TOWN & COUNTRY DN page32 WEDNESDAY, APRIL 11, 2018 RUWINI JAYAWARDANA kan (a type of coconut cake) are associated pickle includes dates and sugar,” she make the ice tea you can use natural ingre- ombining the best of with the hill country." mused. dients to favour the beverage. the ethnic cuisine, the Speaking about the sweetmeats available Anoma’s love for culinary arts has devel- She says that a pineapple pudding or a Avurudu table is filled at the stores Amona notes that one cannot oped due to her mother engaging them in fruit platter goes well with the Avurudu with sweet, soft and be sure about the quality of the products cooking during their school holidays. lunch. crispy goodies. From though they may look and taste nice. One of the techniques Anoma uses to “If you are short of time to make a the traditional milk “For example you cannot be sure how keep the consumption of sweet and oily pudding get two flavours of ice cream. Crice to delicacies like Unduwal, many times the oil has been reused to fry food consumption in check is to make the Roast some cashew and sprinkle it on Naran Kavum and Aggala, an products. This poses future health risks. food in small quantities. top of the two scoops. You can even add important aspect of the Avurudu The kokis too does not taste creamy. Food “If I make a pol cake I cut it into small an anamalu and make a banana boat. season is about laying out a bought from shops is never on par with slices. Sweetmeats are in abundance dur- Make chocolate sauce and pour a bit on scrumptious feast to share with those made at home,” she stressed. ing Avurudu time and people have devel- top. It would make a delicious dessert,” your family and loved ones. These She notes that out of all the Avurudu oped the habit of grabbing something from she expressed. festive foods are all about tradition delicacies aasmi is the most difficult to the table and popping it into their mouth Avurudu has lost most of its significance and the memories associated with make. as they pass by. This way they will con- because it has become commercialized them. “You need to find the leaves of a special sume smaller portions,” she explained with today. People tend to buy clothes regularly. Sweet meats and special dishes are an species of cinnamon called ‘Davul Kurun- a smile. She says that she as a child she used to essential facet of the Avurudu season. du’ to make it in the correct manner. Once Queried on what one can serve visitors wait till the Avurudda drew near to get While they have come to be identified with you add this to the mixture, the mixture other than the traditional sweetmeats new clothes. the annual festival, some of these food flows steadily into the hot oil. You also Anoma says that it is best to make a batch Anoma laments that today many items are also prepared to mark special need to have the practice to make kevum of cutlets or pattis and store them in the take the easy way out by buying Avu- occasions. However it is during the Avu- properly especially since you need to use freezer a few days before the Avurudda. rudu sweetmeats from the supermar- rudda that food mainly takes its pride of both your hands in the process,” she said. “Since Avurudu sweetmeats like kevum kets. place. One of the frequent mistakes which and kokis are in abundance during this “We get the real essence of the Avurud- Culinary expert Anoma Wijetunga. occur in making Avurudu sweetmeats is period. You can be sure that these home- Picture by Ruwan de Silva Known for her popular Youtube videos da when we make them at home. Nothing about whipping up a range of scrumptious getting the proportions wrong. Even the made savouries will not be wasted. You can beat the delicious aroma of the kevum dishes culinary expert Anoma Wijetunga’s pani pol has to be taken off the heat at the can also make a quick sandwich by smash- and kokis sizzling on the stove and the fun name has become synonymous with cook- correct time. ing some Ambul Thiyal and adding some one gets from cooking them together. ing today. The soft spoken lady with her “All this knowledge comes with practice. onion and green chili pieces into the mix- Small children would definitely enjoy this infectious smile and motherly voice has At times you cannot show the exact quan- ture. You can even make some spicy kokis sight and they would relate to the Avurud- taught many a youth to make gastronomic tity you need to use because it also to add a difference to the traditional reci da more if they get to experience making delights through the recipes she prepares depends on the quality of your product,” pe,” Anoma opined adding that pan cakes kevum, kokis or other Avurudu food items. in ‘Anoma’s Kitchen’. Her famous tag line she added. filled with pani pol too can be made in a That is why I would advice housewives to ‘Cooking With Love’ reflects the success of For Anoma the Sinhala and Tamil New jiffy. cook at least one type of Avurudu sweet- her culinary techniques. Year has always been associated with food. Since it is humid these days Anoma rec- meat at home. The Avurudda comes only Anoma says that though items like kokis She says that the Sinhala pickle was one of ommends ice tea to be given to visitors. once a year. Food binds people together. If have originated from the Dutch, kevum can the most prominent food items during the “You can even have some ice coffee but someone knows that you cook delicious YELLOW RICE be termed as our own. season in her home when she was a child. if you have an iced tea you can even watch food they like to visit and dine in. So make This is the traditional, delicious yellow rice recipe “Different types of food items are associ- “Sinhala pickle is different from Malay the amount of sugar that you will con- an effort to celebrate it with the family Sri Lankans enjoyed several decades back. INGREDIENTS: ated with different provinces. Athirasa is pickle. It is not sweet and it has a lot of sume,” she advised though there are a with some home cooked food,” she con- famous in the South while aluwa and bibbi- raw papaya cut into thin strips. Malay variety of flavoured teas to choose from to cluded. » 500g Samba rice, washed and drained » 1 B.Onion cut into thin slices » 1 inch cinnamon stick » 4 cardamoms and cloves each, crushed » 2 sprigs of curry leaves » 6 inch rampe leaf SINHALA PICKLE » 1 tsp pepper corns INGREDIENTS: » 1 tsp pepper corns METHOD: Then add a little vinegar into pot, bringing it to a boil. » 2 tbs Ghee, good quality » 150g red onions » 1/2” cinnamon Grind ginger, garlic, mustard, a clay pot and put the red Afterwards, turn off the » ½ tsp turmeric powder » 40g green chillies » 1 tsp mustard cinnamon and pepper corns in onions in. Blanch the onions in heat. » Enough amount of coconut milk to cook the » 1 carrot, thinly cut into strips » 1 tsp turmeric vinegar. vinegar and then blanch the Add the red onions, green rice GARNISH: » 1 green papaya » 1 cup vinegar Cut the green papaya into thin green chillies. Put them aside. chillies, carrot and papaya. » 15g garlic » Salt to taste strips. Put these into a clay pot Add the ground paste and re- Mix well. » 1 large B onion, fried until golden brown » 7g ginger and cook until they become dry. maining vinegar and salt to the » 20g cashews, fried » 15g sultana METHOD: Heat ghee in a pan. Then add curry leaves, rampe, cinnamon, cardamoms and cloves. Later FRIED EGGPLANT PINEAPPLE PUDDING add the thinly sliced onions and fry until the CURRY INGREDIENTS: COLOURFULKOKIS onions are lightly brown. INGREDIENTS: » 1 Pineapple, cut into cubes It’s time to bring a new twist to Next, add the peppercorns and fry for a few » 3 tbs sugar the classic kokis with a splash of » 250g eggplants, cut into strips and deep fried seconds and proceed to add the drained rice and » 4 tbs water colour. » 1 cup coconut milk ( ½ cup thin coconut milk stir fry the rice for one minute. Then sprinkle the » 1 small condensed milk INGREDIENTS: turmeric and mix well. and ½ cup thick coconut milk ) » 1 ½ Tins of water ( use the condensed milk tin ) » 3 cups rice flour » 2 cloves garlic Afterwards, add the coconut milk and cook the » 1 ½ Tbs gelatin » Coconut milk » 4 red onions rice ( Do not cook the rice too long till it’s over- » 2 tbs hot water » Salt boiled ). » 3 green chillies » 1 tsp Vanilla » Food colouring of your Fry the garnishing ingredients and keep them » Curry leaves and rampe leaves METHOD: choice » ¼ tsp turmeric powder ready. First, cut the pineapple into small pieces. Put them » Oil for frying When the rice is cooked remove all the rampe » ½ tsp roasted curry powder into a pan with sugar and four tbs of water. Then METHOD: and curry leaves. » ¼ tsp unroasted curry powder make a stew. Make the batter using rice » 10 fenugreek seeds Put the rice on the serving dish and garnish with Pour the condensed milk with 1 ½ tins water. Mix flour, coconut milk and salt. » 1 piece of cinnamon the fried ingredients.