SRI LANKAN EMBASSY PROMOTES COOKBOOK – ‘RICE AND CURRY’ –IN THE UNITED STATES
WASHINGTON – Ambassador Jaliya Wickramasuriya joined Washington-area guests last week to celebrate the release of Rice and Curry, a new cookbook by Sarath Fernando, a Sri Lankan-American author who has worked to popularize Sri Lankan cuisine in the United States.
The cookbook, which includes 208 pages of traditional Sri Lankan recipes, from patties and cutlets to shrimp and crab curries to fruit dishes and puddings, was recently honored in The New York Times 2011 List Of Notable Cookbooks as part of the Times’ Holiday Gift
Rice and Curry is not just a cookbook, but an abbreviated encyclopedia of Sri Lankan cuisine, with sections that explain the island nation’s abundant spices, a trip to a Sri Lankan market and even a short profile of Leela, an ever-present cook who made traditional dishes in Fernando’s household as a boy in Sri Lanka.
Fernando attended Harvard and Colombia Universities, and today lives in Baltimore, but travels frequently, including many trips back to Sri Lanka. His cookbook fuses both worlds, updating old-time recipes that call for exotic Sri Lankan ingredients with staples found in the United States. He spent part of the evening signing books and the rest describing Sri Lankan cuisine.
“As a young boy I would watch my mother cooking in the kitchen and wonder what she was doing and how she was making the meal,” Fernando told the crowd of over 100 guests. “And when she left the kitchen I would climb up into the cupboard and put my finger in all the spice jars to try them. I think that’s when I became interested in this food.”
Fernando’s talk was followed by a cooking demonstration by the ambassador’s chef, who made hoppers and egg hoppers for guests. Afterward, a spicy Sri Lankan buffet of rice, fish, chicken and eggplant curries and desserts was offered. The spicy aroma of the evening filled the ambassador’s residence, transporting some of the guests back to Sri Lanka and temping other to visit.
Fernando became a well-known expert on Sri Lankan cuisine when he accompanied Anthony Bourdain, host of the popular U.S. food and travel show, “No Reservations” to Sri Lanka in 2008. The pair visited several popular restaurants and also some out-of-the-way haunts in their quest for spices and traditional Sri Lankan cuisine.
Fernando’s book launch in one in a series of events that Ambassador Wickramasuriya has hosted to promote Sri Lankan culture, cuisine, trade and tourism. The Rice and Curry event included a number of American food writers, as well as diplomats and Washington professionals.
The ambassador has scheduled a second annual “Signature Tour” for 2012. During the first tour, he took 25 Washington-area professionals to Sri Lanka for a 10-day visit.
Click here to purchase COOKBOOK online;
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0781812739/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_il?ie=UTF8&tag=ricu-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399373&creativeASIN=0781812739
Source; http://riceandcurry.wordpress.com/2011/12/02/sri-lankan-embassy-promotes-rice-curry/
Tuesday, March 13, 2012
Sunday, March 11, 2012
What is Sri Lankan cuisine
Foods in Sri Lanka can be hot or very mild or can be combination being very much a question of individual preference. Sri Lankan food is unique for their Culture. Many Sinhala food items are derived from Chena cultivation. Sri Lankan cuisine plays a vital role in the islanders’ life from the most auspicious Sinhala/ Hindu New Year to normal day-to-day practices. They make milk rice and special sweets with coconut milk, floor and Honey at cultural festivals. It is recognized as one of the sixty- four types of art, Su Seta kalawa. The curries come in many verities of colors and flavors blended in Sri Lankan Hot Spices. Most of the species has a great ayurvedic value when used in curries.
Most of the Sri Lankans eat vegetables. With a large community of farmers the Rice and curry is the main food in Sri Lanka. Sri Lanka curries are known for their fiery hot spicy flavors and coconut milk is very distinct feature of Sri Lankan cuisine that different regions of country specialize in different types of dishes. The specialty in Sri Lankan food is that same food is differently made in different regions.
Dishes from the North have distinct south Indian flavors.Dishes from the South can be Spicy, Hot or Mild. The meals of the southern region of Sri Lanka are known for their variety and fishing village though the coastal strip. Ambulthiyal a unique spicy fish preparation with thick gamboges “Goraka” paste. Certain types of fish Balaya , Kelawalla are native to Southern seas. “Lunu dehi” (lime pickle) and jaadi (Pikled fish) are food items made from methods of preserving since they could dry them in sun during rainless days.
The western region has foreign influence much more than other regions. Many items made using wheat flour always had made Sri Lankan dishes foreign. Since upper western coastal region is dry, fish is dried with salt as a preservative. This is called “Karawala” (dry fish).
Spices such as Cloves, Cardamoms, nutmeg and pepper are found in abundance throughout Kandy and Matale District in Central region.
Eastern province constitutes three major ethnic groups. Sinhala, Muslim and Tamil, Chena cultivation, Game meat from nearby forests and dry Weather have influenced many food items.
The Staple diet of Sri Lanka is ‘Rice and curry’ the word ‘curry’ convering a multitude of dishes which are made according to different methods of cooking from Soups , meat, Sea food , Lentils ,Vegetables , Sambols , Mallums , Phies to Achcharus. Curd and Treacle and Sweetmeats made from Rice flour and palm treacle, jiggery along with various types of fruits are additions to the meal as the dessert. The Palm, Coconut, Kithul, Palmyra from which the treacle is made will vary accordingly. Sri Lankans also like several juicy sweetmeats like Kavum, kokis, Halape, Thalaguli and Wattalapam etc. Sri Lankans also like to have drinks like tea and coffee.
source; http://www.lanka.com/sri-lanka/sri-lanka-foods-925.html
Most of the Sri Lankans eat vegetables. With a large community of farmers the Rice and curry is the main food in Sri Lanka. Sri Lanka curries are known for their fiery hot spicy flavors and coconut milk is very distinct feature of Sri Lankan cuisine that different regions of country specialize in different types of dishes. The specialty in Sri Lankan food is that same food is differently made in different regions.
Dishes from the North have distinct south Indian flavors.Dishes from the South can be Spicy, Hot or Mild. The meals of the southern region of Sri Lanka are known for their variety and fishing village though the coastal strip. Ambulthiyal a unique spicy fish preparation with thick gamboges “Goraka” paste. Certain types of fish Balaya , Kelawalla are native to Southern seas. “Lunu dehi” (lime pickle) and jaadi (Pikled fish) are food items made from methods of preserving since they could dry them in sun during rainless days.
The western region has foreign influence much more than other regions. Many items made using wheat flour always had made Sri Lankan dishes foreign. Since upper western coastal region is dry, fish is dried with salt as a preservative. This is called “Karawala” (dry fish).
Spices such as Cloves, Cardamoms, nutmeg and pepper are found in abundance throughout Kandy and Matale District in Central region.
Eastern province constitutes three major ethnic groups. Sinhala, Muslim and Tamil, Chena cultivation, Game meat from nearby forests and dry Weather have influenced many food items.
The Staple diet of Sri Lanka is ‘Rice and curry’ the word ‘curry’ convering a multitude of dishes which are made according to different methods of cooking from Soups , meat, Sea food , Lentils ,Vegetables , Sambols , Mallums , Phies to Achcharus. Curd and Treacle and Sweetmeats made from Rice flour and palm treacle, jiggery along with various types of fruits are additions to the meal as the dessert. The Palm, Coconut, Kithul, Palmyra from which the treacle is made will vary accordingly. Sri Lankans also like several juicy sweetmeats like Kavum, kokis, Halape, Thalaguli and Wattalapam etc. Sri Lankans also like to have drinks like tea and coffee.
source; http://www.lanka.com/sri-lanka/sri-lanka-foods-925.html
Monday, March 5, 2012
Introduction to Sri Lankan cuisines
Sri Lanka has long been renowned for its spices. In the 15th and 16th centuries, traders from all over the world who came to Sri Lanka brought their native cuisines to the island, resulting in a rich diversity of cooking styles and techniques.
The island nation's cuisine mainly consists of boiled or steamed rice served with curry. This usually consists of a "main curry" of fish, chicken, beef, pork or mutton (typically goat), as well as several other curries made with vegetables, lentils and even fruit curries.
Side-dishes include pickles, chutneys and "sambols". The most famous of these is the coconut sambol, made of ground coconut mixed with chillies, dried Maldive fish and lime juice. This is ground to a paste and eaten with rice, as it gives zest to the meal and is believed to increase appetite.
Another well-known rice dish is kiribath, meaning "milk rice." In addition to sambols, Sri Lankans eat "mallung", chopped leaves mixed with grated coconut and red onions. Coconut milk is found in most Sri Lankan dishes to give the cuisine its unique flavor.
Sri Lankan people use spices liberally in their dishes and typically do not follow an exact recipe: thus, every cook's curry will taste slightly different. Furthermore, people from different regions of the island (for instance, hill-country dwellers versus coastal dwellers) traditionally cook in different ways while people of different ethnic and religious groups tend to prepare dishes according to their customs. Although Sri Lankan food appears similar to South Indian cuisine in its use of chilli, cardamom, cumin, coriander and other spices, it has a distinctive taste, and uses ingredients like dried Maldive fish which are local to the area.
Sri Lankan food is generally equivalent in terms of spiciness to South Indian cuisine, yet many spicy Sri Lankan preparations are believed to be among the world's hottest in terms of chilli content. There is a liberal use of different varieties of scorching hot chillies such as amu miris, kochchi miris, and maalu miris (capsicum) among others. While native Sri Lankans are born into this cuisine and develop a healthy tolerance to spicy food, many visitors and tourists to the country often find the spiciness excessive. As a result, many local restaurants in developed and tourist areas offer special low-spice versions of local foods to cater to foreign palates, or have an alternative western menu for tourists. It is generally acceptable for tourists to request that the food is cooked with a lower chilli content to cater for the milder Western palate. The chili content in food cooked for public occasions is typically much less than home-cooked food.
The island nation's cuisine mainly consists of boiled or steamed rice served with curry. This usually consists of a "main curry" of fish, chicken, beef, pork or mutton (typically goat), as well as several other curries made with vegetables, lentils and even fruit curries.
Side-dishes include pickles, chutneys and "sambols". The most famous of these is the coconut sambol, made of ground coconut mixed with chillies, dried Maldive fish and lime juice. This is ground to a paste and eaten with rice, as it gives zest to the meal and is believed to increase appetite.
Another well-known rice dish is kiribath, meaning "milk rice." In addition to sambols, Sri Lankans eat "mallung", chopped leaves mixed with grated coconut and red onions. Coconut milk is found in most Sri Lankan dishes to give the cuisine its unique flavor.
Sri Lankan people use spices liberally in their dishes and typically do not follow an exact recipe: thus, every cook's curry will taste slightly different. Furthermore, people from different regions of the island (for instance, hill-country dwellers versus coastal dwellers) traditionally cook in different ways while people of different ethnic and religious groups tend to prepare dishes according to their customs. Although Sri Lankan food appears similar to South Indian cuisine in its use of chilli, cardamom, cumin, coriander and other spices, it has a distinctive taste, and uses ingredients like dried Maldive fish which are local to the area.
Sri Lankan food is generally equivalent in terms of spiciness to South Indian cuisine, yet many spicy Sri Lankan preparations are believed to be among the world's hottest in terms of chilli content. There is a liberal use of different varieties of scorching hot chillies such as amu miris, kochchi miris, and maalu miris (capsicum) among others. While native Sri Lankans are born into this cuisine and develop a healthy tolerance to spicy food, many visitors and tourists to the country often find the spiciness excessive. As a result, many local restaurants in developed and tourist areas offer special low-spice versions of local foods to cater to foreign palates, or have an alternative western menu for tourists. It is generally acceptable for tourists to request that the food is cooked with a lower chilli content to cater for the milder Western palate. The chili content in food cooked for public occasions is typically much less than home-cooked food.
Source ;http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sri_Lankan_cuisine
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