I think Sri Lanka is one of the best countries to be vegan in.It’s not even the mango season but mangoes are aplenty in supermarkets and we couldn’t be happier. not just that, our passion fruit vine is making more passion fruit than we could possibly consume (and I made these amazingly delicious passion fruit white chocolate cookies sometime ago), ...
It’s flu season here.Mornings are chilly and getting out of your snug, warm bed takes some extra effort. Pulling on some pants/dress/skirt, stepping into the heels and walking into an office that has probably been air conditioned by an arctic penguin is not fun either. When the nose gets runny and you can’t stop sneezing from morning, you know something ...
Days have been hectic and because of that, I’ve often had to skip meals for the past couple of weeks. But with the workload I’ve got to handle, I also need a lot of energy which I would not have without any nutrition in my body. So this recipe came as a direct result as the answer to an intense ...
A soft, airy cake filled with jam, undecorated at the top and served at teatime – this is essentially what describes the Victoria sponge. It was Anna, the Duchess of Bedford, one of Queen Victoria’s Ladies-in-Waiting who is credited with introducing the concept of afternoon tea into the world. the trend caught on and soon, the queen herself, Queen Victoria ...
It starts with the crisp hiss of deliciousness hitting hot oil. A whiff of cinnamon, cardamom and clove later, what follows is a mishmash of aromas evoking islands in the sun, leading you by the nose and into your wide open Ceylonese kitchen where the culprit sits simmering on the stove.Wherever I go in the world, I always ALWAYS come ...
Sago. We eat it as a pudding, we eat it to remedy the “heat” in our body, we mostly drink it, usually in the morning as it is said to be a “cooling” food. Let’s just say that we Sri Lankans love our sago.In Ayurveda, there are two kind of food – the heaty and the cooling. While the heaty ...
The monsoons started just yesterday. As usual, the rain has the habit of catching me at the worst possible times so came home today after work, half drenched, fully windblown and craving for a nice, warm bath. After a fully satisfying long, hot bath, the inevitable happened. I was hungry. After rummaging through the fridge I chanced upon two pots ...
Sometimes you miss the things that are right under your nose the most.I’ve been born and raised in Sri Lanka, exposed to the local culture, its cuisine, its traditions and curious ways that I often forget how very exotic it all is.Sri Lanka has a lot to offer and us being born and raised in paradise, it is easy to ...
Are you, like me, appalled by the sheer volume of prawn heads thrown away every time you bring home some prawns? Well, save them next time – because today, we are going to make chili paste with them. Yes THAT chili paste. The one you like to eat with cream crackers, rice and curry, bread, naan, roti and basically with ...
A treat for the Dornish Lords & LadiesI can just imagine the lords and ladies of Dorne sitting around devouring Gulab Jamuns, syrup trickling down their chins, hands, elbows. And then they would proceed to lick the syrup off of one another…Okay, stop.Gulab Jamun is a traditional celebratory Indian sweet made out of milk solids that is offered during auspicious ...
Did you know that you can make butter at home?I didn’t! which is why this is all sounding all scienc-y – fancy to me. In any case, I am still much wowed by the fact that all you need to churn some homemade butter for yourself is some heavy cream and a large jar.Also some elbow grease. Mannnn! I have ...
So you want to know what the best Sri Lankan mutton biriyani tastes like. But is there such a thing as Sri Lankan biryani anyway?Actually there is. And we island folk call it buriyani :DSundays were ‘buriyani’ days when everybody was at home. Some of my best memories consist of the smell of spiced rice cooking in fragrant chicken broth ...
Here’s something for you to chew on.The easiest, butteriest caramels that you have ever eaten. No one has ever stopped at just one of these babies.Growing up, the highlight of my day was when my father came home from work. At 8pm I would wait near the door for the sound of the gate being unhinged to open the door ...
When us Sri Lankans talk about pancakes, we are talking about luscious treacly coconut filled ones.I remember walking into a house flooding with the warmth of roasting coconut while the subtle hints of spices embrace you like an old comfortable dog who is happy to see you. As you creep towards the kitchen overwhelmed with this sense of euphoria, you ...
Peckish Me is in full holiday overdrive. No excuses.There is something about December. The air is crisp and even sunlight seems to be brighter than the usual. There is this electricity in the air, a certain cheerful energy that makes you want to break into song and dance your days away. Smells are more intense, tastes are too. Nostalgia gets ...
One of the most well known cocktail recipes in the worldOur little Spanish adventure had us truly craving for more of the country and we haven’t stopped gushing since! We only saw a fraction of the country and we are already very much in love that it’s crazy!The food in Madrid, rather the whole range of Spanish food stood out for ...
From the ancient days, the jack tree was so useful that it was considered akin to a God by Sri Lankans. Every part of the tree is put to use – the young fruit of the tree makes for a delicious polos curry (which is often compared to pulled pork), the flesh of the mature fruit of the tree – ...
Here’s one for the date lovers. Date stuffed cookies or pop tarts if you may, I really don’t have a name for it though. Just that these are luscious and delicious and healthier than most snacks out there and I for one am absolutely addicted to it.Date pop tarts. Or date stuffed cookies. Either way, it is a great snack ...
Café Francais by Pourcel has been “coming soon” for quite some time adjacent Park Street Mews and I have held my curiosity for well over a year. When it finally opened, it was creating such a stir in the foodie scene, and stirring up controversial reviews all over the place, that I decided to try it out myself. The visit ...
I have never been to China. Not even once. But I have been to a lot of China towns.The first day I tried Chinese Tea Eggs is etched in my mind so clearly. We were in Bangkok, tired, legs aching from a whole day of shopping and decided to stop for tea and a nibble.It was a tiny roadside shop, ...
