Author Archives: Ajith

Seafood and Vegetable Rice

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For special occasions my Mum used to make different flavoured rice dishes for the family. I thought I would share some of them with you. This is one of my popular dinner party dishes – my Mum only ever used fresh ingredients, so I haven’t used any frozen ingredients or artificial flavours or colours.

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INGREDIENTS 

500g Basmati rise (washed twice and soaked in a cold water for about 15 minutes)

Pinch of saffron stems

50g pine nuts (roasted in a pan until golden)

100g carrots (peeled and cut into matchsticks)

100 white cabbage (washed and shredded)

5 tbs chopped parsley

1 tbs chopped garlic

1 large red onion (chopped)

150g fresh prawns (shelled, cleaned and roughly chopped)

200g fresh boneless and skinless cod (diced)

3 tbs vegetable oil

1 lemon

Salt and pepper

METHOD

Mix the seafood with the juice of half a lemon, salt and pepper and keep on one side. Put the rice into the pan with water (follow the instructions on your particular brand of rice), a pinch of salt and half a lemon. When the water comes to a boil, lower the flame, add the saffron then cover and simmer until the rice is cooked and fluffy (adding more hot water if required). Remove from the heat, take out the lemon and squeeze the juice into the rice. Gently stir with a folk or the handle of a wooden spoon.

Heat a pan with a little oil, then add carrot and cook for a few seconds before adding to the rice mixture. Do the same with the cabbage. In the same pan add the remaining oil, sauté the garlic and onion then add the seafood mixture. When the prawns become light orange, remove from the heat and add into the rice mixture. Sprinkle the pine and parsley over the rice and stir gently to mix. Finally, check the seasoning. Serve nice and hot.

 

Devilled Potato with Cashew (Kaju Ala Baduma)

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Devilled Potato with Cashew (Kaju Ala Baduma)

ala raduna kaju

In Sri Lanka we have quite a few varieties of potatoes, and we use them in many different ways. My Mum used to cook this popular dish with potato deep fried in coconut oil. My own recipe uses a lot less oil but tastes exactly the same.

INGREDIENTS

500g potato (peeled and diced)
250g onion (sliced)
100g cashew nuts (roasted in the oven until golden brown)
Handful of curry leaves
4tbs olive oil
2 tbs lemon or lime juice
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
2 tbs crushed red chilli
1 cinnamon stick
Salt

METHOD

Heat the oven to 180*. Arrange the potatoes on a baking tray and sprinkle with some oil, salt and turmeric powder. Bake for about 25 minutes. While the potatoes are cooking, heat the rest of the oil in a pan and add onion, cinnamon and curry leaves. When the onions are soft and caramelised, add the chilli and cashew nuts and mix well together. Add the potatoes and mix well together. Finally, add the lemon or lime juice and check the seasoning. Serve with rice, bread or my String Hopper Biryani or Vegetable Biryani for a pure vegetarian meal.

Pineapple Cake (Annasi Cake)

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 Pineapple Cake (Annasi cake)

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Pineapple is a very common fresh fruit throughout the whole year in Sri Lanka. In Europe it can be very hard to find a nice orange ripe fresh pineapple with an amazing smell. Instead, we tend to find green pineapples grown in glasshouses. In Sri Lanka we use pineapple a lot for a cooking, beverages, sweets and cakes. Upside-down cake was one of my teenage favourite cakes, here is my own recipe for pineapple cake suitable to serve as dessert at a dinner party.

 

INGREDIENTS

125g butter or margarine, softened

125g caster sugar

2 medium eggs

125g self raising flour

1 tsp baking powder

1 tbs milk

1 tbs lemon juice

 

METHOD

Heat the oven to 180′. Line a small round cake tin with baking parchment. Cream the butter and the sugar together until pale (use an electric hand mixer if you have one). Beat in the eggs. Sift the four and baking powder together then fold into the butter and egg mixture using a large metal spoon. Add the milk and lemon juice, then pour the mixture into the lined cake tin. Gently spread out with a spatula then bake for 20-25 minutes until an inserted skewer comes out clean. Allow to stand for 5 minutes before turning onto a wire rack.

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For the pineapple stew
1 ripe medium pineapple (peeled and diced)
2 pieces of cinnamon stick
4 tbs sugar
Mixed all together and slow cook until the pineapple has absorbed the syrup and become dry. Remove the cinnamon sticks then let the stew cool down

Icing 
100g unsalted butter
175g icing sugar
Mix all together until a smooth cream (or use whipped double cream)

Cut the cake in two, sandwich with the cream and pineapple stew, decorate and finish as you like.

 

Dhal and Carrot Curry (Carrot Parippu Vanjanaya)

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Dhal and Carrot Curry (Carrot Parippu Vanjanaya)

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In Sri Lanka we have a few varieties of lentils. Red lentils are the most popular because you can fix a quick and easy meal with them. Red lentils are full of nutrition. I have already published a recipe for spinach and lentil curry but do try with baby carrot and dhal.

INGREDIENTS

200g red lentils (washed a couple of times)
200g baby carrot (peeled and sliced)
1 onion (sliced)
3 cloves of garlic (chopped)
3 sprigs of curry leaves
2 green chilli (sliced)
1 medium tomato (diced)
1 tsp curry powder
1 tsp mustard powder
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
1/2 tsp red chilli powder
1 small cinnamon stick
1 cup water
1 cup coconut milk
Salt to taste

METHOD

Wash the lentils well and rinse, then add to a pan with the one cup of water and all the ingredients except coconut milk and salt. Bring to a boil and let simmer until the lentils are soft, then add the coconut milk and salt. Stir well and adjust the seasoning, let it simmer then remove from the heat. You can try with rice or bread. Enjoy!

Cabbage Leaves Salad (Gova Kola Malluma)

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Cabbage Leaves Salad (Gova Kola Malluma)

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In Sri Lanka you can find two or three varieties of cabbage the whole year. I already did a few different dishes in my blog, this is the one of my Mum’s favourites. She used to mix chopped cabbage ribs (from the centre of the leaf) together with the finely shredded leaves. In most of the Sri Lankan gardens you can easily find green cabbage leaves growing in flower pots. Apart from its wonderful taste, the good thing about this dish is it is very low in saturated fat and cholesterol. It is also a good source of thiamin and many other nutrients.

INGREDIENTS
250g green cabbage (wash and shred the leaves finely)
I onion (finely shredded)
2 garlic cloves (crushed and chopped)
2 green chilli (finely chopped)
1/2 freshly grated coconut
1/2 lemon or lime juice
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
1/2 tsp mustard powder
1/2 crushed dry chilli
Salt and black pepper

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METHOD

Mix the coconut with all the ingredients except the cabbage and lime. Heat the nonstick pan, add the mixture and cook for about 5 to 7 minutes. Then add the cabbage, mix with the edge of a wooden spoon. Immediately remove from the heat and add the lemon juice, check the seasoning. For best results prepare this dish at the very last moment when you are ready to eat.

Sri Lankan Vegetable Biryani

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Sri Lankan Vegetable Biryani

 

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I never use artificial colours or flavours in my cooking. They were not available to my mother, and she taught me to create the full flavour from the natural ingredients themselves. A biryani is rice cooked together usually with meat or fish, but this pure vegetable version that I have made on  special occasions in Sri Lanka and here in London is so tasty that you won’t miss the meat. All the root vegetables and the aubergine are roasted in the oven to get more flavour, and the green vegetables are cooked with rice (to keep them green). My friends and family all love this dish, and I hope you will too!

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INGREDIENTS

500g rice
250g green vegetables (beans, asparagus, courgette)
350g root vegetables (parsnips, carrot, sweet potato, onion, celeriac)
3 tbs ginger and garlic (chopped)
1 aubergine (diced)
150g tomato (chopped)
100g leeks or spring onion (sliced)
Handful of basil leaves or coriander leaves
4 sprigs curry leaves
1 tbs dry herbs
1 tsp coriander seeds
1 tsp cumin seeds
1/2 black pepper seeds
1/2 mustard seeds
1 tbs cardamom, cloves, cinnamon stick and star anise
Pinch of saffron strands, or turmeric powder
50g roasted cashew nuts
3 tbs olive oil
1/2 half lemon
3 tbs plain yogurt
Boiling water
Salt and pepper to taste

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METHOD

Preheat the oven to 180*. Dice and mix all the root vegetables with aubergine, oil, dry herbs and seasoning. Use the pestle and mortar to grind the seeds. Boil the rice with the cardamom, cloves, cinnamon and star anise and the lemon. When the rice is cooked, squeeze the lemon and remove the whole spices. Then add the diced green vegetables and cover. Heat the oil in a pan and add ginger, garlic, curry leaves, spice seeds powder, tomato, leeks and yogurt. Remove from the heat and season. Mix all together and add cashews and chopped basil, then garnish as you like. I served mine with boiled egg curry and devilled potato.

Sri Lankan Chocolate Roll

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Sri Lankan Chocolate Roll

When I was small, my Dad never forgot to buy this ready-made chocolate roll for me to share with my friends and teachers on the last day of school. He bought it from a well-known bakery and confectionery, Elephant House in Colombo.

Chocolate Roll
INGREDIENTS

175g self raising flour
150g sugar
125g butter (melted)
3 eggs
1/4 cup milk
1 tbs cocoa powder
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp vanilla essence
Pinch of salt

For the Sandwich Cream
100g soft butter
125g icing sugar
1 tbs cocoa powder
1/2 tsp cinnamon powder
1 tsp honey

Mix all the ingredients together with a wooden spoon

METHOD
Preheat the oven to 180*C, Gas Mark 4. Lightly grease a shallow tin 12′ x 15′ (lined with baking paper). Sift the flour with baking powder, cocoa powder and salt. Mix together the eggs, sugar, milk, butter, vanilla and then add flour mixture a little at a time until it is free of lumps. Pour into the lined tray, bake for about 30 minutes. Let it cool down on a wire rack.

On a tea towel, arrange a double layer of clingfilm and put the cake on the top. Spread the cream all over with a flat knife.
Using the tea towel as a guide, carefully roll up the cake away from you, along with the clingfilm. Tie both ends of the clingfilm and let it cool and set up in the fridge. Then remove clingfilm, slice and serve. You can freeze this and keep it for quite some time.

Jackfruit Curry (Polos Vanjanaya)

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Jackfruit Curry (Polos Vanjanaya)

jack fruit curry
Jackfruit curry is one of the most popular vegetarian dishes in Sri Lanka. But for us living abroad it is very hard to find a fresh young jackfruit. Canned jackfruit is available in Asian shops in most countries, it is green jackfruit in water. So I use a can of this for this recipe.

INGREDIENTS

1 tin green Jackfruit in water (drained)
1 onion chopped
3 green chillies chopped
3 garlic cloves chopped
3 sprigs curry leaves
2-3 goraka
1 tsp roasted curry powder
1 tsp chilli powder
1/2 turmeric powder
1/2 mustard seeds
1 tbs vegetable oil
1 cup coconut milk
1/4 cup water
Salt to taste

Jackfruit tree Singapore

METHOD

Heat the pan with oil, then add onion, garlic, chilli, mustard seeds, and curry leaves. Fry until golden brown then add all the spices and mix well. Mix in the jackfruit and quarter cup of water, cover and simmer for 10 minutes then add the coconut milk. Check the seasoning, let it simmer until the gravy becomes thick and absorbs the spices. Remove from the heat and serve with rice or string hoppers. For the best result you can make this a few days before serving, the flavour improves.

Coconut Cake (Pol Cake)

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Coconut Cake (Pol Cake)

Coconut Cake

From my childhood, every Sinhalese New Year my mother made lots of sweets – including coconut cake. I still recall those unforgettable sweet memories. I thought it would be nice to share with you all on this upcoming Sinhala and Tamil New Year this lovely coconut cake. I hope you will like it.

INGREDIENTS
500g grated fresh coconut, or frozen
250g sugar
1 cup water
150g rice flour
4 eggs
125g butter
100g cashew nuts (coarsely chopped)
150g dates (seeded and chopped)
75g sultanas
50g candied peel
1 tsp allspice
1 tsp cinnamon powder
1 tsp cardamom powder
1 tbs baking powder
Pinch of salt

METHOD

Caramelise the sugar by putting it in a saucepan on the heat until golden brown. Don’t stir during this process. After, add water and let it boil until thick. Add coconut and all the spices, mixing together and cooking until the caramel has absorbed into the coconut (this is what is known as pani pol, or coconut honey). Remove from the heat, let it cool down then add the eggs, butter, flour, baking powder, dry fruits and salt. Heat the oven to 180*, line a tray with greaseproof paper and pour in the mixture topping with the cashews. Bake for 45 minutes. You can make this cake ahead and it will keep nicely for over a week. Enjoy!

Sri Lankan Capsicum Curry with Potato (Ala Malumiris Vanjanaya)

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Sri Lankan Capsicum Curry with Potato (Ala Malumiris Vanjanaya)

Capsicum Curry

Food is all about memories – Mum used to make this vegetable curry using hand-ground herbs and spices with freshly-grated coconut milk. The tastes were amazing! You can make a cheat’s version using instant coconut milk powder or tinned coconut milk, unsweetened*.

INGREDIENTS
300g capsicum (slit the capsicum length-wise, removing the seeds)
200g potato (diced and parboiled)
100g onion (sliced)
3 sprigs curry leaves
2 red chilli (diced)
1 tsp curry powder
1/2 tsp cinnamon powder or stick
1 tsp mustard powder
1/2 turmeric powder
1 tsp roasted curry powder
1/2 cup lighter coconut milk
1/2 cup thick coconut milk
Salt to taste

METHOD
Arrange a pan with the capsicum, onion, chilli, curry leaves and all the spices except the roasted curry powder.
Add the light coconut milk and mix together. Cook for about 15 minutes until the capsicum has absorbed the milk; then add the potato and thick coconut milk, and stir well. Check the seasoning and simmer until the gravy thickens. Remove from the heat, sprinkle some roasted curry powder over and – enjoy!

*available in most supermarkets