As the weather cools, leading to more indoor time it is the perfect time to explore a different cuisine.
A new book out by Australian cook and restaurateur O Tama Carey Lanka Food: Serendipity and Spice is just the thing to get the tastebuds tingling and inspire a new kitchen journey.
Carey, whose mother was born in Sri Lanka, grew up in Perth, has travelled in Sri Lanka extensively and around the world, settling back in Sydney where she opened her own restaurant Lankan Filling Station in 2018.
Its aim was to serve the pancake-like Sri Lankan staple hoppers that started her food journey after first tasting them aged 18 but has since expanded to include a range of dishes.
As well as sharing recipes from her heritage, as well as ones from her travels and her own devising, the book includes essays on the history of Sri Lanka, an island similar in size to Tasmania, on the edge of the Indian Ocean below India, its culture and her own food journey.
This is an edited extract from the book.
Pork belly curry
This dish is straight thievery from my mother; the recipe is almost exactly as she showed me. It all came about because of a cazuela that she bought in Spain and made me carry around the world for months.
Back home it became her favourite dish to cook in, and was the reason this slightly dry pork belly curry came to be cooked in the oven.
This is a rich, very slow-cooked fatty curry; the pork belly is unctuous and meltingly tender with a little sauce that is hot and a touch sweet.
SERVES 6-8
1kg piece pork belly, skin on, chilled
30g coconut oil
340g diced red onion
2 long red chillies, finely chopped
20cm pandan leaf, tied
into a knot
4g curry leaves
30g finely chopped garlic
20g finely chopped ginger
40g Red curry powder
(see below)
14 cardamom pods, bruised
3 star anise
2 cinnamon quills
salt flakes and freshly ground black pepper
25g tamarind concentrate
150ml coconut cream
Method
Preheat the oven to 150degC.
Cut the pork belly into 5 x 1.5 cm slices and set aside. It is easier to do this when the meat is cold.
Melt the coconut oil in a large flameproof casserole dish or baking dish over a medium heat. Add the onion and cook for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the chilli, pandan and curry leaves and continue cooking and stirring for another minute or so. Stir in the garlic and ginger, then turn up the heat before adding the curry powder and whole spices. Keep cooking until the spices darken and start to stick to the pan, about 3-4 minutes.
Add the pork and stir to coat and brown the meat for about 6-8 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.
Mix the tamarind and 450ml water, then pour this into the dish with the pork and use a spoon to scrape the edges and the bottom of the pan. Add the coconut cream and bring to a simmer for about 5 minutes, then remove from heat, cover with lid or foil and place it in the oven to cook for 3 hours, removing it to stir a few times.
After 3 hours, turn the oven down to 110degC and remove the lid or foil. By this stage, the gravy should be mostly dried out. Let the pork cook for a further 50-60 minutes uncovered, stirring once or twice.
Once its cooked the pork pieces will be looking nicely roasted, there will be little gravy left in the pan and the whole dish will have a lovely oiliness to it.
Red curry powder
Filled with sweet spices and chilli, this curry powder is used to make fiery red curries. Use it in any recipe that calls for a Jaffna curry powder.
I know there are a lot of ingredients in this one, but the spices are all untoasted so its just a matter of measuring and grinding.
It has a good chilli kick to it, but if you want a rich redness in your curry without the heat, reduce the amount of chilli powder and flakes (or leave them out completely) and increase the paprika accordingly.
MAKES APPROXIMATELY 150g
5g curry leaves
24g sweet paprika
20g chilli powder
20g coriander seeds
15g white peppercorns
13g chilli flakes
12g cumin seeds
10g cardamom seeds
8g fennel seeds
8g cinnamon quill, roughly crushed
7g turmeric powder
5g fenugreek seeds
3g cloves
3g star anise
Method
Place the curry leaves in a frying pan over a medium high heat and cook gently for about 2 minutes. Reduce the heat a little and cook for another 12 minutes until they are dry and toasted, but not browned.
Allow the leaves to cool completely, then combine them with the remaining spices and grind to a fine powder. Store in an airtight container.
Dhal
A good dhal is a thing of beauty and comfort. Cheap, nutritious and simple to make, it appears as a side to most meals, though really a bowl of rice and dhal on its own is enough to warm the heart and fill the belly. You can add a temper at the end to fancy it up a bit, or make it wetter or drier to suit your purposes.
This dhal is based on the recipe my mum taught me. Creamy, mild and very savoury, this is exactly the way we cook it at Lankan Filling Station.
SERVES 4-6
75g coconut oil
5g curry leaves
550g brown onions, cut into medium dice
18g finely chopped garlic
15g finely chopped ginger
salt flakes and freshly ground black pepper
7g black mustard seeds
5g turmeric powder
1 cinnamon quill
4 x 5cm pieces pandan leaf
bottom 5cm of 1 lemongrass stem, lightly bruised
525g red lentils, thoroughly washed
450ml coconut cream
Method
Melt the coconut oil in a medium saucepan over a medium heat, add the curry leaves and cook, stirring, for a minute or so until the leaves are fried. Add the onion, garlic and ginger and cook, stirring occasionally, for 6-7 minutes until the onion has softened. Lightly season with salt and pepper.
Add the mustard seeds, turmeric and cinnamon and cook, stirring, for 1-2 minutes until the turmeric begins to catch on the bottom of the pan.
Add the pandan leaf, lemongrass and lentils and give everything a good stir to combine.
Pour in the coconut cream and 1 litre water and mix well, then reduce the heat to low and simmer gently for 10-15 minutes, stirring occasionally. The dhal is ready when all the lentils have just given away and turned yellow, while still retaining a little texture. Re-season with salt and pepper and serve hot.
Katta sambol & lunu miris
I have grouped these recipes together as there is much conjecture about the difference between them, and whether they are in fact versions of the same thing with different names.
The direct translation of lunu miris is onion chilli, which gives a good indication of ingredients, though some say the difference between the two is that lunu miris doesn’t have onion, while katta sambol does.
But surely that doesn’t make any sense? The best explanation I have come across is that the difference lies in the method rather than the ingredients.
Lunu miris is more of a paste, pounded using a mortar and pestle, whereas katta sambol is made with cut ingredients. (However, I use a mortar and pestle when I make katta sambol.
Extra confusion.) Basically they are both a form of chilli relish, made with or without Maldive fish. But look, if anyone has a better explanation I would love to hear it.
Lunu miris
This version is more paste-like and slightly firier than the katta sambol, with an extra punch from the Maldive fish flakes. Not for the fainthearted.
22g Maldive fish flakes
4g chilli flakes
4g salt flakes
3 long red chillies, cut into thin rounds
70g eschalot, finely sliced
3g freshly ground black pepper
4g chilli powder
juice of 2 limes
Method
Using a mortar and pestle, pound the Maldive fish, chilli flakes and salt until the fish flakes are finely ground.
Add the long red chillies and eschalot and pound to a paste-like consistency; it doesn’t have to be super smooth.
Mix through the pepper and chilli powder and season to taste with lime. Serve at room temperature.
Katta sambol
This is based on the Lankan Filling Station version, which we leave out at room temperature to ferment slightly. Its fine out of the fridge for a good week or so, but if you find its getting too fermenty whisk it into the fridge, where it will keep for weeks and weeks.
This sambol is slightly crunchy with a fresh, very hot flavour and possibly a little tang, depending on how long you ferment it for.
3 long red chillies, cut into thin rounds
80g eschalot, finely sliced
12g salt flakes
8g chilli flakes
3g freshly ground black pepper
juice of 1 lime
Method
Using a mortar and pestle, pound the long red chillies and eschalot until the eschalot begins to break down but still retains a little texture. You want an amalgamated mix with visible pieces of chilli and onion.
And the remaining ingredients and use the pestle to mix through. You can eat it immediately, or leave it to ferment slightly at room temperature before using. Either way, it should be served at room temperature.
This delicate, creamy curry is distinctly Sri Lankan and a great one for your vegetarian and vegan friends. I suspect most of us won’t have access to fresh cashews, or even the big and plump Sri Lankan variety, but make it with what you have. It will still be an excellent dish.
SERVES 6-8
400g raw cashews (see note)
40g coconut oil
4g curry leaves
2g cumin seeds
400g sliced brown onion
25g finely chopped garlic
20 g finely chopped ginger
1 long green chilli, finely chopped
salt flakes and freshly ground white pepper
20g White curry powder (see below)
3g turmeric powder
480ml coconut cream
1 cinnamon quill
2 x 5cm pieces pandan leaf
juice of 12 limes
Method
Soak the cashews in a bowl of cold water for 1 hour. Drain and set aside.
Melt the coconut oil in a medium saucepan over a medium heat, add the curry leaves and cumin seeds and cook, stirring, for a minute or so until the curry leaves are fried and the seeds are aromatic.
Add the onion, garlic, ginger and chilli and cook, stirring occasionally, for 4-6 minutes until the onion begins to soften. Lightly season with salt and pepper.
Add the curry powder and turmeric and cook, stirring, for 1-2 minutes until the powder begins to catch on the bottom of the pan.
Stir in the cashews to coat well, then add the coconut cream, cinnamon, pandan leaf and 280 ml water. Reduce the heat to low and simmer gently, stirring occasionally, for 18-20 minutes until the sauce has reduced and thickened.
Season to taste with salt and pepper and squeeze in a little lime juice just before serving. The curry should be lovely and thick with a bit of pepper heat. Go easy on the lime its just there to cut through the richness rather than dominate.
Note
If you are lucky enough to have access to fresh cashews, you don’t need to soak them so skip that step.
White curry powder
This simple yet aromatic mix is a good introduction to the world of curries. The spices are untoasted, which makes it quite mild. It is used for white or yellow curries, vegetable curries or anywhere you want spice but no heat. You can also use this fragrant mix to season dishes right at the end, like a tomato salad or perhaps a deep-fried morsel.
MAKES APPROXIMATELY 220g
6g curry leaves
70g coriander seeds
60g fennel seeds
30g nigella seeds
30g cumin seeds
25g turmeric powder
Method
Place the curry leaves in a frying pan over a medium-high heat and cook gently for about 2 minutes. Reduce the heat a little and cook for another 1-2 minutes until they are dry and toasted, but not browned.
Allow the leaves to cool completely, then combine them with the remaining spices and grind to a fine powder. Store in an airtight container.
