Category: Accompaniments

pinch of jaggery or dark brown sugar

1. Combine ingredients in food processor, blender, or mortar-and-pestle and process until well-blended. Serve, garnished with fresh mint.

NOTE: May be frozen for later use.

When you have an overabundance of roses, you might make rose sambol. Is it the prettiest sambol? I think it might be.

1 t. salt

1. In a mortar & pestle, or food processor, combine ingredients until well blended. Taste and adjust seasonings. Serve with rice and curry, roti, or anywhere else you’d use sambol.

Note that curry leaves (flat, dark-green leaves) are botanically known as Murraya koenigii; they are aromatic and an essential element of Sri Lankan cuisine; they’re becoming more available in the States these days, and can also be ordered online to arrive as fresh leaves. They can be frozen if needed for use in curries, but for this sambol, it’s best to start with fresh green leaves. Do not confuse them with the ‘curry plant,’ which has fuzzy grey-green spiky leaves which smell like curry; it is not edible.

This recipe is a variation on one found in N. Maheswari Devi’s Jaffna Heritage Cooking; she notes: “These recipes, which were found handwritten on manuscripts date back to the pre-Portuguese period. Cooking with honey is an ancient practice, which has endured from generation to generation, and many age-old recipes which use honey as an ingredient can still be found today.”

I mention this in part because I was honestly surprised to see honey as an ingredient; I hadn’t thought of honey as a typical component of Sri Lankan cuisine. But honey is actually perfect in this recipe, beautifully balancing the savory and spicy elements.

1 t. salt

1. In a sauté pan, toast curry leaves on medium-high, stirring, until lightly toasted.

2. Either with a mortar and pestle, or in a food processor, combine all ingredients until well-blended. Taste and adjust seasonings, then serve with rice and curry, roti, etc.

(1 hr, makes 2 c. jam)

This traditional Sri Lankan condiment, featuring rich tomato flavor gently spiced and sweetened with jaggery, is typically served with thosai, pittu, idli, or rice. It’s also delicious as a component in appetizers, spread on breakfast toast, as a topping for grilled vegetables — the possibilities are endless.

1 t. salt

1. In a hot dry pan, toast spices until aromatic. Let cool and grind to powder.

2. Add diced tomatoes to a medium saucepan with remaining ingredients, and bring to a boil. Stir until sugar has dissolved, then turn heat to low and cover.

3. Simmer about 40 minutes. Remove lid, and if mixture is still liquid, simmer uncovered a little longer, until it thickens to jam texture. Use wherever you’d use jam or chutney.

Variation: Replace half of the tomatoes with chopped pineapple.

Note: Jars can be stored in refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.

I learned how to make butter this week ! It turns out to be really easy, esp. if you have a mixer. You can also shake it in a mason jar, if you have a strong arm. And then you can do something that looks fancy, like adding in fresh edible blossoms, like redbuds, to make redbud butter.

1/2 c. fresh redbud blossoms, stems trimmed and discarded

1. Mix (or shake) cream & salt if using, starting on low speed and then increasing the speed as it thickens. After several minutes, you’ll have whipped cream — keep going! The whipped cream will start to yellow, then after several more minutes, the fat solids will separate. You’ll see clumps of butter fat forming, with sloshing liquid buttermilk in the bottom of the bowl.

2. Strain the butter fat from the buttermilk using a fine mesh strainer (or cheesecloth). Save the buttermilk in the fridge for later use in other recipes.

3. Pour cold water over the butter, drain, and repeat twice more. (This will help preserve it longer.)

4. Stir in redbud blossoms, then shape into a ball or log or use a mold for interesting designs. Enjoy!