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 is Carnatic musician Manickam Yogeswaran. While primarily a classical musician, he has worked with several music groups including fusion group Dissidenten on the Instinctive Traveller album and Jocelyn Pook Ensemble 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 an upbeat song – Herb Alpert and Lani Hall Quintet’s version of Puttin’ on the Ritz from their grammy award-winning album Steppin’ Out. The second musician I am featuring today is Hussain Jiffry, the bassist in this quintet. He has worked with several musicians including Sérgio Mendes and Yanni.

Enjoy a lovely sunday!

Fried Rice

Servings: 4
Time: 30mins
Difficulty: easy
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Ingredients:

Basmathi rice – 2 cups
Carrot – ¼ cup, chopped
Green peas – ¼ cup
Leeks – ¼ cup, chopped
Onion – ¼ cup, chopped
Mixed 3C spice powder – clove, cinnamon, cardamom powder – 2 tsp
Kesari powder – ½ tsp (can use biryani powder or saffron or turmeric powder)
Low fat margarine – 50g or 3 tbsp
Cinnamon – 1 ~ 2’’ 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 sauté 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.

Repost: Murungai Ilai Kanji

As part of the rice series, I thought I would repost the recipe for a rice porridge that I had originally posted during the first month of this blog last year. I like this murungai ilai/ moringa leaves rice porridge that my mother occasionally makes.

Further, as I am reposting an older post, I thought it fitting to feature two musicians famous for their baila music from the 70s and 80s. Baila music is a form of popular Sri Lankan music that has its roots in the Kaffringha music of Sri Lanka. The Kaffringhas are descendants of Africans who were brought to Sri Lanka during the European colonial era and with them came a unique mix of creole music and dance that found its way to mainstream Sri Lankan music in the 60s and came to be known as Baila.

While personally not a fan of Baila music, I find some interesting.

The first baila song I will share today is ‘Cooranjaneetha Thurannai’ from the early 70s by A.E.Manoharan, an actor and a famous baila singer and composer both in Sri Lanka and in Tamil Nadu, India. I consider his most popular hit song as ‘Surangani‘ which he first wrote and composed in Sinhala then in the bilingual Sinhala and Tamil version which became very popular in South India that several versions of the song have been made since.

The second baila song is that of the Gypsies. The peak period of this group was in the 70s to the 90s. Their last album released in 2001 was called Ai (Why?) and included several baila songs satirizing the local socio-political environment. While I most remember their peace song ‘Lowe Sama‘ that was continuously played on TV and radio stations throughout the 80s and 90s, in keeping with the baila music of this post, I thought I would share a song from there last album here.

Enjoy the baila songs while preparing this kanji! 🙂

Murungai Ilai Kanji

Servings: 1-2
Time: 20mins
Difficulty: easy
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Ingredients:

Red raw rice – 3 tbsp
Murungai ilai/ Moringa leaves – 3 tbsp, chopped or ground
Carrot – ¼, chopped
Onion –1 tsp, chopped
Bean – 1, chopped
Pepper – ¼ tsp
Salt, to taste
Lime juice, to taste

Method:

Cook the rice in a pan with 1 cup of water for about 5 mins.
Add all the chopped vegetables and cook for another 10 – 15 mins.
Add the salt and pepper, to taste. Mix and cook for a couple of minutes before removing from the heat.
Drizzle some lime juice over the kanji before serving it hot.

Recipe source: Raji Thillainathan.

Sweet Yoghurt Rice

It is nice to have something sweet to welcome the weekend. So, today’s recipe is sweet yoghurt rice, a very easy and yummy 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 in Fiesta Friday #15.

Today’s featured music is of a special percussion group called Elephant Foot.

The first piece that I am sharing here, Rainforest, is what caught my attention some 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 Yoghurt Rice

Time taken: 25 mins

Serves 3

Ingredients:

White raw rice or Basmathi rice – 1 cup
Yoghurt – ½ cup
Raisins – 2 tsp
Nuts (any) – 2 tsp
Banana – ½ 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 is 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 – 1 cup
Turmeric – ½ tsp
Lime or lemon juice – 1 or 2 tbsp
Onion – ½, chopped
Dried red chillies – 1 or 2, as per taste
Fenugreek seeds – 1 tsp
Green peas – 2 tbsp, boiled
Salt, to taste
Sesame/ Gingelly oil – 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

The 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 Lankan folk 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 scene as you try out the recipe!

Sambhar Rice

Time taken: 45 mins

Serves 4

Ingredients:

Par-boiled red rice – 1 cup
Carrots – ½ cup, chopped
Beans – ½ cup, chopped
Brinjal – ½ cup, chopped
Mysore dhal – ¼ cup
Onion – ½, chopped
Chilli – 1, chopped
Curry leaves – 1 sprig
Tamarind juice – ½ cup
Curry powder – 1 tsp
Pepper – ½ tsp
Garlic cloves – 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.

Spicy Curd Rice

The rice dish for today is a tasty spicy, curd rice.

While not a fan of hip hop, I felt like featuring three musicians who are primarily considered hip hop artists though several of their songs cross over to other genres.

The first is Iraj Weeraratne. His songs like J town story, Gemak Deela caught my ears and eye over the years. In more recent years, he seems to be more engaged in composing or singing in Indian movies and multi-country collaborative song productions. The song that I am sharing here is from his debut album a decade ago – ‘J town Story’ with Krishan featuring Yawuwanan and Infaas.

The second featured musician is Ranidu Lankage. A R&B and hip hop musician and an economics graduate of Yale university, his first solo album released a decade ago was a huge success. Here, I am sharing the song that made him famous – Ahankara Nagare (the remix version with Iraj). While I haven’t listened to many other songs of his, I did like a recent song that he dedicated to all mothers – Amma mathakai nam.

The third featured musician of the day is Ashanthi de Alwis. She has released four music albums and featured in several songs of Bathiya and Santhush (I shared a recent production of the popular music duo in last week’s post). The song of Ashanthi’s shared here is an upbeat, catchy song ‘Papare’ featuring Krishan.

Spicy Curd Rice

Time taken: 30 persons

Serves 3

Ingredients:

Rice – 1 cup
Curd – ½ cup
Crushed chillies – 1 tsp (optional)
Chickpeas – 1 tbsp, fried
Dried red chillies – 2, chopped (adjust according to taste)
Onion – ½ , chopped
Fenugreek – 1 tsp
Curry leaves – 2 sprigs
Sesame/ Gingelly oil – 1 tbsp

Method:

Lightly fry the chopped onion, fenugreek seeds, curry leaves and chopped dried chillies in a tablespoon of sesame oil.
Add the crushed chillies and fried chickpeas to the pan.
Next, add the yoghurt and mix well before adding the boiled rice.
Stir well before removing from heat and serve immediately.

Recipe source: Raji Thillainathan.

Kanji

Today’s dish is Kanji or rice porridge, a favourite of my father.

The featured musician today is Pradeep Ratnayake. Given that one of my favourite musicians is Ravi Shankar, it follows that I also appreciate the music of the two best contemporary sitar players in Sri Lanka – Pradeep Ratnayake and Sarangan Sriranganathan (whom I featured in yesterday’s post). Pradeep Ratnayake’s sitar training started at the age of five and he eventually chose a degree in sitar at Santiniketan over a degree in mathematics. Among other concert performances, he initiated his Pradeepanjalee concerts in 1997 which has become an annual concert performed usually at a different location around the world.

The first piece of Pradeep Ratnayake shared here is an original composition titled ‘Kuweni Concerto for sitar, cello and orchestra: Movement 1.’

The second piece is Wine-coloured moon (Melbourne version) with Joe Chindamo (piano), Alston Joachim (bass) and Daniel Farrugio (drums).

Enjoy the instrumental music clips while trying out the rice porridge (Kanji).

Kanji

Time taken: 20 mins

Serves 2

Ingredients:

Red raw rice – 2 tbsp
Milk (Coconut or non-fat) – 1 cup
Water – 1 cup
Salt, to taste
Pepper – ¼ tsp (optional)
Garlic – 2 or 3 cloves, chopped (optional)
Sugar – 1 tsp (optional)

Method

Cook 2 tbsp of red raw rice in 1 cup of water for about 10 – 15 mins.
Once the water dries up, add the milk to the cooked rice along with a pinch of salt. The optional ingredients such as pepper and garlic can be added now, if required. Cook for about 5 mins.
Transfer to the serving bowls. Add a dash of sugar, if you like. Serve warm.

Recipe source: Raji Thillainathan.

Tomato Rice

My mother wanted to have a rice series so I will be sharing some of her rice recipes starting today with tomato rice.

With each of the rice dish recipe, I will also be sharing a song or two by an interesting, contemporary Sri Lankan musician whose music I have enjoyed. Today’s featured musician is Sarangan Sriranganathan. Coming from a musical family, he has been on the Sri Lankan music scene for at least fifteen years. For today, I chose two video clips that I was able to find online. The first is an original composition by Sarangan – அவள் ஒரு மெல்லிய பூங்காற்று (literal translation: She is a light, fragrant breeze) featuring famous Indian musician Hariharan.

I like that he is well able to shift between classical and popular music and I particularly like the classical music concerts. So, my second video clip is Sarangan’s performance in Sydney of one of his mother‘s original compositions ‘Bhava Raaga Thaala – Thillana.’

Enjoy the delicious tomato rice as you listen to the music clips! 🙂

Tomato Rice

Time taken: 30 mins

Serves 3

Ingredients:

Rice – 1 cup, boiled
Tomatoes – 2
Onion – ½ , large
Curry leaves – 1 sprig
Fenugreek – 1 tsp
Chilli powder – ½ tsp
Chickpea – 2 tbsp, fried
Oil – 1 tbsp

Method:

Heat the oil and lightly fry the onion, curry leaves and fenugreek.
Add chopped tomatoes and chilli powder and continue frying for a few minutes before removing from heat.
Blend the cooled tomato mixture into a puree.
Re-heat the puree in the pan adding some water, if required.
Add the boiled rice and the fried chickpea to the pan and mix well.
Serve with sliced onion or onion salad.

Recipe source: Raji Thillainathan.

Mung Kavum

Mung Kavum is another New Year delicacy. I find it similar to payatham paniyaram, a north Sri Lankan festival snack that is usually prepared at my home. The difference is that in the north, it is made a little more spicy by the addition of cumin and pepper.

As I am writing this, I am listening to a new song of Bathiya & Santhush, a popular Sri Lankan band. Sharing it with you as well.

Mung Kavum

Time taken: 1 hour

Makes 25 – 30

Ingredients:

Rice flour – 500g + 250g
Green gram flour – 1 Kg
Pol pani/ Coconut treacle – 3 cups (~700ml)
Margarine – 3 tsp
Cardamom powder – 1 or 2 tsp
Turmeric powder – ½ tsp
Salt, to taste
Oil, for deep-frying

Method:

Warm up the pol pani. Remove from heat.
Add 500g rice flour, green gram flour, cardamom powder and margarine to the warmed up pol pani.
Mix together to form a dough and roll it out. Cut into diamond shapes and keep aside.
Prepare the batter by gradually adding water to 250g rice flour mixed with ½ tsp of turmeric powder and a pinch of salt.
Heat the oil in a pan.
Dip the diamond shapes in the batter to coat it on all sides and then deep-fry.

Recipe source: Lalitha Senadheera.

Kokis

Today’s New Year traditional dish recipe is that of Kokis. It is a type of fried cookie which I used to think was typically Sri Lankan. However, during my Indian culinary journey last year, I came across Ruchik Randhap’s Mangalorean cuisine site and there was a recipe for Kokis (referred to in Mangalore as Kokkisan or Rose cookies). One of my friends from Sweden, Malin, then informed me that kokis reminded her very much of the Scandinavian traditional cookies called Rosettes. I guess the cookie found its way to India and Sri Lanka during the Dutch era here.

The only difference in Sri Lanka is that unlike in the rest of the countries where it is a very traditional Christmas cookie, in Sri Lanka it is part of the Sri Lankan New Year food (celebrated primarily by the Buddhists and Hindus in the country) and not part of the Christmas cuisine.

Kokis

Time taken: 1 ½ hours

Makes 35 to 40

Ingredients:

Rice flour – 500g
Turmeric – ½ tsp
Coconut milk – 1 cup
Water – ½ cup
Egg – 1 (optional)
Salt, to taste
Oil, for deep-frying

Method:

Mix all the ingredients together to make the batter.
Heat the oil in a pan over medium heat.
Prepare the kokis mould by placing it in the oil until it is heated.
Plunge the mould into the batter until it is coated and then place it in the oil pan.
Using a skewer or pointed end of a spoon or fork, gently slide the kokis off the mould as soon as it starts to puff up and is easy to slide it off without crumbling it.
Fry the kokis until golden brown and remove from pan.
Repeat the process by heating the mould in the oil for a few seconds before plunging it in the batter. This allows the kokis batter to first coat the mould and then to slide off without sticking to the mould.
Store in an air-tight container.

Recipe source: Lalitha Senadheera.