruity flavour.
Take the pie pan and roll out the pie base, covering the pan.
Spoon the vegetable filling on top of the pie base and level it smoothly across the pan.
Pour the tangy batter-like sauce over the vegetable filling.
Sprinkle chopped onion, capsicum or green chilli and the rosemary and sesame seeds over the sauce covering the pie.
Bake for 30 – 40 mins at 220⁰C/ 428⁰F.
Serve hot with some spicy chutney or sauce.

Recipe source: Raji Thillainathan.

Malu Ambulthiyal

Today’s guest blogger is Sunera Edirisuriya, a staff member of Save the Children. She will be sharing a little background information on Matara district’s specialty seafood dish as well as her mother’s recipe for it.

This is one of the famous fish curries which is unique to down south Sri Lanka. It does not mean that this curry is not cooked in other parts of the country yet there is a difference in the flavour and the ingredients used. Due to its origins in the south, it is customary for people from the south to take a pot or jar of malu ambulthiyal when they visit relatives living elsewhere. This fish curry can be served with rice and other curries. Specially, Malu Ambulthiyal pairs well with Kiribath (Milk rice) and katta Sambola.

In our family, we never miss Malu Ambulthiyal at the meal table during the Sinhala and Hindu New Year festival. It was my paternal grand-mother who used to prepare this dish and then my mother and now my elder sister brings this curry to our New Year meal table.

Malu Ambulthiyal

Cooking time: 20 mins

Serves 10

Ingredients:

Fish 1kg
Goraka (Garcinia gummi-gutta) – 100g
Pepper- 2 tea spoons
Green chilies -5
Cinnamon – ½ tea spoons
Curry leaves
Salt, to taste
Water – 1 cup

Method:

Cut the fish in to small pieces (15-20) and wash them properly.
Put the pieces of goraka in a saucepan with a little water and simmer until the goraka is soft.
Crush the drained goraka pieces until it becomes a coarse paste
Put the fish, goraka paste, pepper, curry leaves, cinnamon powder, salt and green chillies in the pan and mix them well until all the fish pieces are well coated.
Add 1 cup of water to it.
Cook the mixture over low heat for 20 mins. It would be much more delicious if this dish is cooked in a clay pot.
Serve with rice or kiribath.

Recipe source: Sunera Edirisuriya.

Chicken curry

Today’s guest blogger is Eating milk and honey blogger Flowers for the moon/ Sandamali, who graciously accepted my invite to share one of her favourite recipes.

My name is Sandamali and I am a fellow blogger on WordPress with an interest in Food and Life. I would like to share with you my mother’s chicken curry recipe.

If you said you were stopping by our house for a meal, you can be sure this would be on the menu. Mum never specifically taught me how to make it, but I have watched her make it countless times and eventually came up with my own version. Usually it is accompanied by Ala Badun (Fried Potatoes), Dhal Curry and Batu Moju (Brinjal Pickle) and a salad and poppodums to be served with either Yellow Rice or Fried Rice.

Chicken curry

Preparation and cooking time: 45 mins

Ingredients:

500g of skinned mixed chicken pieces
2 tablespoons Oil
1 tablespoon Vinegar
1/2 cup canned coconut cream
2/3 cup water
3 cloves garlic peeled and chopped finely
1 small onion diced finely
1 inch piece fresh ginger crushed slightly
1 large tomato diced
2 inch piece Rampe (Pandan Leaf)
3 green chillies chopped finely
2 stalks of curry leaves
2 teaspoons chillie powder
1 and 1/2 tablespoons roasted curry powder (From a Sri Lankan ingredient shop or homemade with coriander seeds, cumin and fennel as the main ingredients)
1/4 teaspoon turmeric
3 cloves
3 cardamoms
2 inch piece cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon dill seeds
1 and 1/2 teaspoons salt