I originally made my raw and roasted Sri Lankan curry powder at home and gave it out to friends and family, who were the first to encourage me to actually market my brand. When my book came out, this seemed like a no brainer as most of my recipes called for either a raw or roasted curry powder. Since I’m on a mission to promote Sri Lankan food, one of the last undiscovered cuisines of Asia, far and wide, it only makes sense to flog my curry powders. I truly stand behind my product, and firmly believe that these are the most complex and original spice blends you will find anywhere. My family and I cook with them regularly. Not only do they make for delicious dishes, but they also have myriad health benefits as all the spices used have applications in the ancient Ayurvedic system of medicine. In short, this is the real deal.
I started selling my spices exclusively in an artisanal food site called Foodoro.
Since ending a brutal 27-year conflict in 2009, Sri Lanka is writing a new chapter in her history, which is seeing the country growing and changing in leaps and bounds. One of the first things I noticed on my latest trip there, after the absence of about a year, was how clean the streets of Colombo have become. Forget about those rotting mounds of garbage that pockmarked the urban landscape–you’re hard-pressed to find even the odd scrap of litter. I’m talking capital C-L-E-A-N. Minister of Defense cum Urban Development Gotabaya Rajapaksa deserves kudos for his beautification campaign, which includes knocking down the walls around all public spaces to create a sense of openness, which is, indeed, very rare these days in most congested Asian capitals. The government is also behind the renovation and restoration of such historic sites as the Colombo Racetrack and the Old Dutch Hospital, both of which have been turned into luxury shopping complexes boasting fine restaurants and bars. Originally built in 1677, the Old Dutch Hospital, in particular, provides a fitting showpiece for the new Colombo—elegant, exciting, and certainly not cheap. As headquarters for the culinary hotspot known as Ministry of Crab, it is a mandatory stop for all visitors here.
I had heard reports about the Ministry often tempered by complaints about how pricey it is. According to their own website, an XL crab clocking in at about a kilo will run you RS 5250 (which comes to about US $41). Though you may instinctively shudder at the thought of paying that much for a single crab consider the fact that you have never, ever in your life laid eyes on such a monstrous creature unless, of course, you grew up near the lagoons of Negombo or Chilaw, where these crabs are sourced. And never mind the tantalizing sauces they are cooked in—chili garlic being my own personal favorite—which can be mopped up with the old-style kade pan (bread) with which they are served. The crabmeat itself is some of the richest, most succulent animal flesh on land or sea, and even the smallest of its legs is loaded with this white gold. So, if you are the type who appreciates good food and think nothing of, say, plunking down $80 for a couple of ounces of prime Kobe beefsteak, $40 for a 32 ounce crustacean seems like a bona fide bargain. When you also consider that these native lagoon crabs were never before available in Sri Lanka because they were all exported to Singapore, you are, in fact, getting a true taste of The Resplendent Isle.
the open kitchen at Ministry
Veteran restaurateur Darshan Munidasa, along with his partners, star cricketers, Mahela Jayawardene and Kumar Sangakkara, are the men behind the Ministry, but it is Darshan who maintains a daily presence, when he’s not splitting time at his other exceptional establishment, Nihonbashi, without a doubt the finest Japanese restaurant within 1000 miles (Darshan is half Japanese himself). Brimming with new ideas and enthusiasm, this guy is on top of every detail here—from the design of the open kitchen; to the Japanese, carbon-steel woks used to cook the crabs; to the fact that the pol sambol is made to order here on traditional grindstones, and served in a coconut shell with a 5 mm layer of coconut meat left intact. He clearly loves what he’s doing, and he’s set the bar quite high for Sri Lanka’s fine dining establishments. Hopefully others will follow his lead.
the main event — chili garlic crab
claypot prawn curry
Though I ate Sri Lankan clams for the first time, and the biggest freshwater prawns I’ve ever seen in my life, the star of the show was, no doubt, the Sri Lankan lagoon crab, which sent shivers of patriotism down my spine. Ministry also takes a playful approach to five-star dining providing customers with bibs, which you will definitely need as you dig into these crabs with both hands. As a connoisseur of crustaceans and a Cancer myself, I can honestly say that these were the biggest and best crabs I have ever eaten. But don’t take my word for it. Indulge for yourself! And long live Ministry of Crab!
Lunch is served at my Uncle Wilson’s place in Kandy
Despite Sri Lanka’s compact size (roughly about the area of West Virginia), there are definite regional variations in its cuisine. The food from the south is said to be spicier and more fish-based, as is exemplified by one of my favorite dishes from that region, fish ambul thiyal; whereas Tamil cuisine from the northern city of Jaffna tends towards using a lot of tomato and tamarind as the basis for their spicy curries. Upcountry cooking, on the other hand, focuses largely on the bounty of fresh fruits and vegetables that grow in this mountainous central region of the country; while coastal cooking relies heavily on the use of the ubiquitous coconut.
Located in the central highlands, Kandy was the last Sinhala holdout against British colonial rule. As the seat of Sri Lankan kings and the site of one of Buddhism’s most important shrines, the Dalida Mahligawa (or Temple of The Tooth), which supposedly holds one of Lord Buddha’s teeth, Kandyans are proud of their heritage, and equally as proud of their cuisine, which is largely vegetarian. It’s probably got as much to do with what’s available in the proximity as much as an adherence to Buddhist doctrine, which eschews meat.
Some of the vegetables from my uncle’s garden
At his modest house overlooking the migthy Mahavelli River in Kandy, my Uncle Wilson has always taken great pride in his garden, which is flush with all kinds of produce. Mango, papaw and king coconut trees share space with spiky green jackfruit, pumpkin, and plantains. Greens such as gotu kola and koakka grow in the backyard. Under the ground, he’s got tubers like manioc and sweet potatoes growing. He even used to have a paddy field in his front yard until he gave up the land so that one of his sons could build a house there.
King Coconut growing in Uncle Wilson’s yard
His garden, in fact, is almost a microcosm of these central highlands, well-known as the center of tea production in the country, but a veritable Garden of Eden as well. I took a trip to the central Kandy market to get a better idea of this region and all it has to offer.
Durian
banana blossoms
bitter gourd
wood apple
damsons
sugarcane
guava
watermelon
Meanwhile, back at the house, Uncle Wilson’s cooks Kumari and Saroja were busy preparing lunch, which proved to be a veritable vegetarian feast including such dishes as red rice, white rice, jackfruit curry (kos), boiled manioc (battala), coconut sambol, dry fish curry (karola), banana blossom curry (keselmuwa), young jackfruit curry (polos), and egglant (ela batu). Most of the produce came straight from the garden, and anything that didn’t was from close by. Lunch was symphony of different tastes and textures, and even though I’m no vegetarian, I would have no qualms about eating food like that everyday.
For all the fuss about restaurants, everyone knows the best meal you can ever eat is at someone’s home—especially if that someone is Leela. If you’ve ever checked out my blog before, or saw the Sri Lanka episode of No Reservations, you’ll be familiar with this diminutive lady, who was my Aunty Dora’s cook for 40-some years. Practically every middle class family in Sri Lanka has a “Leela,” who cooks and cleans, and helps raise the children of the household on her way to becoming an actual member of the family.
Leela whips up a pot of her signature dish
When Leela retired after so many years of faithful service, my aunt and cousin Sam and his children (who are now grown up themselves), took it upon themselves to look after her. This usually involves frequent visits to Leela’s village outside the town of Chilaw, bringing her provisions and money. In keeping with the unwritten rules of Sri Lankan hospitality, Leela and her nieces, who live with her on a small plot of land where they grow everything they need to survive, make lunch.
My favorite dish of Leela’s is her crab curry, which also happens to be a regional specialty in Chilaw, known for its large lagoon crabs. Though I recreated the recipe in my book, Rice & Curry: Sri Lankan Home Cooking (Hippocrene Books, 2011), there’s nothing like having Leela herself make it, and this is exactly what she did on a recent trip to visit her. Being a good Buddhist Leela will not kill live crabs, so we brought some sea crabs from the fish market in Colombo. Sea crabs are usually sold dead, but you have to eat them immediately, so we packed them on ice and drove up to Chilaw so Leela and her nieces could prepare them in the traditional manner. They also put up a whole spread of other tasty dishes—just like they did when I brought Tony Bourdain here, and he proclaimed it his best meal in Sri Lanka.
Whenever I’m in Colombo, a city I’ve eaten my way around quite often, I’m always eager to go off the eaten path and discover a place that I’ve never dined at before. A special favorite of mine is Jaffna food, the spicy Tamil cuisine of the northern part of the island, and when in search of a new spot, it’s wise to take a well-informed guide like my friend, filmmaker T. Arjuna, who has a nose that knows since he himself hails from Jaffna. We meet at my Aunt’s place in Slave Island on a stiflingly hot day, and after downing a cold beer and making a few phone calls, Arjuna has just the spot in mind in nearby Wellawatte, a predominantly Tamil enclave in Colombo. He’s never eaten at Nalapaham Restaurant located just off the Galle Road on E.S Fernando Mawatha, so we are both in for a surprise.
fried fish
What I’ve learned about the differences between ordinary rice and curry and Jaffna cuisine comes down to subtleties in spicing and flavoring. Jaffna curries tend to use more tamarind and tomato as their base, but there are also just as many “frys” or dry curries without gravy. Seafood and mutton are the main proteins, but plenty of vegetables make it to the table as well. Of course the use of chilies is abundant, which makes this particular regional cuisine among my favorites.
Arriving just short of noon, we are the first customers in Nalapaham, and I’m immediately impressed with the cleanliness of the place. This is clearly not your ordinary “hole-in-the-wall.” A large menu in English dominates an entire wall, and they are just bringing out all of the days dishes onto the steam table.
They’ve got nandu (crab) curry; iral pooriyal (dry fry prawns); kanawa pooriyal (cuttlefish dry fry); varutha koli (dry fry chicken); attuirachi (mutton) curry; jillameen (fish) curry; and fried fish. They also offer a whole host of vegetables including katharika kootu (eggplant tamarind curry); gotu kola salad; pineapple/cucumber/onion salad; dhal, long beans, and wing beans. We order one of everything except the crabs (since I had been ODing on crabs this trip). Served first, the rice, dhal, and vegetables are all-you-can- eat. But pretty soon our table is covered with a colorful, mouth-watering palette of different dishes, and we dig in—using out fingers, or course.
my lunch plate
After filling my plate with a bit of everything—Sri Lankan style—I douse my mound of red rice with a few spoonfuls of the crab gravy, which is one of the spicier things we ordered. I dive right into the curries and pretty soon my lips are pleasantly on fire. This is how Jaffna food is supposed to taste! The dry curries—prawns and chicken—remind me of a spicy stir-fry with sliced capsicums and onions. The mutton curry has a proper gravy, thickened by coconut milk, and the tender eggplant has the tangy taste of tamarind. I eat the fried fish, which has been marinated in spices, bones and all, since it is so crispy good. Everything has a little bite to it–even the gotu kola salad, which is laced with slices of fresh green chilies. Following the meal, we sip a cup of the traditional rasam, which is a digestive made of ginger, garlic, cumin, coriander, black pepper and some other spices I can’t quite identify. But good to last drop! The meal was amazing save for the cuttlefish, which was a little overcooked and rubbery. When I got the bill, however, I couldn’t be mad: 1430 rupees, which comes to about US $11.34 or $3.78 per person since Arjuna’s driver also joined us. For its fast, friendly service; cleanliness; cheap prices, and excellent eats, Nalapaham proved to be a great find, and a definite keeper.
dry fry prawns and chicken (w/ the pineapple salad in the background)
cuttlefish dry fry with papadum and fried sardines
On Thursday, April 11th at 6:30pm at Bazaar Spices in Union Market, we welcome author and gastronaut Skiz Fernando as he discusses the practical and health benefits of using spices in your cooking as well as demystifying some of these “exotic” ingredients often found in Sri Lankan cuisine. For your sampling pleasure, he will also offer a demonstration and tasting of his famous chicken curry from his recent cookbook, Rice & Curry: Sri Lankan Home Cooking (Hippocrene Books, 2011), a New York Times notable cookbook, which put Sri Lankan food on the map. Skiz also creates his Original Sri Lankan Roasted Curry powder, a unique blend of 13 different ingredients, which forms the basis of most Sri Lankan curries. He also produces a cooking show on YouTube called “Pan Asian,” which features simple, healthy, and delicious dishes from all over Asia. Hope you will join us for this exciting and delicious event!
Only one year ago I opened the New York Times to discover that my humble, little cookbook, Rice & Curry: Sri Lankan Home Cooking, had made that esteemed publication’s list of most notable cookbooks of the year. Such recognition came as icing on the cake, the culmination of a long journey for me as well as the realization of a life-long dream–to learn to cook the cuisine I grew up on and to introduce this food to the world. In the past year, I have done just that, hosting Sri Lankan Supper Clubs in New York, Baltimore, DC, Chicago, Sonoma, and San Francisco; conducting Sri Lankan cooking classes; participating in food seminars and events such as the recent CIA World’s of Flavor Conference in Napa; and spreading the gospel of curry with my own small-batch spice blends, Skiz’s Original. The book has also performed far above my expectations sales-wise, and is well into the second printing. If you haven’t copped your copy yet, it makes a perfect (and cheap) holiday gift, on sale at Amazon right now for only $13.57!!!
In order to help promote the book, I also started making my own blend of Sri Lankan roasted curry powder, which is essential to many of the recipes in the book (I also do a raw curry powder). Now Skiz’s Original Spice Blends has assumed a life of its own, and sells through word of mouth through the artisanal food site, Foodoro.com. In 2013, I hope to expand the reach of my curry powder and bring it to store shelves. Until then, you can still order it at the link below. (If you live outside the U.S. contact me directly at curryfiend@gmail.com so I can work out international shipping.)
Coming from a media background (journalism, music, film, and TV), I am thankful to have had this opportunity to make a small splash in the world of food, and I hope to continue to do so in the years to come. As someone who is inspired by a passion for what I do, my main aim is not for money, but to spread an appreciation not only for Sri Lankan food, but for the country as well. This land, after all, is where my parents were born, and though I am a hyphenated American, the eastern values that my parents instilled in me make me proud to claim the Sri Lankan part of my heritage. Though we are not Christians, my family here has come to celebrate Christmas, and we often give each other gifts that are hand-made in order to bypass the more crass and commercial aspects of the holiday. So in keeping with that spirit, I offer these things that I have made to all of you–my larger family who have followed me on this blog. And I wish you all a safe, pleasant and peaceful holiday season filled with happiness and cheer!
The CIA World’s of Flavor was literally the best place to eat on planet Earth for those three days of the conference as premiere chefs from everywhere were cooking up a storm for the daily World marketplace, which is presented in the video. So I couldn’t leave you folks without some good ole food porn to get your stomach juices churning and your tongues suitably lubricated for that impending Thanksgiving feed! Enjoy!
Chefs from across the Arc of Flavor–defined by the conference as the swathe of territory spanning Spain in the West and the Spice Islands of Indonesia in the East–shared their cultures and cuisines during various demo sessions and seminars, which varied in size from an audience of 20 to 500. For our small session on Sri Lankan cuisine, Chef Koluu made fish ambul thiyal (sour fish curry), hoppers, and the popular Sri Lankan condiment, pol (coconut) sambol. On the mainstage, we presented Sri Lankan biriyani, which was part of the “One-Pot Meals” seminar. This video presents a sample of some of the other chefs who cooked before the entire conference.
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Paneer
