Rice and Curry

Ingredients

Rice

• 400 gred raw rice (rathu kekulu) or basmati
• 800 mlwater
• 1 tspsalt
• 1 piecepandan leaf

Parippu, dhal curry

• 200 gred lentils, rinsed
• 1onion, sliced
• 2green chillies, split
• 1 sprigcurry leaves
• ½ tspturmeric
• ½ tspfenugreek seeds
• 400 mlthin coconut milk
• 100 mlthick coconut milk
• 2 tbspcoconut oil
• ½ tspmustard seeds
• 2dried red chillies
• salt

Chicken curry

• 600 gbone-in chicken, jointed
• 2 tbsproasted Sri Lankan curry powder
• 1 tspchilli powder
• ½ tspturmeric
• 1 tspblack pepper
• 1onion, sliced
• 4garlic cloves and 3 cm ginger, crushed
• 1cinnamon stick, 4 cardamom pods, 5 cloves
• 1 sprigcurry leaves, 5 cm pandan leaf
• 1 tbsptamarind pulp in 60 ml water
• 300 mlthick coconut milk
• 2 tbspcoconut oil, salt

Pol sambol and mallung

• 150 gfreshly grated coconut
• 2 tspchilli flakes
• 1 tspMaldive fish flakes, pounded
• 1small shallot, juice of 1 lime, salt
• 200 ggotu kola or kale, shredded fine
• 50 ggrated coconut, ¼ tsp turmeric, 1 shallot

To serve

• 8papadam, fried in oil
• 1 tbsplime pickle

Directions

1. Wash the rice until the water runs clear, then boil it with the salt and pandan, covered, 18 minutes for basmati or 30 for red rice, and let it steam off the heat 10 minutes.
2. Simmer the lentils with the onion, chillies, curry leaves, turmeric, fenugreek and thin coconut milk for 20 minutes until collapsing, then stir in the thick coconut milk and salt and take it off the heat before it boils again.
3. Temper for the parippu: heat the coconut oil, crackle the mustard seeds and dried chillies for 20 seconds, and pour the lot over the dhal.
4. Rub the chicken with the curry powder, chilli, turmeric, pepper and salt and leave 20 minutes.
5. Fry the onion, garlic, ginger, whole spices, curry leaves and pandan in coconut oil until deep gold, 8 minutes, then add the chicken and turn it in the masala for 5 minutes until it is coated and fragrant.
6. Add the tamarind water and 100 ml water, cover and simmer 25 minutes, then pour in the thick coconut milk and cook uncovered 10 minutes until the gravy clings and oil beads on the surface. Do not boil it hard after the thick milk goes in.
7. Pound the pol sambol: chilli flakes, Maldive fish and salt in a mortar first, then the shallot, then work in the coconut and lime until it is brick red and just moist.
8. For the mallung, toss the shredded greens with the coconut, turmeric and shallot in a dry pan over medium heat for 3 minutes only, so they stay bright green and barely wilted.
9. Fry the papadam in hot oil for a few seconds each until they blister and curl.
10. Serve as a spread: a mound of rice in the middle of each plate, the curries and sambols in small heaps around it, papadam on top, and mix them together with your right hand as you eat.

Technique

• Sri Lankan roasted curry powder is dark-roasted coriander, cumin, fennel, rice and curry leaf, quite different from Indian garam masala. It is what makes the food taste Sri Lankan rather than South Indian.
• Coconut milk is added in two stages everywhere on the island: thin milk to cook, thick milk to finish. Boiling the thick milk splits it and dulls the sweetness.
• The balance of the plate matters more than any single curry: something soupy, something dry, something raw and hot, and something sour.

Substitutions

• Goraka (Garcinia cambogia) is the traditional souring agent in fish and some meat curries. Tamarind is the accepted stand-in; use 1 tsp goraka paste if you find it.
• No fresh coconut for pol sambol: soak 120 g desiccated coconut in 80 ml warm water for 15 minutes first, or it will be dusty.

Variations

• Ambul thiyal, sour dry tuna curry blackened with goraka, in place of the chicken.
• A wholly vegetarian spread on Poya days: dhal, cashew curry, beetroot curry, brinjal moju and mallung.
• Kiri bath, rice cooked in thick coconut milk and cut into diamonds, served on the first of the month with lunu miris.

History

Sri Lanka’s staple format of rice with several small curries and sambols; roasted spices, pandan and curry leaf set it apart from Indian cooking.

Frequently asked questions

What is Rice and Curry?

Rice and Curry is a main from Sri Lanka: daily spread of rice with several vegetable, fish or meat curries. Sri Lanka’s staple format of rice with several small curries and sambols; roasted spices, pandan and curry leaf set it apart from Indian cooking.

How long does Rice and Curry take to make?

Rice and Curry takes 45 min of preparation and 50 min of cooking. The recipe makes 4 servings. It is rated medium to make.

What can I substitute in Rice and Curry?

Yes, within limits. Goraka (Garcinia cambogia) is the traditional souring agent in fish and some meat curries. Tamarind is the accepted stand-in; use 1 tsp goraka paste if you find it. No fresh coconut for pol sambol: soak 120 g desiccated coconut in 80 ml warm water for 15 minutes first, or it will be dusty.

What is the most important thing to get right in Rice and Curry?

Add the tamarind water and 100 ml water, cover and simmer 25 minutes, then pour in the thick coconut milk and cook uncovered 10 minutes until the gravy clings and oil beads on the surface. Do not boil it hard after the thick milk goes in.