Kari means "sauce" in Tamil¹ and the Sanskrit word for curry is "sauce with spices", and it is interesting to note that not all curries are sauces, and curry is actually short for mixed spices.
Curry originated in South Asia, spread to Europe with colonial rule, and spread to Europe with the footsteps of immigrants all over the world, in the classification of curry, because of the similarity, Sri Lankan curry is often incorporated into Indian curry, rarely discussed independently, but also adds a mysterious atmosphere to this pearl-like beautiful island style curry.
¹ Tamil is a language over 2,000 years old, spoken in southern India and northeastern Sri Lanka. Most Indian immigrants in Sri Lanka speak Tamil, one of India's main languages.
What exactly is the difference between Indian curry and Sri Lankan curry?
First of all, India is vast, and the staple food of curry is different, with millet and chestnut in the west, wheat in the north, and rice in the south; Sri Lanka is located in the south of India, and because the climate is suitable for rice growth, it is mostly accompanied by rice; Here, the habit of eating curry with cakes is mostly from southern Indian immigrants.
Secondly, the raw materials used are different, with ghee commonly used as a source of wetness in the sauce in India and coconut milk in Sri Lanka. Finally, the color is very different, Sri Lanka has a variety of colors of curry, but rare green curry, in India very important coriander, that is, we often say coriander, in Sri Lanka rarely used, only use coriander powder.
As for the taste, most curries in Sri Lanka Most curries in Sri Lanka are spicy, and the spiciness is amazing, rich but not heavy, and the flavor is deeper and fuller than India.
In terms of changes, although Sri Lanka has nearly 100 kinds of curries, the base changes less, mainly divided into coconut milk base and pepper base, and extends to the unspicy vegetable oil base.
▲ This dish is like a buffet, but there are "ten kinds of curry" in it, including bananas, cucumbers, green beans, breadfruit, pineapples, taro, lentils, pumpkin, eggplant, and chicken.
Curry powder
Since curry is a comprehensive spice, what are the necessary spices? Must-have are fennel seeds, coriander seeds, cinnamon, cloves, cardamom, some will have fenugreek, especially if you buy curry powder in the supermarket, common turmeric is not included, remember to add turmeric taste when cooking. Curry powder is also divided into baked and unroasted, and baked is the dried spices with seeds stir-fried until the seeds burst, adding a more complex aroma. The traditional method, which is almost disappearing, also mixes all the spices and oil in a clay pot and stir-frys them until all the water has evaporated, which can be stored at room temperature for several weeks, and a small lump is used every time you cook.
Curry with coconut milk sauce
Coconut milk plays a very important role in Sinhara cuisine (the collective name of Sri Lankan cuisine), and two dishes of coconut milk are added to the cooking process, which is where the rich and mellow aroma comes from. Making fresh coconut milk is a bit like washing love jade, kneading silky coconut meat with hot water to make "two" coconut milk, the first squeezed is called "virgin coconut milk", which can only be added to the curry after the heat is turned off to add a strong aroma; The same coconut meat is scrubbed again, which is the "two courses of coconut milk" used when cooking curry, which brings a warm taste and thick texture, and the source and method of coconut milk almost determine the price and quality of curry.
1. Dhal Curry, lentil curry
Lentil curry can be seen everywhere, morning, lunch and evening, the taste is mild and almost everyone's love, a bit like boiled potato curry, is the least spicy of all curries, simple enough that only turmeric, mustard seeds, cumin, curry leaves and coconut milk can have such a full and balanced taste. Traditionally, red lentils are used when cooked with distinct grains, a thin sauce with a fresh, rich aroma of coconut milk, and salty and dry thick in poor areas, but without diminishing people's love for it.
2. Chicken curry
The spicy chicken curry, solid and thick taste, really love and hate it, every time it is so spicy that I can't help myself, but I can't help but eat another bite, the spiciness comes from red pepper powder, and the aroma comes from green pepper. Traditionally, chicken curry is served with rice, some cooked in water, and some thick and covered with chicken.
3. Crab curry
The most common in Sri Lanka are lentil curry and chicken curry, but the most famous is crab curry, thanks to the famous Sri Lankan chef - Chef Wuren, this crab curry on the 50 best restaurants in Asia, is really not to be missed, fresh aroma with a little spicy, rich and full of sticky sauce, must be dipped in freshly baked bread, eat in one bite.
4. Beetroot curry
Because the taste of beetroot is relatively heavy, beetroot curry is actually like stir-fried beetroot, not the curry taste imagined. In addition, it does not look like coconut milk, but in fact, almost all methods have two coconut milk. The biggest difference from other curries should be that it does not have too much salty, spicy, and sour taste, but has a little sweetness and a crispy taste. The biggest advantage of beetroot curry is that the original soil flavor has dissipated a lot.
5. Cucumber curry
The traditional method is to cook with cassava to add texture, cucumber is sweet and juicy, and curry has a special fragrance, although it has spicy, but combined with the sweet juice of melon, it looks refreshing. For a main ingredient like this, which has more juice, sometimes the amount of coconut milk used in the second course is reduced, such as when making loofah curry, only the first coconut milk is used, and the finish is finished to add a thick feeling. Another special method is to stuff the stir-fried filling into the cucumber and drizzle it with curry paste, which is also a kind of curry!
Add mung bean powder to the curry
6. Egg curry
Breakfast-based egg curry, in fact, there are several methods, boiled eggs, ohm eggs can be, will add some mung bean flour to increase the consistency and flavor, the deluxe version will add shrimp, boiling this curry is quick and easy, so it will be eaten for breakfast.
7. Shrimp curry
Also popular is the shrimp curry, the traditional shrimp curry will be added to the roasted mung bean powder, there is not much special taste, taste the sweet and sour of tomato, plus the taste of turmeric coconut milk, slightly spicy, warm and delicious.
Curry with a hint of sweetness
8. Pineapple curry
A few curries add extra sweetness, but interestingly, the sweeter the ingredients, the more Sri Lanka prefers to add sugar, such as pineapple, mango, carrot curry, etc.
Add sour ingredients to the curry
Common sour ingredients in Sri Lanka include tamarind, rhubarb, garcinia cambogia, lemon, vinegar, etc., not necessarily sharp acids in the mouth, sometimes acids that faintly induce saliva in the mouth, sometimes the acids of the main ingredient itself, and sometimes the delicate balance of sauces.
9. Beef curry
Beef curry, definitely spicy to find the mother's one, will add tamarind when making, dark sour gas to add complex taste, Sri Lankan beef is lean and hard, but not the tendon taste you imagine, the size of the dice is full of chewyness, the taste is more chewy and fragrant, and then feel the spiciness that slowly burns up, love and hate!
10. Rhubarb curry
Rhubarb curry is relatively rare, most of the time will be cooked with potatoes, in fact, the sauce base of vegetable curry will not be much worse, the difference in taste comes from the vegetables themselves, rhubarb strong and bright sourness, bringing another unspicy stimulation.
11. Fish curry
The fish curry with a bit of sour and spicy, sometimes from lemon and sometimes garcinia cambogia, is the thinnest of all meat curries, and tastes a bit like the texture of soup rice.
12. Lasia spinosa curry
This is the most exciting of all curries! Sour, sour enough, hard, hard enough, sour taste comes from Garcinia cambogia, hard is taro. Locals will make Garcinia cambogia like a preserve-like pickle, the taste of taro tastes weirder than jackfruit, like kumquat-flavored sugar cane, and potatoes are hidden in the gaps of the coarse fiber, probably so, don't take too much, one piece is enough to taste.
Special ingredients: fenugreek
Fenugreek is a medicinal herb with a strong smell, soaked fenugreek can increase the viscosity of coconut milk, dry and crushed fenugreek can also be added to curry to increase taste and flavor, the most common method is to bake fenugreek and use it directly in curry, bringing aroma and strong aroma.
13. Pumpkin curry
Pumpkin curry commonly baked fenugreek, with a strong taste to cook through the pumpkin, quickly into the taste, Sri Lankan curry pays attention to the sauce seasoning process, whether it is roasting seeds or boiling, dry, common starchy ingredients will not be cooked too soft, such as potatoes and pumpkins, even lentils, can retain the taste is the perfect practice.
14. Jackfruit curry
Boromi curry is usually eaten with pot-like crepes Hopper, and will also be served with sour and spicy sambal hot sauce, in order to balance the sweetness of jackfruit, Maldiff dried fish powder will be added when boiling curry, the overall sweetness, not a mouthful can be liked, the taste is also quite special, like half of taro and half of cauliflower, a trace of coarse fiber only leaves the taste, a bite into the mouthful and spread. Much like jackfruit, the fruit of the bread tree is also used to make curry, and the seeds of jackfruit taste a bit like water chestnuts and can also be used to make curry.
Special ingredients: Maldiv dried fish powder
Maldiff dried fish powder refers to the dried fish made of specific fish species, and then ground into powder, which tastes a bit like rich bonito meal, which can be replaced by a variety of dried fish powder in poor places, bringing a complex salty taste to curry, eighty percent of curries will be used, lentil curry, pumpkin curry is less often used.
15. Bitter melon curry
Bitter melon stir-fried with dried Maldiff fish powder is my favorite stir-fried curry, both dry stir-fried and traditional with coconut milk, with a slightly bitter flavor and the sweetness of salted fish.
Hot sauce base or vegetable oil base
16. Green bean curry
If you love green beans, you will love this dish, especially the rich and crunchy texture of the curry. The preparation process is quite simple and fast, first stir-fry garlic, mustard seeds and curry leaves until ripe aroma, onion slightly caramelized, add cardamom, cinnamon, chili, coconut milk and green beans and stir-fry, squeeze some lemon juice before cooking, eat hot and spray juice!
17. Okra curry
Whether it is coconut milk or dry stir-fried okra curry, the taste is not as sticky as the impression, but a little crispy, and people who don't like to eat okra will find it delicious.
18. Plantain curry
The plantain curry is definitely not sweet, it is a bit like between bamboo shoots and yams, and the dry-stir-fried curry has the smell of onion and garlic slices, which is very enjoyable. Plantains belong to the banana family, not sweet and not suitable for raw eating, full of starch like potatoes, quite common in tropical cuisine, from "skin" to "meat" can be made into curry in Sri Lanka, flowers can be made into salads, not wasted at all.
19. Eggplant curry
Sri Lankan eggplant varieties are different from the ones we are familiar with, from green round eggplants as small as marbles to long strips of green eggplants, which are often unrecognizable in curry. Eggplant curry is not soft but has fiber and a solid taste.
Dry curry: Tempered recipe
20. Potato curry
There is a method called "Tempered" in the vegetable oil base, that is, dry cooking, potato curry is made of Tempered, steamed potatoes and various curry spices stir-fried, solid and fluffy potatoes are full of aroma, very cooking. Potato curry can also be made into a wet curry with coconut milk flavor, but the taste is different from what you expected, and in many places, mustard seeds and cumin are added to the dishes, and the taste is light and more wild and spicy.
21. Lentil Curry Tempered version
In the classification, this belongs to the vegetable oil base, not the coconut milk base. After the lentil curry is finished, the stir-fried dried spices are added in the final step to add a strong spicy flavor, which is quite interesting.
After reading so many curry introductions, do you also think that the world of curry is really broad and profound? The original familiar coconut milk curry is to add two dishes of coconut milk to preserve the aroma and add taste, and what looks like stir-fried greens is actually a variety of curries, and the ingredients you are familiar with or do not know can be made into curry, with a variety of flavors! In fact, making good use of spices is the secret of curry, and by mastering the usage and combination of fennel seeds, coriander seeds, cinnamon, cardamom, cloves, mustard seeds, fenugreek, turmeric and curry leaves, you can also change the use and combination of 100 kinds of curry!