Stuffed cabbage rolls in the Sri Lankan way.

Being a Sri Lankan, I have seen my mother and grandmother making stuffed chilies.  Some people make it as a curry, and some may do it as a snack. I love the both way’s; it’s just mouth watering !!!
As the same way we can use stuffed brinjals. And also cabbage.

My dish has been inspired from a traditional Eastern European dish from Poland. It’s called Golabki. I have made a few changes as I would like to add some authentic Asian flavors to my recipe.  Traditionally, there have been used minced pork to make this dish. But, I will leave it for you all to decide which minced would make your dish best.

Definitely this dish is going to be a family dish. I have seen mother’s keep worrying how they are worried about feeding their kids. I think this recipe might help them a lot. It has loads of nutrients at the same time kids will love it too.

Ingredients:
A big cabbage

For filling:

• Any minced meat about 500 g (I have used minced beef)
• 01 cups of cooked rice
• 01 cups of nicely chopped onion
• Chopped garlic cloves
• Chopped green chilies
• Nicely diced half a tomato
• Chopped few curry leaves 
• 01 egg
• Salt, pepper & chili powder

For sauce:

• 02 cups of tomato puree 
• 01 cups of nicely chopped onion
• 01 cups of water
• 01 cups of heavy cream
• 2 tbs of vinegar
• ½ a cup of boiled chickpeas
• Finely chopped parsley
• 01 sticks of cinnamon 
• Salt, pepper and chili powder

Instructions:

• Half boiled the cabbage leaves leave it aside.
• Beat the egg and keep it separately.

• Mix all the ingredients under filling. Add salt, pepper and chili powder as prefer. Finally, add beaten egg into the filling. 
• Try to mix all of them as a dough. 
• Use 2 tbs of filling to make small cutlets like round and flat. (Depends on how big are the cabbage leaves)
• Place the cutlet in the middle of the cabbage leaf, 1^st close the bottoms, then sides, then roll the rest and use a tooth pick to hold them properly. 
• Leave the stuffed cabbage rolls aside. 

• Heat a pan with some oil, then add the onions. Fry them until it turns into a nice golden color. 
• Then add tomato puree, water, heavy cream, vinegar, salt, pepper & chili powder. 
• Stir all together. 
• Add the cinnamon stick.
• Dip all the stuffed cabbage rolls on the sauce. Make it boil for a while. 

• When you feel the meat is cooked inside the cabbage leaves, then add the Chickpeas. Leave for a while to absorb the flavors into chick peas. 
• When the sauce gets thicker, leave the pan from heat.  Finally, add some finely chopped parsley to get the nice smell. 
• Before serving, throw the cinnamon stick. 
• Now you may serve stuffed cabbage rolls with rice or pasta. 

Enjoy the meal !!!
 

Sunday special Sri-Lankan style Chicken Curry.

This recipe is one of my favorites.  I hope you all will like it too. This chicken curry was so special for me coz, I learned making this curry by my mum. Especially, on Sunday, this has been on the menu no matter what the function is. Not for particular reason this curry may go with; white rice, yellow rice or fried rice. But, I would love it with yellow rice. 

I have been seeing my mother makes this chicken curry for so long and knowing this recipe for a long time, but for the 1^st time I made it today for my hubby. I think I nailed it  for the 1^st time.  Nothing fancy about this chicken curry, just includes few simple Asian ingredients &  fresh chicken thighs. I have seen my mum use to make the same recipe for pork, beef and chicken.  So it’s up to you.  

Ingredients:

• 2 kg of fresh chicken thighs or drumsticks

For marinating:

• 1 tsp of turmeric powder
• 2 tsp of pepper powder 
• Salt
• 4 tbs of vinegar
• 2 tsp of soya sauce
• Few spices (6 cloves / half a stick of cinnamon / few curry leaves & rampey leaves)

For sauce:

• Finely chopped garlic bud (5 tbs)
• Finely chopped ginger (2 tbs)
• Finely sliced onion & tomato (1 big onion)
• Diced green chilies
• Half boiled green beans (Do not over boiled the  beans, then it won't give the bit crunchiness while eating.)

Instructions:

• Marinate the chicken pieces with marinating ingredients. Leave the chicken for half an hour. 
• Cook the marinated chicken, adding some water halfway through.  (You may use chicken stock)
• Separate the cooked chicken pieces from the gravy. 
• Simmer the gravy for 2/3.
• Heat the oil in a lager frying pan and deep fry all the pieces until golden brown and crispy.

• Half boil the beans separately.

• Heat another pan adding a bit of oil.
• When oil is ready to cook, 1^st add garlic, ginger and onions at once. 

• Fry all of them until it gets a nice golden color. 

• Then add the chicken stock. Add a little bit of soya sauce, salt and pepper if it needs. (As you prefer)
• Add all the fried chicken pieces. Mix all well. 
• Finally, add tomatoes, half boiled beans and green chilies. 
• Add a bit of sugar (2tsp’s)
• Cook the chicken for few minutes. Then it’s ready to serve.

Enjoy the meal !!!

“...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.