Sri Lankan curry recipes

Sri Lankan cuisine is not really well-known on the global foodie radar. I am not sure why, maybe it just stays in the shadow of the great Indian neighbor which is somehow similar (the Southern Indian cuisine). Even in food-crazy Singapore, only 3.5 hours flying time away I am yet to find an authentic Sri Lankan restaurant.

We were expecting food fairly similar to Southern Indian but were positively surprised to find a unique cuisine that does a great job at using the country’s countless vegetables in spicy and flavorful (and colorful!) curries. Below are some recipes that our host in Ella shared with us. You will need some basic spices but nothing too exotic.

Spices at a market in Colombo

Sweet aubergine mix
Chop up 2 aubergines and fry them. Get them out of the pan and add some onion, salt and some green peppers.
Put 200ml of vinegar in a hot clay pot, add four bog spoons of sugar, 1 tea spoon of chilli flakes. Cook it till it boils and get’s syrup. Them add the aubergine mix. Mix it and let it cool.

Sweet aubergine mix

Potato curry
Cook potatoes, let them cool, add some onions, 1 tea spoon of turmeric, 10 curry seeds, salt garlic, curry leaves, tomato. Put some hot water in a pan, add the potato mix. Add cocos milk and let cook for a couple of minutes.

Potato curry

Baked banana
Put oil in a pan, add vegetable bananas, turmeric, salt, curry leaves, let it cook in with some water. Add some cocos milk and let it simmer for some time.

Baked banana

Sambal
Onion, pepper, lemon, salt, Maldivian fish chips, mix it. Add fried bittergurd and mix it. You can also do this with okra.

Sambal

Beans
Cut the beans and add coconut rasp. Add turmeric and salt. Put 100ml coconut oil in a pan, heat it, add onions, curry leaves and fry it, then add the bean mix, let it bake for a couple minutes.

Beans

Leek
Cut the leek, add a lot of curry leaves, salt, a bit of turmeric, curry powder and chilli powder. Heat coconut oil, add about 20 chilli seeds. When they turn black, add the leek mix. Add tomato, and onion and four big spoons of coconut milk, let it cook for a couple of minutes.

Leek

Mushrooms
Boil the mushrooms for 5 minutes, then fry them. Chop 3 onions, fry them in vegetable oil until they turn dark, add 1 tea spoon of chilli flakes, add the mushrooms, curry leaves, salt, let it cook for 5 minutes.

Mushrooms

Okra
Chop the okra, add turmeric, chilli, salt. Put onions in 200ml coconut oil, curry leaves, bake it, add the okra and 2 spoons of coconut milk, cook for a couple of minutes.

Okra

Can fish
Get the mackerel out of the can and crush it, add onion, curry leaves, salt, pepper. Put 2 tea spoons of chilli flakes in coconut oil and bake it, them add the fish mix. No surprise but this was our least favorite of the bunch.

Can fish

Happy cooking!