Fried bean curd

This is the most common way my mother makes bean curd at home.

Fried bean curd

Cooking time: 15 – 20 minutes

Serves 4

Ingredients:

Bean curd – 150 g
Onion – 1
Ginger – 1 inch
Garlic – 2 or 3 cloves
Capsicum – 1 or green chillies – 3
Soya sauce – 1 tbsp
Tomato sauce – 2 tbsp
Low fat oil (sunflower or canola) – 2 tsp

Method:

Cut the bean curd into 1 inch pieces and deep fry the pieces until browned.
Chop onion, ginger, garlic and chillies.
Heat the oil in the pan and sauté the chopped onion, ginger, garlic and chillies.
Add the soya sauce and tomato sauce and sauté for 1 minute.
Add the fried bean curd pieces and fry for another 3 to 5 minutes.
Serve hot with rice or soup noodles.

Recipe source: Raji Thillainathan.

Curry powder for meat based dishes

In addition to the regular all-purpose curry powder, this special blend curry powder is used for meat based dishes. At local grocery stores around Sri Lanka, one can buy little packets of ‘iraitchi sarakku’/ dried spices for meat curries.

This curry powder is used for chicken and other meat dishes as well as crabmeat and squid dishes.

Ingredients

Fennel seeds – ½ cup
Cinnamon – 1 inch and thick
Cloves – 8 to 10
Cardamom – 6 to 8
Dried sathikkai/ nutmeg – 1
Dried kungumapoo/ dried saffron flower – 1 or 2

Method:

Dry roast the ingredients lightly and then, grind the roasted ingredients into powder.
Store the curry powder in an airtight container.
This quantity of curry powder can be used for about 10 meat-based curries.

Recipe source: Raji Thillainathan.

Panangai Paniyaaram

My aunt sent us some ‘panangai paniyaaram’ that she had made, after a visit to her home in Jaffna. So, I asked her to share the recipe for this Jaffna delicacy. I have also shared an introduction to the different ways the palmyrah is used in the north, at my mother’s request, and I hope I have covered the key aspects in my previous post.

Panangai Paniyaaram

Time taken: 45 mins – 1 hour

Makes 20 – 25 paniyaaram

Ingredients:

Very ripe Palm fruit (Panangai) – 1
Coconut milk – ¼ to ½ cup
Sugar – ¼ cup
Steamed wheat flour – 1 ½ cups
Oil, as required for deep frying

Method:

Remove the skin of the palm fruit. If it is difficult, it can be held over a fire for a few minutes before the black outer skin is peeled off with a knife. This leaves the fibrous orange fruit and the three seeds.
The fruit can be divided into three portions along with each of the three seeds. Mix each portion of the fruit and seed with a little water, in a basin, to make it pulpy.
Strain the pulpy juice using a clean cloth and extract 1 cup of palm fruit juice.
Boil the extracted palm juice, together with the coconut milk and sugar. Cook for 10 mins and then remove from heat.
After the boiled mixture has cooled enough that you can put your finger in it without getting burnt or scalded, stir in the wheat flour slowly till the batter reaches a consistency that you can pick by hand. Not all the wheat flour needs to be used but just enough to reach this consistency. If the batter is still watery, add a little more steamed wheat flour.
Heat some oil in a pan on low heat.
Drop small balls of batter in batches of 5 to 6 and deep fry till they are orange/ golden throughout. Remove before they brown.
Enjoy this Jaffna delicacy with some hot Sri Lankan plain tea and a piece of palm jaggery.

Recipe source: Vijayalakshmi Yogeswaran.

Dal curry

This is my mother’s recipe for cooking Mysore dal, a curry that is a regular at home.

Mysore dal curry

Time taken: 15 – 20 mins

Serves 4

Ingredients

Mysore dal – 1 cup
Green chilli – 1
Onion – ¼
Curry leaves – 1 sprig
Rampe leaf/ pandan
Non-fat milk (for lacto vegetarians and better for those having cholesterol issues) or Coconut milk (for vegans) – ½ cup
Turmeric – ¼ tsp
Crushed chilli – 1 tsp
Garlic – 1, crushed
Pepper – ½ tsp
Salt, to taste

Method:

Wash and clean the dal.
Cook the cleaned dal in 1 ½ cups of water, together with the chopped green chilli, onion, curry leaves and rampe.
Once the dal is cooked and the water dries up, add ½ cup of non-fat milk or coconut milk along with the crushed garlic, chilli flakes, turmeric powder, pepper powder and salt to taste.
Let the dal cook for another few minutes till the ingredients combine.
Remove from heat and serve with rice.

Recipe source: Raji Thillainathan.

Okra stir-fry

This is one of my mother’s favourite recipes as she really likes okra.

Okra stir-fry

Time taken: 10 – 15 mins

Serves 4

Ingredients:

Okra – 200g, whole
Onion – 1, small and chopped
Red chilli – 1, chopped
Curry leaves – 1 sprig
Fennel seeds – ½ tsp
Turmeric powder – ¼ tsp
Pepper powder – ¼ tsp
Salt – ¼ tsp
Oil

Method:

Boil some water. When the water comes to a boil, drop the okra prior to chopping, in the boiling water and take them out after a minute and immerse them in a bowl of ice-cold water. This reduces the sliminess of the okra and retains the colour.
Chop the blanched okra into ½ or 1 inch pieces.
Marinate the okra pieces by adding some turmeric, salt and pepper. Mix and keep aside.
Heat 1 tbsp of oil in a pan. Fry the chopped onion, red chilli, curry leaves with the fennel seeds for a few minutes.
Add the marinated pieces of okra and combine well. Cover the pan and allow the okra to cook for about 5 mins.
Remove from heat and serve with rice.

Source: Raji Thillainathan.

Idiyappam with Sodhi

Idiyappam/ Idiyappa/ Stringhoppers with Kilanghu sodhi/ Ala hodhi is a food that is part of all the different cuisines of Sri Lanka. Everyone around the country either regularly or occasionally makes or buys stringhoppers. It is generally consumed for dinner or breakfast. While my mother has reduced making it as it is easier to buy them, she occasionally makes it when anyone at home is sick. It is considered lighter on the stomach and easily digestible.

Idiyappam/ Idiyappa/ Stringhoppers

Cooking time: 20 mins

Makes 10 – 12 stringhoppers

Ingredients:

Roasted rice flour – ½ cup
Steamed wheat flour – ½ cup
Salt, to taste
Water, as required

Method:

Boil around 1½ cups of water and then cool it slightly for a couple of minutes so that it is still hot but not boiling hot.
Mix the roasted rice flour, steamed wheat flour and some salt and add the hot water slowly, continuing to stir. The water needs to be carefully added so that there is not too much or too little but just enough to make it all come together as a dough and not stick to fingers when tested.
Fill the stringhopper mould/ ural with some of the dough mix and squeeze out the string hoppers onto the stringhopper trays. There are stringhopper machines now that simplify this process.
Place 5 or 6 trays, at a time, in the steamer and cook the stringhoppers for 5 mins.
Serve stringhoppers with sodhi and any other curry.

Kilanghu Sodhi/ Ala Hodhi

Cooking time: 15 mins

Serves 3

Ingredients:

Potato – 1
Chilli – 1
Onion – ¼
Curry leaves – 1 sprig
Coconut milk – 1 cup
Turmeric powder – ½ tsp
Pepper – ½ tsp
Salt, to taste

Method:

Chop up the potato, chilli, onion and curry leaves and cook them in a pan with some water.
Once the potato is cooked, add the coconut milk, turmeric, pepper and some salt, to taste.
Bring the ‘sodhi’ to boil two or three times before removing from heat.
Serve with the stringhoppers.

Recipe source: Raji Thillainathan.

Pongal

My mother often recounts a story from her childhood years, particularly ones that include her grandmother. One story she is fond of narrating is about how her grandmother used to undertake her own farming and not use machines or chemicals. My great-grandmother, who was the last farmer in our family lost her husband at a young age and raised her three children on her own. She had some paddy land and a small vegetable farm, which she managed to buy with her own earning. While she did hire farm labourers when needed, she did a lot of work on her field herself. Also, she raised cows and goats and undertook organic farming. Compost was made on her farm and used in her field. She had her land ploughed with a hand-plough and planted the paddy seeds. When the seeds started growing, just like any other small time farmer, she undertook the weeding together with the help of some hired hands.

The harvesting season was a special process and the cut grain stalks would be loaded onto bullock carts and brought home for the grains to be separated from the husks. By the time they were brought home, it would be night. As there was no electricity in their home at that time, three or four petromax lamps were lighted. My mother remembers that she was very much excited during those days and didn’t want to go to sleep but stay up and watch. It seemed like a carnival at her grandmother’s home, with the place lighted up and movement of people throughout the night.

A pole was planted in the middle of the yard and large woven mats placed around the pole. The cut stalks were spread on the mat. The buffaloes were tied to the pole and two or three hired help would walk the buffaloes around the pole. This was the old process to separate the grains from the husks. My mother remembers watching the men walk the buffaloes calling out, “poli.” The stalks were then picked up and thrashed onto the mat and the grains would separate out and fall. These were then packed up in sacks.

The first handfuls of grain were beaten in a stone or wood “ural” to separate the raw rice from the grain. This was made into the first pongal of the harvest. Everyone who helped would be invited for a meal and given bags of grains.

Family members who had died were also remembered on that day and a large variety of food was made. My mother mentions that a special offering was made that day, as part of the remembrance ritual, called the “puthir.” Her grandmother used to take some of the pongal made from the first rice from the harvest and spread it out on a large tray. Then, all types of available fruits were cut up and layered on top of the pongal. Honey was poured over the fruits. A sampling of all the vegetable curries that were made were also layered on top of the pongal-fruit-honey mix. Finally, ghee was poured over the tray of food and everything was mixed together. After the prayers were made, a little “puthir” was handed as “prasadham” (blessed offering) to everyone present.

Today, I will share the recipe of pongal that is made with the first harvest of the season by farmers and by non-farmers on festival days such as the Pongal festival in January, New Year in April and other celebrations.

Pongal

Cooking time: 30 to 40 mins

Serves 4 or 5

Ingredients:

Rice – 1 cup
Roasted split gram (without skin) – ¼ cup
Jaggery – 1 cup (grated)
Coconut – ½
Cardamom – 4 or 5, crushed
Cashew nuts – few, chopped
Raisins – 1 tbsp
Water

Method:

Wash the rice and gram and cook them in a pot with 2 ½ cups of water. Cook for around 15 to 20 mins, till the water dries up.
Grind and extract coconut milk by blending the freshly scraped half of a coconut with 1 cup of water.
Once the rice and gram is cooked, add the grated jaggery and mix.
Then, add the coconut milk and crushed cardamoms. Bring to a boil on high heat and cook for a few more minutes before reducing the heat.
Add the chopped cashew nuts. Cook until the pongal mixture starts coming together and starts to thicken.
Just before removing from heat, add the raisins and mix.
Remove from heat and cover.
Serve pongal with bananas.

Recipe source: Raji Thillainathan.

Papaya and Orange juice

My mother has always been fascinated by the health benefits of different fruits and she has always tried to encourage my siblings and I to drink fresh fruit juices since we were kids. Based on her request, I will be sharing a few fruit juices, not for the recipe as they are very much straightforward blending, but because they are considered exceptionally healthy by her.

Today’s fruit juice is papaya and orange juice. My mother has always been fond of papaya while I could not be persuaded to eat papaya for a very long time. The only way I would have papaya was when it was mixed with something else that I liked. A papaya and orange mixed fruit juice was perfect. Papayas are supposedly good for people with diabetes as well as those with colon cancer, besides being a great fruit for the digestive system.

Papaya and Orange juice

Time taken: 5 mins

Serves 1

Ingredients:

Papaya – ½ cup, chopped
Orange – 1, squeezed
Water – 1 cup

Method:

Blend all three ingredients and serve (chilling is optional).

Jaggery and coconut cake

My mother makes scrumptious cakes. Some of my favourites are the basic butter cake and the chocolate cake. However, on this site, I will share a cake recipe or two of my mother’s that is both vegan and made with typically Sri Lankan ingredients.

Today’s recipe is that of my mother’s jaggery and coconut cake. The key ingredient here is the jaggery.

Jaggery and Coconut cake

Time taken: 1 hour

Makes 12 – 16 pieces if baked in a 6”x6” baking pan

Ingredients:

Grated jaggery (palm or kithul) – 1 cup
Water – 1 cup
Low fat sunflower oil margarine (Flora, for e.g.) – ¾ cup (150g)
Wheat flour – 1 cup
Semolina – ¼ cup
Roasted coconut – ¼ cup
Coconut powder – 1 cup (100g)
Cardamom – 4
Vanilla essence – few drops
Baking powder – 1 tsp
Baking soda – ¼ tsp
Cashew nuts – ½ cup, chopped or a little for sprinkling (optional)

Method:

Mix the wheat flour, semolina, baking powder and baking soda and keep aside.
Put the jaggery, margarine, water in a blender. Add the vanilla essence and crushed cardamom seeds. Blend for about a minute or two.
Then, add the coconut powder and roasted coconut to the mix in the blender and blend for another minute or two.
Pour the batter into a mixing bowl.
Stir in the flour mix gradually into the batter and mix well.
Add the chopped cashew nuts and mix.
Pour the batter into the baking pan and sprinkle some chopped cashew nuts on top.
Bake in a preheated oven at 140⁰C/ 284⁰F for around 40 – 45 minutes.
Serve with some Sri Lankan tea or fresh fruit juice.

Recipe source: Raji Thillainathan.

Triple layer veggie sandwich

Sandwiches are another globally popular and much consumed food. Everyone is sure to have their own recipe for what they like in their sandwich.

The second recipe I wish to share today is a sandwich that is commonly served at kids birthday parties, tea parties and even cocktail events in Sri Lanka. While there might be slightly different ways on how this party snack is made in the country, I am sharing here the way my mother makes them.

Triple layer veggie sandwich

Cooking time: 15 – 20 mins

Makes 2 or 4 sandwiches

Ingredients:

Sandwich bread – 4 pieces
Carrot – ¼
Beetroot – ¼
Mint or green peas – 2 tsp (mint is the more popular choice, though green peas is used in the photo here)
Green chilli – ½, finely chopped
Onion – ½, finely chopped
Low fat sunflower oil margarine – 1 ½ tsp (my mother uses flora margarine)
Salt and pepper, to taste

Method:

Boil or steam carrot and beetroot slices.
Grate separately and add 1 tsp finely chopped onion, ½ tsp margarine and salt and pepper to taste to the two vegetables. Keep aside.
Crush or coarsely grind the boiled green peas or mint with the green chilli and 1 tsp finely chopped onion. Add ½ tsp margarine with salt and pepper to taste and mix well.
Make the sandwich by layering each slice of sandwich bread with one of the vegetables mixtures, starting with the carrot mixture on the first layer, the beetroot mixture on the second and the mint or green peas mixture on the third.
Cut off the edges and cut the sandwich into two or four triple layer, colourful sandwiches.
Serve with hot Sri Lankan tea or fresh fruit juice.

Recipe source: Raji Thillainathan.