Re-blogging Aruna of Aharam‘s april post where she shared her lovely version of Sri Lankan/Australian chef Peter Kuruvita’s pumpkin curry recipe. Thank you, Aruna, for sharing it š
Category Archives: Western province
Comprises of three districts: Colombo, Gampaha and Kalutara
Ginger Date Cake
As today is my eldest sister’s birthday, I felt like sharing one of her recipes today. I decided to bring one of the cakes she enjoys making to the Fiesta Friday together with some lovely music. The recipe is given below after the music fest.
The featured musicianĀ today is Hariharan. He trained in both Carnatic and Hindustani music though he is foremost a prominent ghazal singer and has released lots of ghazal albums. While Hariharan started his playback singing in the late 70s in Hindi movies, he was introduced to the south Indian movie world only in the early 90s by A.R.Rahman. Since then, he has been awarded both state and national awards for some of his songs. Hariharan was awarded the Padma Shri award by the Indian government in 2004.
I first chose to share a ghazal piece from the launch of the album Hazir 2, Hariharan’s second one with tabla maestro, Zakir Hussain.
The second clip is from a concert where Hariharan sings with Chitra one of their songs from the movie Love birds, the soundtrack of which was composed by A.R.Rahman.
While selecting the last clip to share here, I was trying to decide between two songs. One used to be very popular on Sri Lankan television in the late 90s, Krishna NeeĀ from the self-titled Colonial Cousins album of the music duo – Hariharan and Leslie Lewis. The other was a Bathiya and Santhush single with Hariharan. Finally, I decided to share the one with the Sri Lankan musicians.
Hope you enjoy the music as well as the cake!
Ginger Date Cake
Ingredients:
- 250g self-raising flour (optional: can reduce the amount of flour and add roasted semolina ensuring that the total is 250g)
- 250g margarine
- 250g sugar
- 5 eggs, separated
- 250g dates
- 100g ginger preserve
- Vanilla essence
Method:
- De-seed the dates and chop them up roughly before letting them soak in a bowl of hot tea.
- Chop up the ginger preserve separately and keep aside.
- Whisk together the margarine and sugar.
- Add the egg yolks and the vanilla essence and continue beating the mixture.
- Then add some of the flour, chopped dates and ginger preserve, egg white and mix well before repeating the process till all the ingredients have been mixed well.
- Bake at 180ā°C for around 25 minutes.
Pavatkai Curry
Today’s recipe is a slightly different variation of bitter gourd/ pavatkai curry that my mother makes. The recipe for the more common way that my mother makes this dish is given in this earlier post.
Continuing with my sharing of Indian movie songs, today I would like to feature one of my mother’s favourite singers – S.Janaki and a few of the songs I like of hers. JanakiĀ was born in 1938, started her musical training at the age of 3 and her movie musical career in the latter part of 1950s. According to my wikipedia source, she has sung around 20,000 songs in various Indian languages and won state and national awards for some of them. She made headlines last year when she refused to accept the Indian government’s prestigious award – the Padma Bhushan.
The first song here is fromĀ K.Balachander’s movie Varumaiyin Niram Sivappu (translation: The colour of poverty is red, 1980) starring Kamal Haasan and Sridevi. The music composition is byĀ M.S. Viswanathan (MSV), who was more popular between theĀ 50s toĀ 70s. The singers are SPB and S. Janaki.
I couldn’t resist sharing another song from one of my favourite movies, Salangai Oli/ Sagara Sangamam (1983) whose music was composed by Ilayarajaa. This time it is a solo song by S.Janaki and the two actors/ dancers, Kamal Haasan and Manju Bhargavi, in the song are trained classical dancers.
The last song is a relatively more recent song from the movie Sangamam (literal translation: Confluence, 1999) and the music was composed by A.R.Rahman. The singers are Janaki (lead vocalist), Unnikrishnan and Madhumita.
Hope you enjoyed the movie clips and do try out this bitter gourd recipe!
Pavatkai Curry
Ingredients:
- Bittergourd ā 1
- Tomato ā 1
- Onion ā Ā½
- Green chilli ā 2
- Tamarind extract ā 1 cup (light)
- Coconut milk ā Ā¼ cup
- Sugar ā 1 tbsp
- Salt, to taste
- Vegetable oil ā 1 tbsp
Method:
- Wash and cut the bittergourd into small pieces. Keep aside.
- Chop the chillies and onion. Lightly fry them in a tablespoon of oil in a pan.
- Add the chopped bittergourd to the pan and continue frying for a few minutes.
- Add the tamarind juice and salt to the pan. Cover and let it simmer for around 10 to 15 mins until the curry thickens.
- Chop the tomato and add it to the pan together with Ā¼ coconut milk.
- Add a tablespoon of sugar and salt to taste.
- Cover and cook for another 15 mins.
- Remove from heat and serve warm with rice.
Recipe source: Raji Thillainathan
Mulai Keerai Curry
Today’s recipe is another way my mother cooks mulai keerai (amaranth greens, I think the scientific name is amaranthus blitum). I have posted earlier the traditional way it has been cooked in my home across generations.
Since selecting the movie clips that I shared yesterday, I have been listening to lots of 80s and early 90s Indian movie music and remembering the stories behind the songs. I felt like sharing some over the next several posts. If you are not interested in reading about or listening to some south Indian movie songs, please skip directly to the recipe given below.
As today isĀ S.P.Balasubrahmanyam(SPB)’s 68th birthday, I will share a couple of his popular songs. While not having had formal musical training, SPB’sĀ natural inclination towards music made him drop out of his engineering studies and pursue a musical career in the 60s. SPB is most known as a playback singer, having recorded more than 40,000 songs in several Indian languages according to my Wikipedia source. In addition to winning several Indian state and national awards for his songs, he has also composed music for several movies, acted in some and given voice overs for popular actors due to his multilingual skill. The Indian government awarded him the high civilian awards, the Padma Bhushan (2011) and Padmashri (2001) awards,Ā for hisĀ distinguished service.
The first is an upbeat song from K.Balachander’s Tamil movie Punnagai Mannan (translation: King of Smiles, 1986). This is the first song that SPB and Chitra sang together and features Kamal Haasan and Revathi. The soundtrack of the movie was composed by Ilayarajaa with A.R.Rahman, then a part of Ilayarajaa’s music team, atĀ the keyboard.
The second clip is from aĀ concert where SPB sings a song of his from the 1979 movie Pagalil Oru Iravu (translation: A night in the day), soundtrack composed by Ilayarajaa.
Hope you enjoyed SPB’s songs from the 80s as much as I enjoyed listening to several and selecting these two.
Now, for the recipe… š
Mulai Keerai Curry
Ingredients:
- Mulai keerai ā 1 cup, chopped
- Green chilli ā 1
- Capsicum – 1
- Onion ā 1
- Tomato ā 1
- Salt, to taste
- Crushed chilli ā to taste
- Vegetable oil ā 1 tbsp
Method:
- Wash the green leaves and chop them up finely.
- Cook the green leaves with a little salt and water for about 10 mins till the water dries up. Remove from heat.
- Slice the green chilli, onion and capsicum.
- Add a tbsp of oil to a separate pan and lightly sautƩ the three.
- Chop the tomato and add it to the pan. As per your taste, add salt and crushed chilli and continue to lightly fry for a few more minutes.
- Transfer the contents of the pan to the cooked green leaves. Mix and serve warm with rice.
Recipe source: Raji Thillainathan
Date and Walnut Cookies
Today, I would like to share my mother’s recipe for date and walnut cookies. She often substitutes cashew nuts for the walnuts when we run out of walnuts.
I also wanted to mention a start-up that came to my attention recently and thought it might be of interest to those planning travels around Asia. Withlocals.comĀ is a venture, currently covering 7 countries including Sri Lanka, initiated by a group of self-labelled ‘digital geeks with a combined passion for travelling, food and people.’ The interesting part of their services is ‘Eat with locals,’ where local hosts register to offer home-cooked meals. I might take up the offer of Martin (a staff at Withlocals.com) to try one of the eating experiences listed, next time a non-Sri Lankan friend visits me, provided the host is willing to share one of the recipes on this blog.
In the meantime, do enjoy these delicious date and nut cookies! š
Date and Walnut Cookies
Ingredients:
- Dates ā Ā¼ cup, chopped
- Walnut or cashew nut ā Ā¼ cup, chopped
- Roasted gram/ Pottu kadalai flour ā Ā Ā¼ cup
- All-purpose flour -1 cup
- Baking powder ā 1 tsp
- Oats ā Ā¼ cup
- Sugar ā 2 tbsp
- Cinnamon powder ā pinch
- Rose water ā 1 tsp
- Margarine ā Ā¼ cup
Method:
- Mix all the ingredients. Add a little water if the mixture is too dry.
- Place the cookie dough on a lightly greased tray tablespoon at a time leaving an inch of space between them.
- Bake for about 20 mins at 170ā°C/338ā°F.
- Store in an air-tight container.
Recipe source: Raji Thillainathan
Turmeric Coriander Bread with Seeni Sambol
May this special day of Wesak, which celebrates the day of birth, enlightenment and death of Buddha, bring you peace!
Blue water-lily – the national flower of Sri Lanka
I am sharing this post on Angie’s challenge for this month with my recipe for turmeric coriander bread filled with seeni sambol. Ever since I started baking last year, I have found that I enjoy baking different types of bread. One of my favourite and successful breads is rosemary olive oil bread (recipe source:Ā Jessie@A Hint of Honey).Ā Using her recipe as a base,Ā I have sometimes played around with herbs to make different versions of the bread and today, I would like to shareĀ myĀ Sri Lankan twist to this bread.
Turmeric Coriander Bread with Seeni Sambol
Ingredients:
- Flour ā 2 to 2 Ā½ cups, approximately
- Turmeric ā 1 tsp
- Coriander ā 2 to 4 tbsp fresh coriander leaves (as per your taste) or 1 tsp dried powder
- Pepper ā pinch
- Salt ā Ā½ tsp
- Sesame/ Gingelly oil ā 2 tbsp
- Warm water ā 1 cup
- Sugar ā 1 tbsp
- Yeast ā 2 tsp
- Seeni Sambol – recipe provided in this post
Method:
- Stir in 1 tbsp sugar and 2 tsp yeast in 1 cup of warm water in a mixing bowl and let it sit for about 10 mins till it becomes frothy.
- Sift the flour and set aside.
- Add a cup of flour to the yeast mixture and add the salt, turmeric, pepper, chopped coriander or powder to the mixing bowl.
- Mix well before adding the sesame oil and add the remaining flour Ā¼ cup at a time till the dough is formed. Knead for a few minutes till it is smooth.
- Lightly dab the mixing bowl with a little oil and cover, leaving the dough to rise for about an hour.
- Transfer the dough to a floured surface and roll out the dough.
- Spread the seeni sambol mixture over the surface. Starting from one end, roll the dough into a log.
- You could leave the dough as a log or connect the ends to make a round bread or cut into 8 equal pieces. If you cut into 8 pieces, makeĀ each piece into a ball ensuring that the ends are closed and that the fillingĀ is not seeping out of the dough.
- Transfer the dough to a lightly greased baking tray. Cover and refrigerate till about 30 minutes before you plan to bake.
- Leave the tray out in the kitchen for about 30 minutes before brushing the bread with either a little melted margarine or dissolved sugar.
- Bake the bread at 175ā°C/340ā°F for 20 mins. Check at intervals as the baking time differs depending on the oven.
- Serve warm with a nice vegetable soup.
Repost: Fried Rice
I wish to wrap up the rice series by re-posting a delicious fried rice recipe from the first month of this blog.
To go with this post, I chose to feature two musicians who were born in Sri Lanka and started their music careers here. They have expanded their musical repertoire since moving/ migrating to the west in the 80s and have made some impressive music.
The first musician to be featured today isĀ Carnatic musician Manickam Yogeswaran. While primarily a classical musician, he has worked with several music groups including fusion group Dissidenten on the Instinctive TravellerĀ album and Jocelyn Pook EnsembleĀ on the sound track of ‘Eyes wide shut‘ and ‘Brick Lane.’
This song is a recording of a bhajan at the sacred music and dance festival held in Berlin last year.
I also wanted to share a song from his 2005 album ‘Peace for Paradise.’
Finishing this post with anĀ upbeat song – Herb Alpert and Lani Hall Quintet’s version of Puttin’ on the RitzĀ from their grammy award-winning album Steppin’ Out. The second musician I am featuring today is Hussain Jiffry, the bassist inĀ this quintet. He has worked with several musicians includingĀ SĆ©rgio Mendes and Yanni.
Enjoy a lovely sunday!
Fried Rice
Ingredients:
- Basmathi rice ā 2 cups
- Carrot ā Ā¼ cup, chopped
- Green peas ā Ā¼ cup
- Leeks ā Ā¼ cup, chopped
- Onion ā Ā¼ cup, chopped
- Mixed 3C spice powder ā clove, cinnamon, cardamom powder ā 2 tsp
- Kesari powder ā Ā½ tsp (can use biryani powder or saffron or turmeric powder)
- Low fat margarine ā 50g or 3 tbsp
- Cinnamon ā 1 ~ 2āā stick
- Rampe leaf/ pandan
- Salt, to taste
Method:
- Cook the rice together with a cinnamon stick, rampe leaf and a little salt.
- Chop up the vegetables and sprinkle a little salt over them. Keep aside.
- Heat the margarine in a pan over low heat.
- Add the mixed 3C spice powder and sautƩ for a couple of seconds before adding the chopped vegetables.
- When the veggies become tender, add the kesari powder.
- Add the cooked rice and mix well.
- Serve warm.
Recipe source: Raji Thillainathan.
Sweet Yoghurt Rice
It is nice to have something sweet to welcomeĀ the weekend. So, today’s recipe is sweet yoghurt rice, a very easy andĀ yummyĀ dish to make. It has been a long time since I participated in one of Angie’s Fiesta Fridays so I am sharing this post inĀ Fiesta Friday #15.
Today’s featured music is of a special percussion group calledĀ Elephant Foot.
The first piece that I am sharing here, Rainforest, is what caught my attention someĀ years ago. Since then, I have kept my ears open for more of their music. So far, they have released three albums.
The second is from their most recent album – Elephant Foot.
Enjoy the drum beats of Elephant Foot/ Hikkaduwa drummers as you tuck into this delicious treat!
Sweet YoghurtĀ Rice
Time taken: 25 mins
Serves 3
Ingredients:
- White raw rice or Basmathi rice ā 1 cup
- Yoghurt ā Ā½ cup
- Raisins ā 2 tsp
- Nuts (any) ā 2 tsp
- Banana ā Ā½ or 1, sliced
- Honey or coconut treacle, as required
Method:
- Boil the rice and let it cool.
- Whisk the yoghurt well to make it creamy. Fold in the raisins and chopped nuts.
- Little by little, add the rice to the creamy mix.
- Chill for at least 5 mins.
- Serve with banana slices and drizzled with honey or coconut treacle.
Recipe source: Raji Thillainathan.
Lime Rice
The rice dish for today is lime rice.
The featured musician today isĀ Ravibandhu Vidyapathi, who is one of Sri Lanka’s leading percussionists as well as a classical Kandyan dancer and choreographer. He founded the dance school ‘Ravibandhu-Samanthi Narthanayanathaya’ with his wife.
I like his drum ensemble and have selected a clip from his album ‘Bahu Ranga‘ to share here.
Lime Rice
Time taken: 20 mins
Serves 2 – 3
Ingredients:
- Rice ā 1 cup
- Turmeric ā Ā½ tsp
- Lime or lemon juice ā 1 or 2 tbsp
- Onion ā Ā½, chopped
- Dried red chillies ā 1 or 2, as per taste
- Fenugreek seeds ā 1 tsp
- Green peas ā 2 tbsp, boiled
- Salt, to taste
- Sesame/ Gingelly oil ā 1 tbsp
Method:
- Boil the rice after adding turmeric and salt.
- Once the rice is boiled and slightly cooled, add the lime juice and mix well. Keep aside to let the rice absorb the lime juice.
- Heat a tablespoon of sesame oil in a pan and lightly fry the chopped onion, chillies and fenugreek seeds.
- Add the lime marinated rice to the pan and stir fry for 5 mins. Add boiled green peas, if required.
- Serve warm.
Recipe source: Raji Thillainathan.
Sambhar Rice
TheĀ rice dish for today is Sambhar Rice.
As sambhar refers to a mixed vegetable stew like dish, I thought of mimicking the dish in my featured music groups today.
Starting with Thriloka, a fusion band formed in 2005 blending traditional Sri LankanĀ folkĀ music and progressive rock.
The second clip features Paranoid Earthling, whose music is a blend of experimental and psychedelic rock. The song shared here was first performed by them on the international peace day in 2008.
The last clip features Chitral Somapala and Civilization One, a power metal band, which is not a Sri Lankan band but I decided to feature them by extending the definition to include the Sri Lankan who launched the band.
Enjoy the Sri Lankan rock music sceneĀ as you try out the recipe!
Sambhar Rice
Time taken: 45 mins
Serves 4
Ingredients:
- Par-boiled red rice ā 1 cup
- Carrots ā Ā½ cup, chopped
- Beans ā Ā½ cup, chopped
- Brinjal ā Ā½ cup, chopped
- Mysore dhal ā Ā¼ cup
- Onion ā Ā½, chopped
- Chilli ā 1, chopped
- Curry leaves ā 1 sprig
- Tamarind juice ā Ā½ cup
- Curry powder ā 1 tsp
- Pepper ā Ā½ tsp
- Garlic cloves ā 4 or 5, crushed
- Salt, to taste
Method:
- Boil the rice and keep aside.
- Separately, cook the vegetables (carrots, beans and brinjal) and dhal together with the chopped onion, chilli and curry leaves in a cup of water.
- When the water dries up, add the tamarind juice add the curry powder, pepper powder, crushed garlic cloves and salt to the vegetables.
- Once the sambhar starts to thicken, add the rice, mix well and let it simmer for 5 to 10 mins.
- Serve the sambhar rice with pappadum.
Recipe source: Raji Thillainathan.
A Taste of Sri Lankan cuisine 