Sri Lankan squid curry

Saw off the last of my haul of Bleeker’s squid in a very Sri Lankan curry: coconut milk, huge chunks of garlic, lots of ground chilli, cardamom, cloves and curry leaves.  Perfect thing to scoff whilst watching Kumar Sangakkar’s recent Spirit of Cricket lecture at Lord’s and sweating in this terrible Tokyo heat.  Some lime pickle and a great mound of white rice helped it down, although sadly I did not have papar or a nice Sri Lankan banana – small, but the tastiest I have ever eaten – to complete proceedings.

Last of the trout

was disposed of in a curry, inspired by some of the fish dishes I ate when I was in Sri Lanka.  The fish pieces are first rubbed with turmeric and shallow-fried till brown, then dressed in a sauce containing ots of fennel and fenugreek, green chillies and the whole thing topped off with coconut milk.  I helped down this dish with rather un-Sri Lankan parathas.

Sri Lankan cuttlefish curry

If you’ve got leftover cuttlefish in the fridge or freezer needing attending to, this is a fantastic dish to deal with it. When I was in Sri Lanka this was sometimes curiously referred to as ‘devilled’ cuttlefish, although the cuttlefish is not minced or chopped up finely. Perhaps it is a reference to its chilli heat, for even when the restaurant made it milder for my white man’s palate, was still blazing hot.

Eating Sri Lanka

I ate rather well when I was in Sri Lanka. Although I was unable to explore the full spectrum of Sri Lankan cuisine – I didn’t have a chance to eat hoppers for example, or try Tamil food – I thoroughly indulged myself in some local specialties.

Three dishes

from three regions from three religions. 

 Dum aloo.  The potatoes are coated in a spice mixture of poppy seeds, turmeric, ginger, ground almonds and turmeric in yoghurt and then baked, like meat, over a slow fire.  The potatoes come out very well browned on the outside and coated in a thick, rich sauce.