COOKING SRI LANKAN

Having never had Sri Lankan food before, I set myself up for a culinary challenge. I was going to cook and try my very first Sri Lankan meal. Oh yes! After wondering which Sri Lankan dishes to make, I settled on Black Pork Curry and Stir-fried Banana Blossom (kesel muwa). What I enjoyed about cooking these two dishes is that it introduced me to a new set of ingredients that I had not cooked with before.

Photo by Sichu Mali. Banana blossom.

Frozen-fresh grated coconut (I thawed it before cooking). Fresh curry leaves. Roasted Sri Lankan curry powder which is different than the amber color Indian curry powder that you find in grocery stores. It also has uncooked Basmati rice in it added to thicken curries. And, the banana blossom — an ingredient that was completely new and unknown to me.

Photo by Sichu Mali. All the spices and rice gathered to make the Roasted Sri Lankan Curry Powder.

I ground my own Sri Lankan curry powder in a coffee grinder. I used black peppercorn, cumin seeds, coriander seeds, uncooked basmati rice, cardamom, mustard seeds, and cloves for this curry powder. After grinding them together, I toasted the curry powder mixture on stovetop. It smelled so fragrant! I used it for the Black Pork Curry. It is this curry powder that gives this curry its dark color.

Photo by Sichu Mali. Black Pork Curry.

I watched a video on YouTube on how to clean and cut the banana blossom. I chopped it into small bits and pieces. I stir fried it with fully thawed grated coconut, spices (not the Sri Lankan curry powder), and curry leaves.

Photo by Sichu Mali. Stir-fried banana blossom.

Both dishes turned out well, quite unlike anything I had tried before. Especially the Stir-fried banana blossom. I love how cooking these two Sri Lankan dishes opened my eyes to a whole new culinary experience. It helped me develop a more discerning palate..one that can differentiate between the more well-known globally recognized Indian cooking and the lesser-known Sri Lankan cooking.