Category Archives: Western province

Comprises of three districts: Colombo, Gampaha and Kalutara

Potato curry – the drier version

Today’s recipe is that of a simple potato curry that is easy and quick to prepare when you are not in the mood for preparing something elaborate. What’s more, you are sure to like the results. For those who do not like their curries dry, check out the other potato curry recipe.

Potato curry – the drier version.

Time taken: 30 mins

Serves 4

potato curry - drier versionIngredients:

  • Potatoes – 2, large
  • Onions – 2, large
  • Curry powder – 1 or 2 tsp
  • Salt, as required
  • Low fat oil – 3 tbsp

Method:

  1. Boil the potatoes. After the potatoes are boiled, peel and chop them into smaller pieces. Mix in the curry powder and some salt and keep aside.
  2. Clean and chop the onions. Sprinkle with salt.
  3. Heat 3 tbsp oil in a pan and fry the chopped onion for about 5 to 10 mins.
  4. Once the onions starts changing colour and the aroma wafts about, add the seasoned, boiled potatoes to the pan and mix well. Cook for another 5 mins.
  5. Serve warm with roti or pittu.

Recipe source: Raji Thillainathan.

Dhal with Snake gourd

Today’s recipe is another snake gourd curry that my mother occasionally makes.

Dhal with Snake gourd

Time taken: 30 mins

Serves 4

Dhal with Snake gourdIngredients:

  • Mysore dhal – ½ cup
  • Pudalangai/ Snake gourd – ½ cup, chopped
  • Green chillies – 2
  • Onion – ½
  • Fennel seeds – 1 tsp
  • Curry leaves – 1 sprig
  • Rampe leaf/ pandan – 1 or 2 inch
  • Coconut milk – ¼ cup (optional)
  • Turmeric powder – ½ tsp
  • Crushed chillies – 1 tsp
  • Pepper – ½ tsp
  • Salt, to taste
  • Low fat oil – 2 tbsp

Method:

  1. Clean the snake gourd and finely chop it.
  2. Heat the oil in a pan and fry the chopped onion, green chillies, fennel seeds for a minute before adding the finely chopped snake gourd, curry leaves and rampe leaf. Cook for about 5 mins over low heat.
  3. Rinse the dhal and add the dhal to the pan. Stir and add a cup of water and let the dhal and snake gourd cook.
  4. Once the water has almost dried up and the vegetables have been cooked, add coconut milk. If you do not wish to use coconut milk due to cholesterol issues, simply add a ¼ cup of water or any alternative non-dairy milk of preference instead.
  5. Add the turmeric powder, crushed chillies, pepper and salt to taste to the pan. Mix well and cook for about 5 mins.
  6. Serve warm with rice.

Recipe source: Raji Thillainathan.

Fried Snake Gourd

I have always been quite fond of pudalangai/ snake gourd (scientific name: trichosanthes cucumerina). While it is cooked in different ways, my favourite is pudalangai kulambu – the recipe of which I will share when my mother cooks it. In the meantime, here is my mother’s recipe for fried snake gourd.

Pudalangai Varai/ Fried Snake gourd

Time taken: 20 mins

Serves 3

Fried snake gourd

Ingredients:

  • Pudalangai/ Snake gourd – ½ cup, chopped
  • Red chillies – 1 or 2
  • Onion – ½
  • Fennel seeds – 1 tsp
  • Curry leaves – 1 sprig
  • Crushed garlic – 1 tsp
  • Coconut – 2 tbsp, freshly scraped
  • Turmeric – ¼ tsp
  • Salt and pepper, to taste
  • Low fat oil – 1 tbsp

Method:

  1. Clean the snake gourd and chop it up finely. Mix some salt and keep aside.
  2. Heat a tbsp oil in a pan and fry the chopped red chillies, onion, fennel seeds and curry leaves for 2 mins.
  3. Add the finely chopped and salted snake gourd to the pan and continue stir-frying for 5 mins.
  4. Add 1 cup of water and season with salt to the pan. Cover and let the snake gourd cook till the water dries up.
  5. Remove the cover and add the crushed garlic, freshly scraped coconut and turmeric powder. Season with salt and pepper, as per your taste. Mix well and let it cook for 2 mins.
  6. Serve hot with rice.

Recipe source: Raji Thillainathan.

Vegan Christmas Cake

Last week, my mother decided to bake her special vegan christmas cake. While I was initially planning to share this recipe on the 25th, I am sharing it ahead at my mother’s request. It is a delightful cake and I am sure you will enjoy it, if you do try it.

Christmas cake veganVegan Christmas Cake

Vegan christmas cake slicesTime taken: 3 hours

Makes 20 slices

Christmas cakeIngredients:

  • Dates – 1 cup, chopped
  • Raisins – ½ cup
  • Cashewnuts – ¼ cup
  • Almonds – ¼ cup, chopped
  • Caramelized peanuts – ½ cup
  • Cherry – ¼ cup, chopped
  • Chow chow (choko) – ½ cup, chopped
  • Ginger preserve – 1 tbsp
  • Puhul dosi (pumpkin preserve) – ¼ cup, chopped
  • Lemon rind – 1 tsp
  • Orange peel preserve – 1 tbsp
  • Mixed peel – ½ cup
  • Coconut treacle – 4 tbsp
  • Caramel syrup – ¼ cup
  • Almond oil – 3 tbsp
  • Vegetable oil – ¼ cup
  • Mixed spice (Cardamom, Cinnamon, Cloves) – 2 tsp
  • Thick tea – 1 tbsp
  • Semolina – ½ cup
  • Flour – ½ cup
  • Baking powder – 1 tsp
  • Baking soda – 2/3 tsp
  • Rose essence – ¼ tsp

Method:

  1. Chop all the ingredients mentioned above (dates, raisins, cashewnuts, peanuts, almonds, chow chow, lemon rind, orange peel preserve, mixed peel, ginger preserve, cherries and puhul dosi/ pumpkin preserve) and mix together in a bowl.
  2. To the bowl, add the liquids stirring them in as you do so. Add the honey, caramel syrup and thick tea and let it soak for about ½ hour.
  3. Mix well before adding the vegetable oil and almond oil. Add the rose essence and cinnamon, cardamom and clove mixed spice to the bowl.
  4. Gradually stir in the semolina.
  5. Sift the flour with the baking powder and soda and add the flour mix to the bowl.
  6. Whisk the contents of the bowl together so that there are no flour lumps anywhere.
  7. Transfer the cake batter to the baking tray and bake at 120⁰C/248⁰F for 1 to 1 ½ hour till the cake is browned at the top and the cake is baked through.
  8. After the cake cools, cut the cake into pieces and wrap the pieces into Christmas wrappings.

Recipe source: Raji Thillainathan.

Carrot Varai

Carrot Varai

Time taken: 15 – 20 mins

Serves 3

Carrot VaraiIngredients:

  • Carrot – ½ cup, grated
  • Onion – ½, sliced
  • Malu miris/ capsicum – 1
  • Fennel seeds – 1 tsp
  • Curry leaves – 1 sprig
  • Pepper – 1 tsp
  • Salt – ¼ tsp
  • Low fat oil – 1 tbsp

Method:

  1. Heat 1 tbsp oil in a pan and fry the sliced malu miris and onion. Add the fennel seeds and curry leaves.
  2. After a min or two, add the grated carrots to the pan and stir fry for about 5 mins.
  3. Season with salt and pepper. Mix well and cook for another 5 to 10 mins.
  4. Serve with rice.

Recipe source: Raji Thillainathan.

Butternut squash and Dhal curry

Today’s recipe is that of one of my mother’s curries.

Butternut squash and Dhal Curry

Time taken: 40 mins

Serves 4 to 5

Butternut squash and dhal curryIngredients:

  • Butternut squash – ½ cup
  • Mysore dhal – ¼ cup
  • Tomato – 1
  • Onion – ½
  • Capsicum – 1
  • Cumin powder – 1 tsp
  • Pepper powder – ½ tsp
  • Chilli powder – 1 tsp
  • Curry leaves – 1 sprig
  • Turmeric powder – ½ tsp
  • Low fat oil – 2 tbsp

Method:

  1. Boil the mysore dhal and chopped butternut squash, adding one cup of water to a saucepan, over medium heat. Cook till the water dries up.
  2. Heat oil in a pan and fry the chopped onion and capsicum, adding the cumin powder, pepper, chilli powder and curry leaves.
  3. After a couple of mins, add the chopped tomato to the pan and ¼ cup of water.
  4. Transfer the cooked dhal and butternut squash to the pan and season with salt and turmeric powder. Cook for about 5 to 10 mins.
  5. Serve the butternut squash and dhal curry with rice or roti.

Recipe source: Raji Thillainathan.

Mashed Pumpkin Salad

Re-posting a recipe from the first week of this blog.

Mashed Pumpkin Salad

Time taken – 20 minutes

Serves – 4

Mashed pumpkin salad

Ingredients

  • Pumpkin – 250g
  • Coconut milk – 2 or 3 tbsp
  • Green chillies – 2
  • Onion – 1 medium sized, chopped
  • Salt and pepper to taste
  • Lime juice

Method

  1. Chop the pumpkin into chunks, does not need to be small, and leaving the skin on. Remove seeds and clean the chunks.
  2. Boil the pumpkin until it is tender and cooked, for around 15 minutes. Remove skin and mash the pumpkin.
  3. Add the coconut milk, green chillies, onion to the mashed pumpkin and mix well.
  4. Season with salt and pepper, according to your taste, as well as some lime juice.

Recipe source: Raji Thillainathan.

Pear Banana Citrus Cake

Last week, I had been planning to bake Poppy‘s delicious chai pear cake a second time but didn’t get around to it. Finally, my mother rescued the pears and went ahead and baked me her lovely version of a pear citrus cake. So, today’s recipe is part of the fruit cake series.

Pear cakePear Banana Citrus Cake

Side view of pear cakeTime taken: 1 ½ hours

Serves 5

Slice of pear cakeIngredients:

  • Pear – 1
  • Banana – 1
  • Orange – 1
  • Lime – 1 + 1 tsp (for icing)
  • Sugar – ¼ cup
  • Oats – ¼ cup
  • All-purpose flour – 1 cup
  • Margarine – ¼ cup + ½ tbsp (for icing)
  • Cloves – 2-3
  • Banana essence – few drops
  • Vanilla essence – few drops
  • Baking powder – 1 tsp
  • Baking soda – ½ tsp
  • Icing sugar – 2 or 3 tbsp (for icing)

Method:

  1. Chop up the pear and banana. Blend the pear and banana together with the cloves.
  2. Cream the sugar and margarine in a bowl. Whisk in the vanilla essence, banana essence, juice of one orange and lime and the blended pear and banana. Mix well.
  3. Add ¼ cup of water to the bowl and stir.
  4. Sift together the flour, baking powder and baking soda.
  5. Alternatively add the oats and flour mix to the bowl of wet ingredients, mixing it well so that there are no lumps.
  6. Transfer the cake batter to the baking tray and bake at 170⁰C/ 338⁰F the cake for about 45 mins to 1 hour.
  7. While the cake cools, make a simple icing by beating together ½ tbsp margarine with 2-3 tbsp icing sugar and 1 tsp lime juice. Spread the lime icing evenly over the cake.
  8. Slice and serve the pear banana citrus cake with a cup of coffee after a meal.

Recipe source: Raji Thillainathan.

Mango Pudding

When you have some ripe mangoes at hand and you don’t feel like eating them just sliced as you usually do, then you could try out this quick to make, dessert for one.

Willard Mangoes

Willard Mangoes

Mango pudding

Time taken: 10 mins

Serves 1

Mango puddingIngredients:

  • Mango – ½ cup, ground
  • Sugar – 2 tbsp
  • Vanilla essence – ¼ tsp
  • Orange juice – 1 tbsp (optional)
  • Yellow colour – drop or two
  • Corn flour – 3 tbsp
  • Raisins – ½ tsp
  • Cashewnuts – ½ tsp, crushed
  • Vegetable oil margarine – 1 tsp

Method

  1. Blend the mango without water.
  2. In a saucepan, heat the ground mango with 2 tbsp sugar, ¼ tsp vanilla essence and 1 tbsp of water, stirring continuously for a minute or two. If you like a little citrus flavour to your pudding, add a tbsp of orange juice.
  3. Add the corn flour, stirring in a tbsp at a time. Continue stirring for 3-4 mins. If making for more than one person, consider using corn starch dissolved in water instead of corn flour.
  4. Add the raisins and crushed cashewnuts and stir for a min.
  5. Add the margarine and mix well. Remove the saucepan from stove and transfer the pudding to a mold.
  6. Serve plain or with some ice-cream on the side.

Recipe source: Raji Thillainathan.

Beetroot Roti

Roti with sambal has always been one of my comfort foods. Today’s recipe is one of my mother’s new versions of vegetable roti – this time, with beetroot.

Beetroot Roti

Time taken: 40 mins

Makes 4

Beetroot rottiIngredients:

  • Beetroot – ½ cup, grated
  • All-purpose flour -1  cup
  • Onion –  ½ , chopped
  • Green chillies – 1 or 2, chopped
  • Coconut – 1 tbsp, scraped
  • Salt – as required
  • Low fat oil – 2 tbsp

Method:

  1. Heat the grated beetroot with ¼ cup of water and a pinch of salt in a saucepan. Cook the beetroot till the water dries up.
  2. After the cooked beetroot has cooled, add the flour, chopped onion, chillies, scraped coconut, salt and oil to the grated beetroot.
  3. Mix well and stir in water to make the roti dough. Divide the roti dough into 4 balls.
  4. Let the balls of dough rest for about 15 mins before rolling out the dough balls to make a flattened roti disk.
  5. Cook each of the roti on a griddle, with 3-4 mins on each side.
  6. Serve the beetroot roti with red chilli sambal.

Recipe source: Raji Thillainathan.