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A perfect Sri Lankan Rice Puller – Sprats fry

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Sprats fry

Following up from the yummy egg kirihodi and pol sambola recipes I posted recently, I thought it would be apt to share a recipe for a dried fish fry which would complete one of Sri Lanka’s most favorite meal combos. Though I had previously shared a recipe for a dried fish fry, the recipe that I am about to share is something so much more simpler and easy to make. As easy as it is, I can guarantee it to be an amazing rice puller with a little bit of heat from green chilies, tang from a squeeze of lime and a bit of color from a sprinkling of red chili flakes.

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Sri Lankan Egg Curry – Kirihodi

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Kirihodi

My love for egg kirihodi is as strong as my love for Sri Lankan potato curry. This was one of those dishes that I would often request my mom to make, specially for breakfast or dinner. And on weekends that I know kirihodi is in the making for breaky, you will find me out of bed, in the kitchen without any prodding to wakeup.

A decade after leaving home, I still love this dish very much. Partly because it brings back so many fond memories, partly because it’s so damn delicious and also mostly because of its simplicity. By the time the eggs are done boiling in a separate pot, the kirihodi will be done and ready to go over a bowl of piping hot rice. In my case, slightly overcooked rice with a spoonful of vegemite.

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Pol Sambol – A Sri Lankan Relish

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Pol Sambol. These two words will always tingle the taste buds of any Sri Lankan, living anywhere in the world, at any time of the day. In my heart, this is a side dish that exactly defines what Sri Lanka is all about.

It has a medley of different flavors coming together harmoniously to create a flavor bomb that’ll lift up any simple meal into something gloriously Sri Lankan, uniquely delicious – just like my childhood filled with memories of neighbors of different races and religions living harmoniously, creating beautiful memories which I hold very dear to my heart even to this very day. I am probably being sappy as Sri Lanka is celebrating her 69th National Day today and I am somewhat yearning for my roots from miles away. But sappy or not, pol sambol truly is a delicious sidekick that is loved by many.

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Beetroot Curry

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Beetroot curry

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Though I was always in awe of the deep red blush beetroots add to a dish, my feelings towards beetroot curry was pretty neutral all along. That was until I learned how much my non-fussy better half loved beetroot curry. Since then beetroot has regularly accompanied my rice and curry meals and become a personal favorite too.

And why not when it is full of vitamins and antioxidants and so darn easy to whip up into a curry.

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Sri Lankan Hot Butter Cuttlefish

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Hot butter cuttlefish

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Hot butter cuttlefish (or HBC for short) is a dish that is synonymous with Sri Lankan Chinese cuisine. Yes, ‘Sri Lankan’ Chinese cuisine  because after a decade of living in a majority Chinese country, I’m yet to find Chinese food like those in Sri Lankan Chinese restaurants.

As popular as it is, quite surprisingly it is not one of my favorite or must-have dishes off the Chinese menu. Most probably because my family were bigger fans of sweetcorn soup, sweet and sour prawns, kangkung beef and devilled chicken.

However, with multiple HBC posts appearing in my insta feed and a friend who constantly raves about this glorious HBC, I couldn’t help but give this dish a go. So here’s sharing the recipe and  a few tips and tricks for the ever so popular hot butter cuttlefish. And it is just in time for Chinese New Year!…

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Beef & Lentil Soup

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Beef & Lentil SoupAs I’ve mentioned in a previous post, my family loves soups and it used to be a meal starter or even a complete meal at least twice a week! Though most of the soups at home were prepared by my sister and I (like our family favorite chicken and corn soup or the hot and spicy soup with tofu) there was one soup that was always made by my mom. That was the beef  and lentil soup with Sri Lankan flavors which was such a treat. There was something so delightful about gnawing and slurping a marrow bone – it was a rare treat at home considering it was not the healthiest cut of beef, but a delightful one nonetheless.

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Asian Style Steamed Seabass

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Steamed fish

Steamed fish is not something that I was familiar with nor did I ever think I will like until very recent.

During an outing at a Thai restaurant, my friend suggested that we order a steamed Seabass. I raised my eyebrows and thought to myself why not just order a crispy or grilled fish instead. But man oh man, was I glad that I agreed because it has since then become one of my absolute favorite dishes!

Naturally when I try out something at a restaurant or anywhere else for that matter and I fall in love with the dish, my immediate mission is to figure out a recipe to nail it at home. Simply because I love personalizing food to suit my taste buds (extra tangy and garlicky to be exact!). In this case it was not too hard a mission because it was really easy to figure out the bold and robust flavors in the dish immediately.

Loaded with a truckload of delicious aromatics, this dish is really a breeze to prepare, super fast to cook and absolutely good for you. Steaming helps to retain the natural juices and the goodness of the fish and the delicious Thai/Asian flavors makes it super exciting – it really is a flavor bomb. The juices of the fish combined with the aromatics makes it a perfect meal on its own with a bowl of piping hot plain white rice.

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Sri Lankan Chinese Rolls

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Sri Lankan Chinese Beef RollsOne of the things I love and miss the most about Sri Lankan cuisine is its myriad of utterly delicious short eats – better known as finger food or snacks elsewhere in the world. Most of these snacks are crispy, crunchy and golden (aka deep fried) and are so addictive. Out of the whole lot, cutlets have got to be one of my all time favourite – closely followed by Chinese rolls.

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