Sinhalese Fried Fish & Rice Meal ︎

︎ Sinhalese Fried Fish ︎

I dont have the exact recipe of this dish because I was three when I had it. It is relatively commonplace, but of course, it holds a special place in my heart for its symbolism. It was simple, fresh, shared, and just what we needed to brace ourselves for what lay ahead of us.

Ingredients
Take any fresh, small, silvery fish. But to do this right, you need the Salaya fish. Clean the scales, if any but keep whole.

For the marinade

Chili powder
Turmeric
Some Jaffna spice blend (or you may use your local spice blend)
Salt

Method
Fry in oil till the skin becomes crispy. It’s got to be crispy on the outside, so it got a nice spicy coating, and flaky white on the inside.

Enjoy hot with a plate of red rice.

︎ Sambol ︎

If you’d like some spunk to this, add a sambol! Here’s one way to make it (there are MANY ways to make a sambol)

Ingredients

A few shallots
A few chilies - if you’d like a red sambal, use dried red chilies or fresh green chilies if you’d like a green sambol
Freshly scraped coconut, lemon juice, salt
Masi or dried fish flakes are used a lot in Colombo sambols that add umami and really taste great!

Method

Mix onions, chilies and salt together.
Add coconut and grind to a coarse paste. Ideally, grind on a granite mortar pestle; else, use a blender.
Mix in some lime juice
Make extra to enjoy with a bowl of Kiribath (coconut rice) or even with some puttu for breakfast (coconut rice logs).

︎Katharikai
Curry︎

If you’re making some sambol, you might as well try your hand at Katharikai curry (brinjal curry), which is my absolute favorite!

Ingredients

Eggplant, chopped into finger-sized pieces
Onions (few)
Black mustard seeds, fennel seeds, cinnamon stick
Turmeric powder and chili powder
Coriander and cumin powders
Curry leaves (many)
Tamarind pulp (oh yum!)
Coconut milk
Optional: sugar

Method

Chop the eggplant into finger-sized pieces.
Fry it up to give it a bit of color and texture.
Then cook it with black mustard seeds, onions, curry leaves, chilies.
Add fennel and cinammon followed by spices like turmeric, coriander and cumin.
I also have a Jaffna spice blend that’s my go-to spice blend!

Add some crushed garlic, a few roughly chopped tomatoes, and tamarind water/ pulp. The tamarind makes the sauce spicy, sweet, sour, and simultaneously.
Add a cup of coconut milk to tame the heat of the spices.

Some Sri Lankans add sugar in the end. You have to balance it out right. Keep tasting as your cook.

Potluck 🍛

Buffet

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