Category Archives: Western province

Comprises of three districts: Colombo, Gampaha and Kalutara

Lime pickle

Today, I would like to share my mother’s recipe for the delicious lime pickles that she sometimes makes.

Lime pickle

Time taken: around 15 days

Makes a jar

Lime pickleIngredients:

  • Limes – 16
  • Powdered salt
  • Turmeric powder – 2 tsp
  • Crushed chillies – 2 tsp (optional)
  • Fenugreek – 1 tbsp

Method:

  1. Clean and quarter 5 or 6 limes or the number that can fill the pickle jar you are using.
  2. Fill or cover them with as much salt as you can and then put them in a clean jar or jam bottle. Cover the bottle and set aside for a day.
  3. Uncover the bottle the next morning and place under the sunlight during the day-time. Cover the bottle in the night. Repeat this process for around 7 to 10 days.
  4. After 7 or 10 days, squeeze the juice of about 10 limes. Add the turmeric powder, crushed fenugreek seeds and optional crushed chillies to the juice.
  5. Pour the juice mixed with the spices into the jar of sun-dried limes. The juice needs to cover the limes in the bottle so if you need to, squeeze some more lime juice into the bottle.
  6. Repeat the covering and uncovering process under sunlight for another 5 days.
  7. At the end of around 15 days, the lime pickle is ready to be eaten.

Recipe source: Raji Thillainathan.

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.

A slice of pieSavoury 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:

  1. 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.
  2. Boil the tomatoes and mash them slightly. Boil the potatoes and cabbage.
  3. 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.
  4. 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.
  5. Add pepper and salt, to taste. Keep aside the vegetable filling.
  6. 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.
  7. When the sauce begins to thicken, add the pulp of passion fruit to give the mix a tangy and fruity flavour.
  8. Take the pie pan and roll out the pie base, covering the pan.
  9. Spoon the vegetable filling on top of the pie base and level it smoothly across the pan.
  10. Pour the tangy batter-like sauce over the vegetable filling.
  11. Sprinkle chopped onion, capsicum or green chilli and the rosemary and sesame seeds over the sauce covering the pie.
  12. Bake for 30 – 40 mins at 220⁰C/ 428⁰F.
  13. Serve hot with some spicy chutney or sauce.

Recipe source: Raji Thillainathan.

Vaalakkai Varuval

Back home after an amazing two weeks of travelling around Yunnan province, it was comforting to be greeted by the familiar. So, my first post for this month will be to share my mother’s recipe for her regular fried ash plantain which I really enjoy.

Vaalakkai varuval/ Ash plantain fry

Time taken: 40 mins

Serves 3

Ash plantain fryIngredients:

  • Ash plantain/ Vaalakkai – 2
  • Malu miris or red capsicum – 1
  • Turmeric – ½ tsp
  • Salt – ½ tsp
  • Onion – 1
  • Garlic – 4 or 5 cloves
  • Curry leaves – 1 sprig
  • Fennel seeds – 1 tsp
  • Crushed chillies – 1 tsp or pepper – 1 tsp
  • Gingelly oil – 2 tbsp

Method:

  1. Boil the ash plantain with skin for 15 minutes.
  2. Set aside the ash plantain to cool. After it has sufficiently cooled, remove skin and chop the boiled fruit into small pieces.
  3. Chop up the malu miris, onion and garlic.
  4. Mix the chopped ash plantain, malu miris and ½ tsp turmeric and ½ tsp salt and let the flavours soak in.
  5. Heat 2 tbsp oil of sesame oil in a pan and add the fennel seeds and the chopped onion and garlic.
  6. When the aroma of the onion and garlic wafts about, add the turmeric and salt coated chopped ash plantain and malu miris and the curry leaves. Cook until they are sufficiently fried which will take around 10 mins.
  7. Just before removing the pan, add 1 tsp crushed chillies and mix well for a minute.
  8. Serve hot with rice.

Recipe source: Raji Thillainathan.

Dragon fruit pudding

With dragon fruits in season and because my mother and I like the fruit, we both decided to make a dessert using the fruit. So, here’s the recipe for the dragon fruit pudding that my mother made.

I had attempted to make a vegan red velvet cake using dragon fruit pulp as both an egg substitute as well as a source of natural red colouring but the cocoa powder in the batter simply overruled the rich red colour of the fruit. I will try the recipe once more with some adjustments and see if it works out.

My next post on the blog will be in October as I will be travelling and will not have access to my recipe base.

Dragon fruit pudding

Time taken: 5 mins

Serves 2

Dragon fruit pudding

Ingredients:

  • Dragon fruit – ½ cup, chopped
  • Corn starch – 2 tbsp
  • Water – ½ cup
  • Sugar – 1 tbsp + 1 tsp
  • Rose essence – few drops
  • Lime juice – 1 tsp

Method:

  1. Put the chopped dragon fruit and water in a sauce pan. Mash it coarsely with a spoon.
  2. Add a few drops of rose essence to the pan and mix well.
  3. Add the corn starch to the pan and stir.
  4. Cook on low heat for about 3 minutes, stirring continuously. The mixture will start to thicken.
  5. Remove from heat. Transfer the pudding to a bowl and let it cool.
  6. Mix 1 tsp lime juice and 1 tsp sugar and drizzle on top.
  7. The pudding can be served warm or chilled.

Recipe source: Raji Thillainathan.

‘Ayurvedic’ salad

Today, I will share what my mother calls her ‘Ayurvedic’ salad because of the vegetables she uses in it. This salad is particularly good for regulating your sugar and cholesterol levels. I like it because it is colourful and crunchy and combines a vegetable I don’t like so much – radish – in  a more appetising way.

‘Ayurvedic’ salad

Time taken: 5 – 10 mins

Serves 2

Ayurvedic salad

Ingredients:

  • Radish – 3 tbsp, grated
  • Bitter gourd – 2 tbsp, grated
  • Tomato – 2 tbsp, finely chopped
  • Onion – 3 tbsp, finely chopped
  • Carrot – 2 tbsp, grated
  • Coriander – a few leaves, for garnish
  • Salt and pepper, to taste
  • Lime juice, to taste

Method:

  1. Place the salad ingredients – grated radish, bitter gourd, carrot and the chopped onion and tomato – in a bowl.
  2. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Toss to combine.
  3. Garnish with coriander and drizzle some lime juice over the salad.

Recipe source: Raji Thillainathan.

Date chutney

The second recipe I would like to share today is my mother’s recipe for her version of date chutney. She is particularly fond of the unique flavour arising from the chilli infused date sauce.

Date chutney

Time taken: 10 mins

Serves 3 – 4

Date chutney

Ingredients:

  • Dates – 2 tbsp, finely chopped
  • Jaggery – 1 tsp
  • Brown sugar – 1 tsp
  • Water – 4 tbsp
  • Crushed chillies – ½ tsp
  • Cumin powder – ¼ tsp
  • Mixed 3C (cinnamon, cardamom, clove) powder – ¼ tsp
  • Sesame seeds – 1 tbsp
  • Salt – pinch

Method:

  1. Heat the jaggery, brown sugar and water in a sauce pan, on low heat, stirring continuously for about 2 to 3 mins.
  2. Stir in ½ tsp crushed chillies and ¼ tsp cumin powder and cook for a minute.
  3. Add the mixed 3C powder to the pan and let the sauce simmer for a minute.
  4. When the sauce starts to boil and bubble, add the sesame seeds. Mix well.
  5. Add the chopped dates and continue to let the sauce simmer on low heat for a few minutes till the sauce thickens and the liquid starts drying up.
  6. Season with a pinch of salt before removing from heat.
  7. The chutney can be kept for several days in an airtight container.

Recipe source: Raji Thillainathan.

Hoppers

Hopper (Appam/Appa) is a dish made in every corner of Sri Lanka. From street vendors to homes, it is one of the most popular dinner meals served around the country. In our house, my mother finds it the most frustrating dish to make as she has her good hopper days when she is proud of her creations and her bad hopper days when she faults her temperamental “hopper” pan. Today, I will share my mother’s recipe for her hopper batter.

Appam/ Appa

Cooking time: 30 mins + preparation time: 6 hours

Makes 12

Hoppers

Ingredients:

  • Raw rice – 1 cup
  • Bread – 2”x1” piece
  • King Coconut or plain Coconut water – ¼ cup
  • Wheat flour – 1 tbsp
  • Freshly scraped coconut – 1 tbsp
  • Water – 1 cup
  • Salt – ¼ tsp
  • Sugar – 1 tsp
  • Baking powder – 1 tsp

Method:

  1. Soak the rice in water for 3 hours. Simultaneously, soak the bread piece in the coconut water for about 3 hours.
  2. Grind both the soaked rice and bread together.
  3. Add a tbsp of wheat flour and a little water to the ground rice and bread to make a thick, yet smooth batter.
  4. Cover and let the batter rest and ferment for about 3 hours.
  5. Blend the freshly scraped coconut in a cup of water and extract a cup of coconut milk.
  6. Mix the coconut milk in the batter. Add a ¼ tsp salt, a tsp sugar and a tsp baking powder to the batter.
  7. Stir in the contents and the batter is ready for the hopper pan.
  8. Place the hopper pan on the stove on low heat.
  9. Pour a spoonful of the batter on to the pan and rotate the pan so that the batter covers the entire pan. Cover the pan with the pan lid. Let the hopper cook for about 2 mins before removing from pan.
  10. Serve hot with seeni sambol or lunu miris or basically any sambal. Any other curries, vegetarian or non-vegetarian, are optional.

Recipe source: Raji Thillainathan.

Peanut Chocolate Cake

I generally like my mother’s chocolate cakes a lot. Recently, she tried out a nutty vegan version of her chocolate cake which came out really delicious. Here is my mother’s recipe for the yummy cake.

Peanut Chocolate Cake

Time taken: 50 mins

Serves 8 to 10

Peanut chocolate cake

Ingredients:

  • Vegetable oil margarine – ¾ cup + 1 tbsp (for frosting)
  • Sugar – 1 cup
  • Banana – ½ , as an egg substitute
  • Wheat flour – 1 ½ cup
  • Soya milk – 1 cup
  • Peanut – ½ cup, coarsely ground + 2 tbsp (for frosting)
  • Vanilla – 2 tsp
  • Cocoa powder – 2 tbsp + 1 tsp (for frosting)
  • Baking powder – 1 tsp
  • Baking soda – ½ tsp
  • Icing sugar – 2 tbsp, for frosting

Method:

  1. Sift the dry ingredients – the wheat flour together with the cocoa powder, baking powder and baking soda – and keep aside.
  2. Mash the banana in a bowl. Add the margarine and sugar to the bowl and whisk them together.
  3. Gradually add the soya milk and continue whisking.
  4. Stir in the coarsely ground peanuts and vanilla essence.
  5. Slowly fold in the dry ingredients.
  6. Pour the cake batter into a greased tray and bake at 190⁰C/374⁰F for 40 mins.
  7. Whisk 1 tbsp margarine together with 1 tsp cocoa powder, 2 tbsp icing sugar and 2 tsp ground nuts to make the frosting.
  8. Spread evenly on surface of the peanut chocolate cake, after the cake has sufficiently cooled.

Recipe source: Raji Thillainathan.

Bitter gourd fry

The other recipe for today is also a bitter gourd recipe of my mother’s.

Bitter gourd fry

Time taken: 20 mins

Serves 1 or 2

Bitter gourd fry

Ingredients:

  • Bitter gourd – ½ cup, chopped
  • Carrot – ¼ cup, chopped
  • Onion – ¼, chopped
  • Green chilli – ½, chopped
  • Capsicum or Malu miris – ½, chopped
  • Tomato – ½, sliced
  • Fennel seeds – ½ tsp
  • Crushed chillies – ½ tsp
  • Curry leaves – 1 sprig
  • Low fat oil – 1 ½ tbsp
  • Sugar – ½ tsp
  • Salt, to taste

Method:

  1. Add some salt to the bowl of chopped bitter gourd and carrot pieces and keep aside for about 5 mins.
  2. Heat ½ tbsp oil in a pan and fry the fennel seeds.
  3. Add the curry leaves as the seeds start to splutter and immediately add the chopped onions, green chilli and capsicum or malu miris.
  4. Fry the onions and chillies for about 2 mins.
  5. Add 1 tbsp of oil and the salted bitter gourd and carrot pieces.
  6. Cook for about 10 mins, on low heat, stirring continuously.
  7. Add the sliced tomatoes and cook for a few minutes.
  8. Add ½ tsp of crushed chillies. Mix well and cook for a minute or two.
  9. Just before removing from heat, add ½ tsp sugar and mix well.
  10. Serve hot with rice.

Recipe source: Raji Thillainathan.

Pavatkai Kulambu

Today’s recipe is my mother’s delicious ‘pavatkai’ (bitter gourd) recipe. My grandmother used to first soak the chopped bitter gourd in fresh coconut water before cooking it to remove its bitterness. My mother prefers retaining a certain amount of the bitterness so she doesn’t use coconut water. Bitter gourd Pavatkai Kulambu Time taken: 30 – 40 mins Serves 4 Pavatkai curry Ingredients:

  • Bitter gourd/ pavatkai – 1 cup, chopped
  • Tamarind extract – 1 cup, thin consistency
  • Onion – ½ chopped
  • Curry leaves – 1 sprig
  • Coconut milk or non-fat milk – ¼ cup
  • Curry powder – 1 tsp
  • Sugar – 1 tsp
  • Salt, to taste

Method:

  1. Cook the chopped bitter gourd in water, in a pan, for about 5 to 10 mins on medium heat.
  2. Add the tamarind extract, curry powder, curry leaves, chopped onion and salt to taste to the pan.
  3. Let the ingredients combine and simmer on low heat for about 15 to 20 mins. If the bitter gourd is not tender enough as the liquid starts drying up, add ½ cup of water.
  4. Add ¼ cup of coconut milk or non-fat milk and a tsp of sugar. Mix well and let the curry simmer for another 5 to 10 mins on low heat.
  5. Remove from heat and serve with rice.

Recipe source: Raji Thillainathan.