Sri lankan cuisine is a unique blend of taste, flavour and aromas, many of which we identify with South India. Navneet Mendiratta samples some of the finest dishes prepared by guest chefs from the island nation at Cascades, the multi-cuisine restaurant at The Grand
In ways more than one, Sri lanka makes for that missing link between India and South East Asia. It is no different with food. The general opinion holds that Sri lankan cooking is closer to India than other island nations in the region.
This could be because of similar influences over its preparation — it draws largely from the British, Dutch and Portuguese cooking styles, besides local south Indian ones. like south India, lankan cuisine uses lots of coconut milk as its base, with curry leaves for tempering most of the dishes.
I sat back listening intently to Chef Sunil Kodituwakku, as he unravelled the mysteries of food from the island nation. While I have never hidden my love for South East Asian cuisine, this was my first sampling of Sri lankan offerings. We were seated in Cascades, the multi cuisine restaurant of The Grand New Delhi. Kodituwakku is in India with his senior colleague Nihal Senanayake, executive chef, Jetwing lighthouse Galle, Sri lanka, courtesy The Sri lanka High Commission here and Sri lankan Airlines for a special promotion till June 2.
Set up as a buffet menu with a live counter, the spread was an elaborate one with cold appetisers, salads and sambols, mains and desserts. Served mainly as sides, sambol is the Sri lankan name for chutneys made with chillies, lime juice, dry fish and coconut.
Giving us company on the other table, was Sri lanka’s High Commissioner to India, Prasad Kariyawasam. I was told that the beautiful Sri lankan masks that decorated the restaurant were actually on loan from his residence. “Food in Sri lanka can be hot, mild or a combination of both, depending on individual preference,” said Kodituwakku, pointing to the Sri lankan equivalent of Naga chilli and bird chilli called ‘ghost chilli’. “It is also a lot about the play of spices, which we grow in abundance, like cinnamon and pepper,” he added. But not to be missed is the coconut milk that forms the base for a majority of the dishes.
“Rice is our main staple and the ubiquitous ‘hoppers’ (rice noodles), accompanied by curries — non vegetarian and vegetarian or daals, (pronounced as dhaals) make for our mains. Our desserts are mainly prepared with milk, rice, coconut milk, floor and honey,” he elaborated.
The buffet menu of the day comprised He Kurakkan Pittu, chicken black pepper stew, mutton curry, fish tomato curry, curried assorted seafood, cashew green pea curry, tempered potato, dhal curry and green leaf mallum. Made out of rice flour, pittu or puttu, is a popular Sri lankan Dish. This had a reddish hue, due to use of ragi, or red millet, commonly grown in the northern areas of Sri lanka.
Sambols that made for the sides were a delicious assortment of fried aubergine and onion, snake gourd with grated coconut and green chilli, fried okra and tomato sambol, pickled red onion and raw papaya sambol and green mango with chilli chutney. “Sri lankans love their sea food, especially fish followed by lamb and poultry. Beef is not favoured,” he said. So is there difference in flavours in terms of North and SouthIJ
“Not really,” he said, elaborating, “We are a small nation. But yes, Indians will find that food preparations up North share similarities with South Indian cooking and are distinctly different from those down south.” I particularly loved the way banana leaf is used in the preparation of dishes like Ambul Thiyal. It is a unique spicy fish preparation with thick gamboges goraka paste. Dry fish, he told me, was more of an upper western coastal influence.
Sri lankans are equally fond of vegetables. So you will find many vegan options cooked as dry and roasted preparations with grated coconut, tamarind and mango kairi. To round of the meal was jaggery pudding, bibikkan and fresh fruits.