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Sri Lankan Banquet
Recipe by Savindri Perera
Try this delicious Sri Lankan Banquet.
- Steps
- Ingredients
Ingredients
Roasted Curry Powder
Pork Curry
Prawn Curry
Creamy Potato Curry
Mustard Eggplant Pickle
Chive Sambol
Curry Leaf and Cashew Crisp
Rice
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Steps
- For the Roasted Curry Powder, place all ingredients in a wide frying pan and toast on a medium heat until the spices are fragrant and the coconut turns a deep dark brown.
- Remove from heat and allow to cool before placing in a spice grinder and grinding to a fine powder. Set aside for later use.
- To prepare the Pork Curry, cut the pork into 300g strips and place into the pressure cooker with the chicken stock, 1 sprig of curry leaves, 1 pandan leaf, half of the green chilli and cinnamon and the turmeric.
- Cook on high pressure for 28 minutes. The pork should still hold together but be tender and gelatinous to the touch. Remove pork and when cool enough to slice, cut into 2cm cubes and set aside.
- Meanwhile, in a large frying pan, heat oil on a medium heat then add the remaining curry leaves, pandan leaf and green chilli with red onion, garlic, lemongrass, fenugreek seeds, and cardamom. Saute for 5-6 minutes, until onion starts to soften.
- Add 1 tablespoon of the curry powder and continue to saute for 3-4 minutes until fragrant. When cooked, remove the pork from the pressure cooker and cut into 2cm cubes. Add to the frypan and combine so that all the pork pieces are covered in the aromatics and spice.
- Add the coconut milk and continue to cook on a medium-low heat for 50-60 minutes until deep brown and caramelised. The sauce should be very thick and clinging to the cubes of pork.
- Finish with treacle or maple syrup and season to taste. Set aside in a serving bowl.
- For the Prawn Curry, de-shell and devein the prawns, saving the heads and shells for the sauce.
- Place the shells and heads into a large frypan pan along with the oil on a medium heat.
- Fry the shells and heads and when they start to turn colour, add in the onion, garlic, green chilli, curry leaves, pandan, sweet smoky paprika, chilli powders, turmeric, cumin and lemongrass. Sauté for approximately 3 minutes or until the spices become fragrant.
- Add the chopped tomatoes and mix well for around 1 minute before adding in the coconut milk and stirring once more.
- Bring the sauce to a simmer and place the prawns into the sauce. Allow to cook for around 4 minutes depending on the size of the prawns. Remove the prawns from the sauce and continue simmering the sauce for 5-6 minutes until thickened.
- Strain the sauce through a sieve and place prawns back in the sauce. Season to taste.
- Finish with lime juice and treacle and stir through before placing into a serving bowl.
- For the Creamy Potato Curry, place a saucepan on medium heat and add the oil.
- Once hot, add the potatoes, onion, garlic, curry leaves, chilli, pandan leaf, cinnamon, fenugreek seeds, turmeric, coriander, and mustard seed and sauté for 2-3 minutes. Add the water and salt and allow the water to simmer.
- Add the coconut milk and reduce the heat to medium-low. Allow the curry to come to a gentle boil.
- Allow the curry to boil for around 15 minutes or until the potatoes are fork tender but still holding together.
- Take curry off the heat before adding lime juice. Adjust and season with salt at this stage as needed. If curry sauce is too thick or over reduced, add in 50-70 ml of coconut milk until you reach desired consistency. Strain the curry sauce into a serving bowl and add the pieces of potato.
- For the Mustad Eggplant Pickle, slice eggplant into batons. Place in a bowl and sprinkle a generous pinch or two of salt. Set aside for 10-15 minutes to draw out the bitterness.
- Pour oil into a frying pan so that there is around 1 inch of oil. Slowly heat the oil on medium heat, around 6 minutes. Test the oil by placing a skewer in the oil. If bubbles appear around the skewer, the oil is ready.
- Gently squeeze out the excess moisture from the eggplant and pat dry, wiping excess salt off. Toss through with 1 ½ tsp turmeric. Fry eggplant on a medium heat for 7-10 minutes or until well browned and very tender. Drain on a paper towel.
- Meanwhile, to make the pickling sauce, using a wide frying pan, bring 1 tablespoon of oil to temperature on a medium heat.
- Add the onion, garlic, curry leaves, green chilies, pandan leaves, cardamom pods, cinnamon, ground chilli, Kashmiri chilli, remaining turmeric and cumin. Sauté 5-6 minutes until fragrant and the onions have softened.
- Add the whole grain mustard and sauté for 1-2 minutes then add the coconut milk and stir through. Cook on a low heat for 5-6 minutes until it thickens.
- When the eggplant is a deep brown colour, remove from the oil and add to the pickle mixture with the vinegar and treacle. Stir gently to combine before adjusting the salt level to taste. Remove from heat and decant into serving bowl
- For the Chive Sambol, place the coconut and water in a bowl. Mix well until the coconut is rehydrated.
- Chop the chives as finely as possible and add to the coconut. Mix well and add the green chilli, to taste and season with salt, pepper and sugar.
- Add lime juice and mix thoroughly. Check seasoning and place in a serving bowl in the fridge until ready to serve.
- For the Curry Leaf and Cashew Crisp, place the oil in a small frying pan and bring to 150°C, over a medium flame.
- Add the cashews and allow to fry for approximately 5 minutes or until the cashews have turned golden brown.
- Remove the cashews using a slotted spoon and place on a paper towel to drain. Set aside in a small bowl.
- Take oil off the heat and add the curry leaves - this will splatter rather violently so take care. Allow to fry for approximately 20-30 seconds or until the leaves are super crispy. Using a slotted spoon remove curry leaves from the oil and drain on paper towel.
- Add curry leaves into the cashews with the remaining ingredients and toss together. Place in a serving bowl.
- To cook the rice, place the water in a saucepan and bring to a boil.
- Meanwhile, wash rice until the water runs clear and drain. Add the washed basmati into the boiling water and allow it to come back to a boil.
- Allow the rice to boil on a medium heat for 7 minutes, taking care it doesn’t burn.
- Drain immediately and allow the rice to sit in the sieve and steam for 10 minutes before forking through and serving in a bowl.
- To serve, arrange all the elements in serving bowls onto a platter.
