An easy Sri Lankan dinner menu

Some of my foodie friends who are non Sri Lankan often ask me for recipes for a dinner party menu.

The other day, I had to whip up a Sri Lankan dinner party at short notice for a group of non Sri Lankan friends last week. Since I only had a couple of days to do it, I decided to make the first of my lists to project manage the dinner party to make it easier for anyone so decided to post it on my blog.

As I love making lists and keep on ticking off lists as I go, I tend to not stress too much about entertaining as I used to when I first started cooking. I have not given the recipes for Fish cutlets and Wades here as I made them separately and froze them but am happy to do another blog on SL street food at some point

I hope this blog post will help anyone who is keen to try their hand at Sri Lankan cooking to create a great dinner menu for a group of up to about 8-10.

This is only a sample and I created it to accommodate meat eaters, pescatarian and vegetarian guests.

List 1: my menu

Snacks:

Fish cutlets, Wade (little lentil balls), Spiced cashews (recipes for these will not be given here but I will do another blog post on SL street food shortly)

Main menu:

Sri Lankan style vegetable fried rice

Sri Lankan chicken curry

Cashew curry

Seer fish in vinegar and mustard sauce ( thora maalu thel vinakiri)

Mushroom and green bean dry curry

Mixed salad

Poppadum

Desserts: individual crème caramels and Marie biscuit pudding'

My recipes

Sri Lankan style vegetable fried rice

 

 

Ingredients:

5 cups Basmati rice, washed, soaked in water for 15 mts and drained for 15 mts]

6 cups vegetable stock or water

1 small onion chopped finely

1 tsp garlic and ginger paste

1 large carrot peeled and cut into thin matchsticks

1 leek, green part only, cut into thin matchsticks

2 eggs

a handful of green peas, thawed

a large knob of butter

2 tsp oil

a few curry leaves

Method:

Heat  half of the oil and butter in a large wok or fry pan Sauté the curry leaves and then add the onions. Stir fry till onions are translucent.  Add the drained rice and stir fry over low heat for another 5 mts. Add the stock or water and cook, either in a rice cooker if you have one or on the stove, on high heat until most of the water evaporates. Then cover and lower the heat to very low and cook covered and without peeking for another 15 mts or till rice is done. Leave to cool.

Heat the rest of the oil and butter in wok. Then add the ginger garlic paste and fry for a few seconds and add the finely cut carrots and leeks and stir fry. Add the peas. Then add the cold rice and stir fry till combined. Make a thin omelette with the two eggs and salt and pepper. Cut into thin strips and decorate the rice with it.

Sri Lankan chicken curry

 

Ingredients:

Chicken thighs cut into two or three if they are large

for the marinade:

    1 tsp chilli powder

    2 tsps. roasted Sri Lankan curry powder

    1 tsp ground black pepper

    1 tsp salt

    a few cloves

    a few cardamom seeds

    a piece of cinnamon

    2 tsp ginger garlic paste

one large or two small onions, chopped finely

two pieces of pandan leaves (rampe)

a few curry leaves

2 tbsp. cooking oil

half a cup coconut milk

2 tbsps. tamarind pulp

Method:

Mix in the marinade ingredients and coat the chicken well. Cover and marinade for a few hours or overnight.

Heat the oil in a large saucepan and sauté the curry leaves in it. Add the onions and sauté till they change light and translucent. Then add the chicken pieces and stir fry on high heat till meat is sealed. Lower heat; add the rest of the ingredients except coconut milk and tamarind, cover and cook for 15 mts. Add the coconut milk and tamarind and stir well. Cook for another 5 mts on low heat.

Cashew curry

 

Cashew curry
 

 

Ingredients:

400 g raw cashews

2 medium onions, chopped finely

3 green chillies, sliced thinly

a few curry leaves

a piece of Pandan leaf (Rampe)

1 tsp turmeric powder

2 tsps. unroasted Sri Lankan Curry Powder

2 tbsps. oil

a piece of Cinnamon bark

salt to taste

a few pieces of Gamboge (Gliricinia Cambodia) or Goraka - optional. You can use lemon juice if you can’t find it

1 cup thin coconut milk (1/3 cup canned coconut milk diluted with 2/3 cups water if you are using canned coconut milk)

1 cup thick coconut milk or coconut cream

Method:

Soak the cashews in boiled very hot water for about an hour. Drain well.

Heat the oil in a large saucepan. Sauté the curry leaves and then the onions till soft but not browned. Add the green chillies and turmeric and mix. Add the curry powder and then the well-drained cashew nuts. Add the Pandan leaf, Gamboge, cinnamon and stir fry for about five minutes. Add the thin coconut milk and bring to the boil. Cover and cook over a very low heat for about 20 mts. Then add the salt and thick coconut milk and cook until thick.

Seer fish in vinegar and mustard sauce ( thora maalu thel vinakiri)

Seer fish in vinegar and mustard sauce Green bean and mushroom dish is on the right

 

Ingredients:

500 gms Seer fish or any white fish such as King Fish (I used Seer from the Sri Lankan shop here)

2 onions sliced into rounds

a  few curry leaves

a couple of pieces of Pandan leaf (Rampe)

a handful of chopped coriander leaves (Cilantro) optional

half a tsp turmeric

1 tsp salt

a few peppercorns

two or three pieces of Gamboge or Goraka (optional)

2 tbsps. white vinegar

1 tsp ground mustard seeds

1 tsp ground black pepper

5 cloves of garlic thinly sliced

a 5 cm piece of ginger grated finely

1 tbsp. oil

half a cup of coconut milk

Method:

Place the fish slices in a saucepan and sprinkle a little water. Add the Pandan, gamboge and curry leaves, turmeric, peppercorns, salt to taste and cook on low heat until the fish is partly cooked. Leave aside

Heat oil in a large frying pan or wok. Add some curry leaves and sauté. Add the onion rings, green chillies and sliced garlic and ginger and stir fry till soft but now brown.  Then add the liquid from the fish and coconut milk and cook until thick. Add the mustard, salt and pepper. Add the fish pieces making sure you don't break them and mix until the fish is nicely coated and done. Serve in a shallow dish with the onion and sauce covering the fish pieces.

Mushroom and green bean dry curry

Ingredients:

500 gms green beans, topped and tailed and cut into two or three pieces

1 onion chopped

150 gms button mushrooms, wiped and sliced thinly

3 green chillies sliced

1 tsp unroasted Sri Lankan curry powder

half tsp turmeric powder

half a cup coconut milk

1 tsp ginger garlic paste

a few curry leaves

2 tbsps. oil

salt to taste

Heat oil in a saucepan. Sauté curry leaves and onion, Add ginger garlic paste and sauté for 1 mt Add the curry powder and turmeric and then the mushrooms. Stir fry for a minute or two and then add the green beans. Cook for about 3 mts and add the coconut milk and salt. Stir fry till the moisture evaporates.

Mixed salad

I used lettuce leaves, chopped cucumber, chopped tomatoes, sliced red onion and olives in a homemade salad dressing using a little lemon juice, salt, pepper, mustard powder, olive oil and sugar to make a simple salad. 

Individual crème caramel puddings

 

Ingredients:

1 can condensed milk

1.5 cans hot water

8 dessertspoonfuls white sugar for caramel

1 tsp vanilla

4 eggs whisked

In a small saucepan place the sugar and just sufficient water to cover and heat on medium heat until the sugar is just caramelised but not burnt. When it is golden remove from heat and spoon into 8-10 muffin or patty pans and swirl around to coat the bottom. Keep aside.

Preheat oven to 180 deg Place a baking tin of boiling water in the bottom shelf of oven.

Dissolve the condensed milk in hot water and beat into the whisked eggs. Add vanilla and mix. Strain into each muffin cup carefully. Bake in a preheated 180 degrees C oven for about 15 mts until firm. Cool and chill. Unmould onto a serving dish

Marie biscuit pudding  (sorry no photo)

1 packet Marie biscuits. I use Arnotte's in NZ

150 ml thick cream

1 cup castor sugar

4 tbsps. of good quality cocoa powder

3 free range eggs separated

1 tbsp. Kahlua or coffee flavoured liqueur or Brandy

half cup cold milk

Chopped cashews and glace cherry halves to decorate

Place the egg whites in a dry grease free bowl, Add a pinch of salt and whisk till stiff peaks form. Add the caster sugar and beat well until stiff peaks form Add each egg yolk and beat well Add the cocoa and mix in. Whisk the cream till soft peaks form and fold in. Add in the liqueur.

Take a pretty glass dish and quickly soak the biscuits in milk and place a layer of biscuits in the glass dish. Add a layer of the chocolate cream. Repeat layers ending up with a cream layer. Make sure that the biscuits don't get overly soggy. Cover with cling wrap and chill overnight. Just before serving, sprinkle with chopped cashew nuts and a few halved glace cherries

These quantities should serve from 6-8 people.

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Other helpful information:
List 2: My Shopping list

List of Ingredients:

Grocery shop

1 kg Basmati rice

400 g raw cashew

8  onions and 2 red onions

A few olives

2 eggs

Chicken thighs

500 g Seer fish or any other white fish steams cut in half if large

coconut milk and coconut cream

1 can condensed milk

7 free range eggs

1 packet Marie biscuits

150 ml thick cream

1 cup castor sugar

4 tbsps. of good quality cocoa powder

1 tbsp. Kahlua or coffee flavoured liqueur or Brandy

Chopped cashews and glace cherry halves to decorate

 

 

 

Vegetable shop or isle

1 large carrot

1 leek

5 cloves of garlic

a 5 cm piece of ginger

500 gms green beans

150 gms button mushroom

Half a head lettuce leaves

1 lebanese cucumber

3 tomatoes

Pantry stapes (check if you have them before buying)

vegetable stock powder

garlic and ginger paste

green peas

Cooking oil

Butter

 ground black pepper

 salt

white sugar

White vinegar

vanilla

milk

Spices: (from a Sri Lankan spice shop)

chilli powder

Sri Lankan curry powder – roasted

Sri Lankan curry powder – un roasted

Ground turmeric

Cloves

 a few cardamom seeds

  Cinnamon

a few pieces of Gamboge (Gliricinia Cambodia) or Goraka or lemon juice if it is not available

Small packet curry leaves or dried curry leaves

A packet of frozen or dried Pandan leaves (rampe)

a handful of chopped coriander leaves (Cilantro) optional

a few peppercorns

1 tsp ground mustard seeds

tamarind pulp or tamarind

100 g green chillies

 

 

List 3: My to do's list

Two days before

□  grocery shopping

One day before -

□Marinade chicken pieces

□ peel and cut carrots finely, cut leek leaves into tiny pieces and keep in fridge

□ top and tail beans, wash and cut into pieces and place in fridge

□ peel onions and garlic and keep in fridge in a plastic bag

□ Make caramel puddings and chill

□ Make biscuit pudding and chill

□ make cutlets and chill

day of dinner -

□ Make chicken curry

□ Soak cashews and hour before cooking curry

□ make cashew  curry

□ make fish dish

□ cook rice and let cool

□ cook the beans

□ cut veggies for salad and keep in fridge

□ fry poppadums and put into a plastic bag and tie it up

□ fry rice

□ unmould crème caramels onto serving dish, cover and chill

□ decorate biscuit pudding and chill

□ lay the table

□ fry cutlets and wades and drain