Want new ways with veg? Look to Sri Lanka’s curries for inspiration One of my favourite cookbooks is a Sri Lankan one called The Exotic Tastes Of Paradise, by Felicia Wakwella Sorensen. The cover is exactly how I imagine culinary paradise to look: piles of coconuts, bananas and pineapples, with fronds of palm trees coming into view. Inside, the recipes are just as evocative: you could have Coconut Fantasy, Orange Temptation or Fireworks Lime Sambol. Until recently, this paradise was lost: civil war ravaged the island and in 2004 the Indian Ocean tsunami ripped through the south and east coasts. Today, it is getting back on its feet, with tourists returning in droves. Sri Lanka is once again a dream holiday destination, and the greatest souvenir travellers take home with them is a love for the food. The island’s most famous dish is “rice and curry”, though “curry” is a bit of a misnomer. Order this for lunch, and you’ll get a smorgasbord of curries: leek, cashew, beetroot, jackfruit, pumpkin, pineapple, even entire heads of garlic, cooked until soft and sweet. Often, these curries are heavily spiced with cinnamon, fenugreek, chilli and pepper, and smothered in coconut milk, to soften the blow. Continue reading...
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