Bolo Fiado Recipe: Sri Lanka’s Portuguese Layered Cashew Cake
Hi there! If you love Sri Lankan cakes with fragrant spices, chewy fruit and plenty of cashews, this bolo fiado recipe is one to keep close. Bolo Fiado is a Portuguese Burgher cake traditionally associated with Sri Lanka’s Portuguese-influenced cooking. Its name is linked to the cake’s layered structure, and family recipes vary from laminated […]
Sri Lankan Polos Curry (Young Jackfruit) Recipe: Meaty, Tender and Completely Plant-Based
Hi there! Ready for a curry that is hearty, deeply spiced, and completely plant-based? This Sri Lankan polos curry is made with young green jackfruit, known in Sinhala as polos. It is not the sweet, golden fruit you may have eaten in desserts. Young jackfruit is firm, pale, and fibrous, with a texture that becomes […]
Sri Lankan Pumpkin Curry (Wattakka) Recipe: Golden, Creamy and Gently Sweet
Hi there! If you love a curry with a little sweetness, plenty of aroma and a silky coconut gravy, this Sri Lankan pumpkin curry deserves a place on your table. Known as wattakka curry, this golden vegetable curry combines tender pumpkin with mustard seeds, curry leaves, turmeric, green chillies and coconut milk. The flavour is […]
Ambul Thiyal Recipe: Sri Lanka’s Sour Southern Fish Curry That Keeps for Days
Hi there! If you love bold, unapologetic flavour, you are in for a treat. Ambul thiyal is Sri Lanka’s iconic sour fish curry, traditionally associated with the southern coast around Matara and Galle. Unlike a creamy fish curry, this southern classic contains no coconut milk and very little liquid. Firm fish, usually tuna or kelawalla, […]
Sri Lankan Potato Curry (Ala Hodi) Recipe: The Creamy Comfort Curry for Rice and Curry
Hi there! If you have ever enjoyed a Sri Lankan rice and curry plate, you have probably met ala hodi. This gentle Sri Lankan potato curry is creamy, golden, aromatic and wonderfully comforting. It is the curry you make when you want something delicious without a mountain of work. The potatoes become tender but stay […]
Sri Lankan Rich Cake Recipe: The Fruit-Packed Christmas Cake Worth Maturing
Hi there! Some cakes are made, sliced and gone before the oven has even cooled. Sri Lankan rich cake is different. Also called Sri Lankan Christmas cake, this dark, fragrant, fruit-packed bake is a celebration all by itself. It is dense with raisins, sultanas, candied peel, pumpkin preserve, cherries and cashews. Warm spices bring depth. […]
Bibikkan Recipe: Sri Lanka’s Dark, Dense Coconut Treacle Cake
Hi there! If you love traditional Sri Lankan dishes with deep caramel notes, warm spices and plenty of texture, this bibikkan recipe belongs on your festive table. Bibikkan is a dark, dense Sri Lankan coconut cake made with grated coconut, kithul treacle, semolina, dried fruit and nuts. It is not a light sponge (and that […]
Sri Lankan Fish Cutlets Recipe: Crisp, Golden Short-Eats Everyone Reaches For
Hi there! If you have ever visited a Sri Lankan bakery, birthday party, wedding, or evening tea table, you have probably met the beloved Sri Lankan fish cutlet. These crisp, golden short-eats are little breadcrumbed balls filled with mashed potato, tuna, onion, green chilli, curry leaves, and fragrant spices. The outside is crunchy. The inside […]
Sri Lankan Date Cake Recipe: The Moist, Treacle-Sweet Tea-Time Loaf
Hi there! If you have ever walked past a Sri Lankan bakery and caught the buttery scent of dates, spice and freshly baked cake, you already know the magic of Sri Lankan date cake. This dark, rich and tender cake is a favourite on bakery counters and tea tables across the island. It is packed […]
Aluwa Recipe: Sri Lanka’s Set Rice Flour and Treacle Diamonds
Hi there! If you are building an Avurudu table, make room for aluwa. These neat diamond-shaped sweets bring together roasted rice flour, fragrant kithul treacle, cashews and warm spices in one wonderfully old-fashioned bite. In Sri Lanka, aluwa sits proudly beside kavum, kokis, athirasa and other festive treats during the Sinhala and Tamil New Year. […]