Sri Lanka: The Cookbook - Review & Giveaway

I've only recently discovered the joys of Sri Lankan food, so I was delighted to be offered a copy of this book for review. Sri Lanka: the Cookbook gives a comprehensive introduction to Sri Lankan cuisine and explains the ingredients and cooking techniques.

Written by husband and wife team Prakash Sivanathan and Niranjala Ellawala, the book shows their knowledge of and passion for the cuisine of their former homeland:

“My wife and I have lived in London for many years, but I was born a Tamil in the Jaffna peninsula in the north of Sri Lanka, and Niranjala is a Sinhalese from the south. Between us, we have a deep understanding and love of the unique styles of cooking that together make up our island’s cuisine. We hope this provides a record of Sri Lankan history and diversity for generations to come.”

One thing I must say is that this probably isn't a book for novice cooks as the ingredients lists tend to be longer/more exotic and some of the recipes are a little more complicated than other books I've reviewed. You also need to be fan of coconut/coconut milk as similar to Thai food, these feature heavily. Having said that, if you already have a well-stocked spice rack and are used to cooking Indian or Thai food, I'm sure you'll love this book.

I also need to point out that this is not an exclusively vegetarian book, but as Sri Lankan food is naturally vegetarian-friendly, many of the recipes are either vegetarian, pescatarian or easy to adapt. All of the recipes are marked as to their suitability for vegetarians, but I did notice a few non-vegetarian (fish-derived) ingredients in some of these. They are easy to omit though, without losing any the authentic flavour of the dishes.

I've only tried out a few of the recipes so far, but I particularly liked the pol roti (spicy, coconut flatbreads) and poosanikai kari (pumpkin curry), both of which were fairly easy to make, but tasted very different to the Indian-style food I often cook.

SRI LANKA: THE COOKBOOK is published by Frances Lincoln, 6th May 2017, RRP £20.00
Also available from Amazon and other book shops.


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Mulled Cider with Pumpkin Pie Spiced Biscuits - Suma Bloggers Network

As I've just been given a jar of pumpkin pie spice by a friend, I though I'd better put it to good use and create an autumnal recipe for the Suma Bloggers Network. I've paired the (vegan) spiced cookies with some warming, mulled cider, both of which would be great for Bonfire Night.

For the mulled cider
Serves 2-4

• 1 litre of good quality vegan cider (I used Aspall cyder from Suma)
• 2 pouches of mulled cider spice (from Suma)
• 2 tbsp soft, brown sugar, or a little more to taste

Put the spice pouches into a pan, along with the cider and sugar.
Warm the cider gently on a low heat until the sugar has dissolved and the cider is just starting to simmer (don't boil it!). Turn the heat off and allow to infuse for 10 minutes.
Serve warm.

For the biscuits
Makes 20

• 200g/8oz SR flour
• 100g/4oz dairy free spread/margarine
• 100g/4oz soft brown sugar
• 3 tbsp black treacle/molasses
• 2-3 tsp pumpkin pie spice
• ½ tsp bicarbonate of soda

Pre-heat the oven to 180C/170C Fan/Gas 4/350F
 Blend the spread and flour together using a food processor.

Add all of the remaining ingredients and mix well to form a firm, smooth dough.

Roll the dough into around 20 small balls.

Place, well spaced apart, on greased baking trays.

Bake for 12-15 minutes.

Remove from the oven and allow to cool for a few minutes, before removing onto a wire rack to cool fully.

Suitable for freezing. 

Top tips: For any North American readers, this recipe uses alcoholic (hard) cider.

Integrity Statement As a member of the Suma Blogger's Network, I will receive a selection of complimentary products from Suma every two months, to use in recipe development, and will blog an original recipe for the Network.   

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Warming Winter Vegetable Soup

This warming, winter, vegan soup is packed full of seasonal vegetables and cold-busting ingredients! It's a lovely acid-green colour and tastes great with fresh, crusty bread.

Serves 4

• 1 large red onion, peeled and chopped
• 1-2 large cloves of garlic, roughly chopped
• ½ small butternut squash, peeled, seeded and chopped 
• 1 medium parsnip, peeled and chopped
• 3 medium carrots, peeled and chopped
• half a head of broccoli (inc. stalks) chopped
• ½ chilli, de-seeded and sliced
• 1 tsp fresh/frozen ginger
• ¼ tsp turmeric
• ¼ tsp of garam masala 
• 1 tbsp chopped coriander leaves
• 1 litre vegetable stock

Prepare the vegetables and cut into large chunks.
Sweat the onion and garlic in 1 tbsp olive oil for 3-5 minutes.
Add the spices and cook for a further minute.
Add all of the remaining vegetables.
Cover with the stock and bring to a simmer.
Simmer with the lid on for 20-30 minutes, until the vegetables are soft.
Add the coriander leaves and blend to desired consistency.

Garnish with a little extra coriander to serve.

Suitable for freezing.

I'm entering this recipe to this month's Credit Crunch Munch , hosted by Fab Food 4 All and Fuss Free Flavours.



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Spice Kitchen review, plus a recipe for Sri Lankan Cashew Nut & Green Bean Curry

If you're a regular reader of my blog, I'm sure you know that I love spicy food. I'm always on the lookout for new ingredients to try out, so I have really enjoyed testing out some new spice mixes from Spice Kitchen; Spice Kitchen was set up by mother and son team, Shashi & Sanjay Aggarwal in Birmingham, UK...

"Spice Kitchen is an online shop specialising in high quality hand-blended and home-ground Indian Spices. We also sell various cookware that can help you to create authentic Indian food. We specialise in selling authentic Spice Tins, which are known as 'Masala Dabbas' in India. These shiny stainless steel tins contain 7 separate containers for easy access to the myriad of spices that you will need to create perfectly blended Indian dishes and curries.
We source the freshest spices from around the world, hand-blend, roast and grind them and pack them carefully. We promise you that you will never have smelt spices like them (so much so that they smell outside the packaging!)."

I was lucky enough to get to try out  eight of their international spice mixes, which include Sri Lankan, Mexican and Baharat spice blends. I've tried out about half of the mixes so far, and I can tell you that they taste as good as they smell! Apart from my Sri Lankan recipe below, I've used the Mexican mix in my veggie chilli, the Baharat in my bean stew and the garam masala in my shami kebabs. All tasted really flavoursome and authentic.

I was going to mention that I haven't ever eaten authentic Sri Lankan food, but then I remembered that I have! One of my claims to fame is that I once worked with the lovely Karthi Gnanasegaram (now a presenter on BBC news and sports programmes), who's Sri Lankan mother used to send in some of her amazing vegetarian home cooked food for us all to sample.

I wasn't sure what to cook with my spice mix, so I researched various Sri Lankan curry recipes and found lots for cashew nut curry and green/snake bean curry. I thought I'd combine the 2 main ingredients and see what happened! The nuts gave the curry a really interesting taste and texture and the flavours were quite different from those you would expect in an Indian curry.

Cashew Nut & Green Bean Curry

Serves 4

• 100g/4oz cashew nuts, soaked in water overnight
• 200g/8oz green beans, cut into 2cm slices
• 1 tbsp vegetable oil or vegetable ghee
• 1 small red onion, finely chopped
• 1 clove garlic, crushed
• A spring of curry leaves (approx 10)
• 2-3 tsp Sri Lankan spice mix
• ¼ tsp turmeric
• 50g/2oz creamed coconut (block), chopped into chunks 
• 1 cup boiling water

Soak the cashew nuts in a bowl of water overnight. Drain and set aside.

Meanwhile, heat the oil/ghee in a pan over a medium heat. Once hot, add the onions and cook for 2-3 minutes, then add the garlic, curry leaves and stir.

Once the onions are soft and beginning to change colour, add the spice mix and turmeric and cook for 2 minutes.

Add the green beans, coconut cream and water. Simmer, with the lid on, for around 15 minutes, stirring occasionally, or until the sauce has thickened and the beans are almost tender.

Add the drained cashew nuts and stir to combine. Simmer for a further 5-10 minutes.

Serve with fragrant basmati rice and coconut sambol.

Nut-free alternatives: Use 200g diced paneer/Quorn/meat free pieces, or other vegetables instead of the nuts, if you prefer.

Fragrant basmati rice: Soak, rinse and drain 1 cup of basmati rice. Cover with 1¾ cups boiling water, a cinnamon stick, 1 whole chilli and 2 green cardamom pods. Simmer for 10 minutes, covered and then turn the heat off and leave to steam for a further 5 minutes (lid on).

Coconut Sambol

• ½ cup fresh coconut, finely grated
• ¼ to ½ tsp red chilli powder (to taste)
• 1 small red onion grated, or chopped in a food processor
• 1 tbsp lime juice
•  a pinch of salt (to taste)

Mix all ingredients together, adding chilli to taste. Chill until needed.

Integrity Statement

I received some complimentary Spice Kitchen products for review/recipe development. All views expressed are genuine. 

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