“...no one is born a great cook, one learns by doing.”

“...no one is born a great cook, one learns by doing.” - Julia Child 

Passion for food wasn’t an easy task for me. Where I was born and brought up, we all lived in a place where we have multi cultural & religious environment. We have Christmas, Sinhala & Tamil New Year, Ramadan etc.. Therefore, our dishes were always mixed with each and every culture. As we all together we have our own Sri Lankan cuisine.

I’m not a qualified cook, either a chef at a big restaurant or a hotel. But I love cooking. My grandmother, my mother and aunts have been the inspiration for me to cook. Today I am following the methods and tricks, which they used.  Other than the family I love few people around the world, who I’m inspired. Anita Dickman, Julie Child, Gorden Ramsay, Jamie Oliver, Heston Blumenthal, Gary Mehigan, George Calombaris, Matt Preston, Matt Moran and many more…

When it comes to food, for me it should always come with good taste, pleasant look & better aroma. In Sri Lankan food, we have all these three ingredients. As we are Sri Lankans we all proud of our spices, that’s why even western people love our food and taste. 

Spices, which use for Sri Lankan cuisines -

• Cinnamon (Kurundu) - The Dutch started the cinnamon industry in Sri Lanka, and even today the island is the biggest producer of this, the most delicately scented of spices, which is used in curries and rice dishes.
• Cardamom (Enasal) - Cardamom is an excellent in moderation to flavor curries, for sauces, and to give aroma to confectionery.
• Pepper (Gam Miris) - This pungent berry, the earliest spices known to humankind, is used as a substitute for red-hot chilies.
• Cloves (Karabu Nati) - One of the best known of all spices, but also one of the most difficult to use because of their pungency, cloves are used in many types of curry and confectionery.
• Coriander (Kottamalli) - Coriander is a basic ingredient used daily in Sri Lanka to add flavors to curries. Normally only the seeds are used, which are usually roasted before being ground.
• Turmeric (Kaha) - Turmeric, which is often confused with saffron, is used as a condiment in curries. A little turmeric and salt is all that is necessary to preserve fish and meat.
• Fenugreek (Uluhal) - Fenugreek, which has a rather unpleasant scent and a bitter taste, is used to flavor and give the necessary binding or thickening effect to curries.
• Sweet-cumin (Maduru) - This is spice is used in the preparation of curry powder together with coriander and cumin, and also as flavoring for sweet dishes and alcoholic liqueurs.
• Cumin (Suduru) - Cummin, which has a remarkable pungent and aromatic flavor, is one of the ingredients of curry powder together with sweet-cumin and coriander.
• Lemon Grass (Sera) - Lemon Grass, as its name implies, has a strong taste and smell of lemon. The bulbous part of the plant is used to flavor meat and fish dishes.
• Gamboge (Goraka) - Gamboge, usually ground with a little hot water, is used as a souring and thickening agent in white curries, fish and meat preparations, and certain vegetable curries.

Except for all these spices, I got two secret special ingredients, which I never forget to add to my dishes,

• Curry Leaves (Karapincha)
• Pandan Leaves (Rampey)

A few things to add to my kitchen, I love the fragrance of French Herbs.

• Bay leaves – Mostly used for flavor sauces, stews or used in marinades.
• Chervil – Can be used to enhance chicken, fish, veal, salads, egg dishes and tomatoes. It is a one of the favorite French herbs for giving flavor to soups & sauces.
• Chives – Using for garnishing like soups, egg dishes, fish, chicken and veal. They are delicious with salads and most vegetables.
• Fennel - Give a wonderful flavor to fish sauces or will counteract the oiliness of rich fish.

(Tip for a great gravy – Add some Fennel seeds and leaves to fish and it gives an excellent flavor when added to the water for poached or boiled fish.)

• Parsley - Chopped leaves can be added to green salads, soups, sauces and cooked vegetables.
• Marjoram – Excellent with meat, especially meat loaf and vegetables such as marrow and potatoes.
• Rosemary – Can be added to lamb also great with other meat dishes and with fish such as halibut. Can try rosemary with eggs and cheese, in biscuits or cookies. It can also be added to fruit salads.
• Sorrel – This herb often served as a puree or to give a good flavor to sauces, omelet’s or soups.
• Tarragon – These leaves give a good flavor to green salads and raw vegetable salads. Can be added to roast meats, poultry dishes and fish dishes. 

(Tip for Tarragon vinegar - Steep the herb in white wine vinegar and you have wonderfully flavored tarragon vinegar.)

• Thyme - It has a strong flavor can be added to meats, fish, soups, stews, and of cause herb sauces.

* Secret weapon of French cooking -  “Banquet Garni”

It’s a small bunch of French herbs tied together and used in French cooking. It contains,

03 stalks of Parsley

A sprig of Thyme 

01 Bayleaf

or

Small stick of celery

A sprig of marjoram

Piece of dried orange peel

(The thread, which ties them helps, facilitates the removal of the herbs at the end of the cooking.)

Cooking isn’t a murdering a chicken at a time. Doesn’t matter how good your food looks, it should always contain the correct spices to have a better taste and aroma. When it comes to me, I usually do not follow the exact way of cooking and I’m not a traditional cook too. I have my own art  of cooking. I use different ingredients all over the world. Though it’s a rollercoaster ride, I still rock the family table.