Sri Lankan Unroasted Curry Powder

This is the untoasted spice blend commonly used for vegetable curries in Sri Lanka. The rice and coconut get lightly toasted in a warm pan, but the rest of the spices do not. (Although the author notes that her mother always used to at least warm them a little "to release their flavours and make them easier to pound".) Iyer also includes a version of this untoasted blend in 660 Curries. I may transcribe that version as well at some point an add it below.

Sri Lankan Unroasted Curry Powder (for Vegetables)

Slightly adapted from Sri Lankan Flavours by Channa Dassanayaka

Ingredients

• 2 Tbsp. uncooked rice
• 1/4 c. unsweetened dried shredded coconut
• 10 fresh curry leaves¹
• 1/4 c. coriander seeds
• 2 Tbsp. cumin seeds
• 1/4 c. fennel seeds
• 1/2 Tbsp. fenugreek seeds
• 1/2 tsp. ground turmeric
• 1 (5cm/2") piece of pandan/pandanus leaf/rampe (optional)
• 1 stalk of lemongrass, white part only (optional)
• 2 cloves of garlic (optional)
• 1 (3cm/1.25") piece of ginger, peeled and sliced (optional)

Directions

1. Toast the rice in a dry pan until just beginning to brown (~2 minutes).
2. Add coconut and toast for another 30 seconds or so.
3. Transfer rice and coconut to plate to cool.
4. If desired, lightly toast the curry leaves and pandan (if using) and then transfer to plate to cool.
5. Add all ingredients to a spice grinder and grind to a powder. If using "wet" ingredients (like garlic, ginger, or lemongrass), use a molcajete or food processor instead so that the moisture doesn't gum up your spice grinder.

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Variations

Raghavan Iyer's Untoasted Sri Lankan Curry Powder

Ingredients

• 1 Tbsp. coriander seeds
• 1 tsp. cumin seeds
• 1 tsp. fennel seeds
• 1 tsp. fenugreek seeds
• 1/2 tsp. cardamom seeds (from green pods)
• 1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg
• 2 (3") cinnamon sticks, broken into smaller pieces

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¹ Even if you elect not to toast/warm any of the other spices, I would recommend tossing the curry leaves in the pan for a few seconds, just until they seem a bit dry and brittle. Otherwise you'll likely have a difficult time grinding them. Likewise with the pandanus leaf if you choose to use it. ^Back

I made this mallum to go with a Sri Lankan curry a while ago. I forget exactly which curry now as I waited too long to write up the recipes, but the mallum deserves to be remembered. It was a bit spicy, a bit salty, and a bit sour and absolutely delicious! I quite liked the coconut in it as well. I would definitely make it again.

Cabbage Mallum

From Sri Lankan Flavours by Channa Dassanayaka

Ingredients

• 1 Tbsp. oil
• 1-3 salted chilies, broken
• 1/2 onion, sliced thin
• 3 c. thinly sliced cabbage (or other vegetable of your choice¹)
• 1 c. chopped fresh parsley (or cilantro)
• 1/4 c. unsweetened dried shredded coconut
• 3/4 tsp. coarse sea salt
• 1/4 tsp. mustard seeds, ground
• 1 fresh green Thai chili, sliced
• juice of 1/2 a lime

Directions

1. Heat oil over medium-high heat.
2. Add broken salted chilies and cook until they lose their colour (2-3 minutes).
3. Add onion, cabbage, parsley, coconut, salt, mustard, and fresh chili and cook for another 2-3 minutes.
4. Remove from heat and add lime juice.

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¹ Most non-salad type greens will work. Dassanayaka suggests red cabbage, napa cabbage, Brussels sprouts, bok choy, or Swiss chard/silverbeet. I suspect beet greens, kale, or mustard greens would also work quite well. ^Back

Apparently salted chilies are an indespensible Sri Lankan kitchen staple. They're especially useful for adding a flavour boost to vegetarian dishes, but can be broken up and stirred into other curries as well.

Salted Chilies

Slightly adapted from Sri Lankan Flavours by Channa Dassanayaka

Ingredients

• 10-15 dried red Thai, arbol, or cayenne chilies
• 500mL boiling water¹
• 1/4 c. coarse sea salt

Directions

1. Dissolve the salt in the water.
2. Add the chilies and allow them to soak for at least an hour before using.

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¹ The original recipe did not specify that the water be boiling, but I found that the salt did not dissolve well in cold (or even tepid) water. In the future I'd dissolve the salt in boiling water to make the brine and go from there. ^Back

Chicken Biriyani (Sri Lankan)

I'm always a sucker for a good biriyani and, let me tell you, this one was amazing! Honestly, the rice alone was a delight and already incredible. The chicken curry, onion mixture, and boiled eggs just made it even more over-the-top delicious.

One small note: Do not do as I did and make this in a 6-cup casserole dish. It's not nearly big enough! Next time I'd make this in a 9"x13" (23x33cm) lasagne pan or something of similar volume.

Chicken Biriyani

Slightly adapted from Sri Lankan Flavours by Channa Dassanayaka

Ingredients

Chicken Curry

• 2 Tbsp. oil
• 2 green cardamom pods
• 1 Indian bay leaf
• 1 onion, chopped
• 2 whole cloves
• 2 tsp. ginger paste
• 2 tsp. garlic paste
• 500g skinless boneless chicken thighs, cut into 2cm cubes
• 1/2 tsp. ground turmeric
• 1/2 tsp. roasted curry powder
• 1/2 tsp. sweet paprika, hot paprika, or chili powder (according to your taste)
• 1 c. chopped fresh or canned tomatoes
• 1 tsp. black peppercorns, ground
• 1/2 tsp. coarse sea salt
• 1 c. plain yogurt
• 1/2 c. chopped fresh cilantro

Onion Mixture

• 4 Tbsp. unsalted butter
• 2 onion, halved and sliced
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 10-12 fresh curry leaves

Assembly

• 2 Tbsp. water
• 1 tsp. oil
• 1/2 tsp. rosewater (optional)
• 1 recipe yellow rice
• 4 large eggs, hard-boiled and halved
• fresh cilantro (optional), to garnish

Directions

Note: Before you launch into the other steps, boil your eggs and prepare the yellow rice as directed and set it aside until you're ready to start assembling the biriyani.

Chicken Curry

1. Heat the oil over medium heat.
2. Bruise the cardamom pods and add them to the pan along with the bay leaf, onion, cloves, garlic, ginger, and chicken.
3. Cook for ~5 minutes.
4. Add turmeric, curry powder, paprika (or chili powder), and cook for another 2-3 minutes.
5. Add tomatoes and mix well.
6. Add salt and pepper and cook for another 5-7 minutes.
7. Remove from heat and stir in yogurt and cilantro.

Onion Mixutre

1. Melt butter over medium heat.
2. Add onion and cinnamon stick and cook for 3-4 minutes.
3. Add curry leaves and cook for another minute or so.

Assembly

1. Preheat oven to 200°C (400°F).
2. Add the water, oil, and rosewater (if using) to your baking dish.
3. Spread ~1/3 of the rice into the bottom of the dish.
4. Spread ~1/2 the curry on top of the rice.
5. Spread another 1/3 of the rice over the curry.
6. Now add ~1/2 the onion mixture on top of the rice.
7. Spread the remaining curry over the onions.
8. Top with the remaining rice.
9. Use a chopstick or the handle of a spoon to make a few holes down to the bottom of your biriyani so that steam can escape during baking.
10. Cover the dish. If you do not have an oven-safe lid for it, you may cover it with aluminum foil instead.
11. Bake at 200°C (400°F) for 20 minutes.
12. Remove from oven and garnish with remaining onion mixture, halved eggs, and cilantro.

Yellow Rice (Sri Lankan)

This makes absolutely amazing rice! It's pretty and yellow (even if you make it with brown rice the turmeric does a nice job of colouring it). It's full of delicious toasted cashews and raisins. It's infused with the aroma of wonderfully flavourful spices. And it includes a generous quantity of ghee. What's not to like?!

Yellow Rice

Slightly adapted from Sri Lankan Flavours by Channa Dassanayaka

Ingredients

• 2 c. long-grain brown rice
• 2 c. water
• 1 tsp. ground turmeric
• 3/4 tsp. coarse sea salt
• 2 whole cloves
• 3 green cardamom pods, crushed
• 6-7 fresh curry leaves
• 1 (7-8cm) cinnamon stick
• 6 black peppercorns
• 2 Tbsp. ghee
• 50g raw cashews
• 50g sultanas
• 1/2 c. chopped fresh cilantro (optional)
• 2 Tbsp. plain yogurt (optional)

Directions

1. Combine rice, water, turmeric, salt, cloves, cardamom, curry leaves, cinnamon stick, and peppercorns in the InstantPot and give it a brief stir to make sure everything is well-mixed.
2. Seal InstantPot and set to pressure cook on "high" for 18 minutes and allow for a 10-minute natural release.
3. Meanwhile, heat ghee over medium heat.
4. Add cashews and sultanas and toast until cashews are golden-brown and fragrant. Remove from heat and set aside until rice is ready.
5. Once rice is cooked (including 10-minute natural release), release any remaining pressure, remove the lid, and fluff the rice.
6. Stir in the cashews and sultanas.
7. If desired, stir in the cilantro and yogurt as well.

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Variations

Vegan Version

Ingredients

• 2 c. long-grain brown rice
• 2 c. water
• 1 tsp. ground turmeric
• 3/4 tsp. coarse sea salt
• 2 whole cloves
• 3 green cardamom pods, crushed
• 6-7 fresh curry leaves
• 1 (7-8cm) cinnamon stick
• 6 black peppercorns
• 2 vegan butter
• 50g raw cashews
• 50g sultanas
• 1/2 c. chopped fresh cilantro (optional)
• 2 Tbsp. plain coconut yogurt (optional)

Sri Lankan Roasted Curry Powder

As far as I know, Sri Lanka only has two curry powders. There is the coriander-rich, lemongrass-scented roasted curry powder, which is used for meat dishes. And there is the coconut-and-rice-based untoasted blend, which is used for vegetable dishes. There are, of course, local/familial variations on each of these, but all the variants are generally recognizable as being a take on one of the two core blends: toasted or untoasted.

I had to make a few adjustments to this recipe. Mainly because I didn't have any lemongrass stalks on hand. I was working with frozen minced lemongrass. I did my best to estimate equivalents, but I think it would have worked better to just use a stalk of lemongrass as called for. That said, having the minced stuff on hand did make it easier to grind the finished spice mix to a powder!

Sri Lankan Roasted Curry Powder (for Meat)

Slightly adapted from Sri Lankan Flavours by Channa Dassanayaka

Ingredients

• 3cm piece of lemongrass (white part)
• 1 small (3-4cm) stick of cinnamon
• 1 dried Thai, cayenne, or arbol chili (optional)
• 1/4 c. coriander seeds
• 5-6 fresh curry leaves
• 5-6cm piece of pandanus (rampe/screwpine) leaf, torn into pieces
• 1 green cardamom pod
• 2 whole cloves
• 2 Tbsp. cumin seeds
• 2 Tbsp. fennel seeds

Directions

1. Toast lemongrass, cinnamon, and chili (if using) over medium heat until lightly browned (2-3 minutes).
2. Add coriander, curry leaves, pandanus leaf, cardamom, and cloves and toast for another minute or so.
3. Add cumin and fennel and remove from heat.
4. Allow to sit in hot pan for 30-60 seconds to allow cumin and fennel to lightly toast.
5. Transfer mixture to plate to cool.
6. Once cool, transfer to spice grinder and grind to a fine powder.