Food!

A brief introduction to the stuff I eat!

Rice and Curry

Typically served with up to four curries and a main protein component, this most standard of Sri Lankan dishes offers an infinite combination of meals.  From the more common dhal, okra, potatoes and beet root curries to the more exotic banana flower and my favorite, sour mango curry, the possible combinations are endless.  Good thing too, because I eat it breakfast, lunch and dinner…everyday!  But I’m still not bored of it!  In fact, whenever I miss out, even one meal,  I get a craving to chew and taste with my hands, before you know, I chew and taste with my mouth!

Pol Sambol

In this fast paced world of TPS reports and Cost Performance Evalucations, Pol Sambol might be the best cost performing thing ever made by anyone, anywhere…ever!  Some shredded coconut meat, curry leaves, spices and a dash of lime.  It’s the same concept as Furikake.  When done well, it can make a few plain potatoes or a plate of rice a delicious meal in itself.

Milk Tea

No Sri Lankan meal is complete without a few cups of tea.  And by tea, I mean sugar and milk and some tea for color.  With the potent combination of caffeine and sugar, you can forget about that afternoon nap, even after that huge plate of fried rice.  Not a milk tea person?  You can order “plain tea,” but this is still tea and sugar.  To get real plain tea, I think you have to ask for “nothing tea.”  I haven’t quite figured it out yet.

Lunu Dehi

Lunu Dehi translates to Salted Limes.  All you need are some limes, rock salt and time.  About 6 months of it.  Seal them up in a jar and let the microbes do the work.  I’ve never had bad Lunu Dehi, but the 8 year old stuff my friend’s grandmother made was the best!

King Coconut

Quench your thirst and replenish lost electrolytes to keep you going strong!  Developed not in a lab, but through millennia of evolution, it’s the original sports drink.  Close your eyes and drink Pocari Sweat (or a Gatorade Frost) with a straw.  Apparently, that’s what they were modeled after.