Thumba Karawila (Variety of bitter gourd M. dioica variety Visal) being prepared for cooking. Photo copyright Chulie de Silva Life would be simple if I could have a sandwich for lunch and be done with it. Especially as the microwave died on me about three weeks ago and I haven’t gone in for a new one. The Jury is still ...

When we first took a young friend of ours for a sea bath and lunch to Hikkaduwa in the early 1970s, my father was surprised that the visitor was already a Professor at the University of Colombo. My father being from the earlier generation where they wanted to know the roots of the people, then put his foot-in-the mouth and ...

Chiken rice lunch with cucumber, ginger & Chillie sauce. Photo copyright Chulie de Silva The chicken for this favourite dish must be fresh said my teacher in Penang. Getting a fresh chicken there was not a problem. All I had to do was call me favourite Chinese grocery store and they would deliver. “Male or female’ the lass in the ...

This recipe goes back to our days in Brunei, when my two sons – the heir & the spare — were in boarding school in a town called Kooralbyn off Brisbane. I used to get them to buy me magazines, when they came for holidays. The cookery ones were purchased with much enthusiasm as they got to taste the stuff ...

The faded and yellowing monitor’s exercise book is falling apart now.  The scrawl on the inside cover tells me I started scribbling in it in from the 28 July 1977,  when we lived in 2 Solok, Glugor, in Penang. Ah! what an exotic stay that was. Our taste buds went on far eastern exotic journey tasting, Chinese, Malay, Nonya and ...

It all started with a craving for a potato dish that was a favourite from childhood and then taking a sort of potato dish selfie because it looked good and posting on Face book. The moment it went up my friends Poulomi Basu and Ambarin Afsar was asking for the recipe. Potatoes -Ala theldala — a favourite potato dish of ...