Words and images by Emma Galloway
Having travelled throughout India in my early 20s and given its close proximity to Sri Lanka, I once made the mistake of assuming both cuisines would be quite similar. But I couldn’t have been further from the truth. Yes, they use similar ingredients and spices, but in such different ways. When travelling through Sri Lanka a few years ago I came across a myriad of fresh, lightly spiced curries, all celebrating the star ingredient, and while there are a few curries containing a couple of different vegetables, or vegetables and meat, more often than not each main ingredient is honoured in its own curry, which I love.
Winged beans are treated lightly in just a little turmeric and ginger. Beetroot the same, with a little lick of coconut milk. Banana flower curry is heavy with chilli, and brinjal (eggplant) curry is sweet and sticky. Curries are served alongside rice with various bright and flavoursome sambols. My favourites were seeni sambol (sweet cooked red onion-based sambol), katta sambol (red chilli-based sambol), bitter melon sambol, and gotu kola sambol.
Egg Curry
If you’re a fan of devilled eggs flavoured with a touch of curry powder, you’re going to love this simple egg curry. If you can get your hands on a Sri Lankan roasted curry powder (or make your own), use that. If not, try a good quality curry powder instead.
Serves 4
6 large free-range eggs, hard-boiled and peeled
2 tbsp virgin coconut oil
½ tsp yellow mustard seeds
1 stem fresh curry leaves, stalk discarded
½ medium brown onion, finely diced
3 cloves garlic, crushed
1 green chilli, finely chopped (de-seeded for less heat, if desired)
½ tsp fenugreek seeds
½ tsp cumin seeds
¼ tsp ground turmeric
200ml coconut milk
100ml water
1 tsp curry powder
pinch ground cinnamon
¼ tsp fine sea salt
juice ½ lemon
cooked basmati rice, to serve
coriander leaves, to serve
Slice boiled eggs in half. Heat coconut oil in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Add mustard seeds and curry leaves and cook until the seeds start to pop. Add onion, garlic and chilli and cook, stirring often until soft and golden. Add fenugreek and cumin seeds and cook for a further 30 seconds. Add turmeric, coconut milk, water, curry powder, cinnamon and salt. Bring to the boil, then reduce heat and simmer 5‒8 minutes or until the sauce thickens. Stir in lemon juice and add more salt, if needed. Carefully add egg halves, spooning a little sauce over the tops of the eggs, then cook 2‒3 minutes to warm the eggs through. Serve hot over cooked basmati rice, scattered with coriander leaves.
Beetroot Curry
I fell in love with this simple beetroot curry when visiting Sri Lanka in 2016. The array of single vegetable curries on offer, each with slightly different flavour profiles, as well as all the different coconut-based sambols offered alongside, were a vegetable-lover’s dream come true! Don’t get me started on the appa (hoppers/savoury rice pancakes) there too …
Serves 4 with rice
500g beetroot (about 2‒3 medium), peeled and trimmed
3 tbsp virgin coconut oil
1 tsp yellow mustard seeds
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 stem fresh curry leaves, stalk discarded
1 red onion, finely sliced
2 cloves garlic, crushed
2 tsp finely grated ginger
1 red chilli, finely chopped (de-seed for less heat, if desired)
½ tsp ground coriander
¼ tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp fine sea salt
2 medium tomatoes, finely diced
165ml coconut milk
60ml (¼ cup) water
2 tsp coconut sugar
juice of ½ lemon
cooked basmati rice, to serve
coriander leaves, to serve
Cut beetroot into 1cm thick matchsticks. Heat coconut oil in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Add mustard and cumin seeds and cook until the mustard starts to pop. Add onion, garlic, ginger and chilli and cook, stirring often until soft and golden. Add ground coriander, cinnamon, salt and tomatoes and cook 2‒4 minutes or until the tomatoes are softened. Stir in coconut milk, water, sugar and beetroot. Bring to the boil, reduce heat to a simmer, cover with a lid and cook 12‒15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until beetroot has softened. Add lemon juice and a little more salt, if needed.
Serve hot over cooked basmati rice, scatter with coriander leaves.
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