The culinary corner

Mukunuwenna Curry Mukunuwanna leave has a aurvedic medicinal value as well as packed with lots of nutrients. People believe that it cools down your body as well as improves your brain power. Not like modern days people used to have a green leaves accompany their meals all the time. Not only that gives colour it supplied enough nutrients for their bodies too. Mukunuwanna is a very famous green leaf in Sri Lanka and it is really common. Now we used to buy them from the market. Long time ago in villages they used to pick them from and around the paddy fields. With the modernised world pesticides kill all these plants. When you pick them your self the flavours are very high.  If you buy them from market try to buy them with short stems and green leaves. Use the tender part (first 5-6 leaves) in a curry or as a Salad. The stems can be used as mallum or even in kola kanda. Don’t throw any thing. When you throw thing it wastes your money without your knowing.  Plant the ve...

Luffa believed to be a less calorie vegetable. In Sri Lanka its always cooked as a white curry. Luffa skins comes with loads of fibre and it taste creamier if you bite it raw. Once you cook it with coconut it gives a really creamy tatse and accompanies rice dishes very well. My grand mother used to steam themand mix them with freshly grated coconut. Its awesome. Though there are only a few ingredients in this it gives loads of flavours to this dish. When we buy vegetables the we should take the maximum advantage of that with out throwing in to the rubbish bins. It saves not only money keeps us healthy too. People buy artificial fibre to keep their movements regular when they can use daily vegetables with fibre. Luffa (Ridge Guord) Skin with Coconut (Watakolu Pothu Mallum) Ingredients  Luffa skin  - 4 Chillies - 3 Cloves of garlic - 1 Onion - Salt - Pepper - Cup of Fresh Coconut - Margarine Method. Cut the luffa skins in to tiny pieces. Put a pan on th...

Meatballs are one of my favourite. I used to buy from the shop and cook them for my kids.I now regret for doing that. One thing was I havent had any idea of making them and easy to buy them .There is a huge differance when you make them. The main advantage is you exactly know whats in it. There are no colours and preservertives. That means chemical free. In making meat balls and sausages there is a standard amount of fat included. When you make it by your self you can buy the best part of the meat and mince it. Then you are 100% sure about the fat quantity that you are going to consume. When you make chicken meat balls you can add any herb or spice that you like. When you cook it in a gravy the taste goes through the meat balls and make them more nicer and lighter too. You can grill, BBQ or bake them too for a change. I selected chicken thighs as it has more flavour. You can use any part to select the meat. Chicken Meat Balls Curry Ingredients For the Meat Balls - 5 Chic...

Baby jackfruits believed to be full of fibre and plenty of nutrients. Its a common dish all over Sri Lanka. With the modernised world we have no time to cook it this long but its worth cooking it in this way at least once in a while to taste old type of cooking. I did my difficult service in a very remote area in Kandy, called Doraliyadda very close to the victoria power station and the dam.. The lady of that house( Where I stayed)  used to cook this in the evening. She used a large clay pot and cooked at least 2 jack fruits in that pot. She added all the ingredients in to the pot and then, add lots of coconut husks and a large log in to the out side stove made of three large stones. Then she places the pot on the stove and leaves on that low flame the whole night. The next morning when you check it its oily and looks very thick and glossy. All the liquids has evaporated and the taste was devine. Still after 22 years I feel like having it like that. If you like to do it in a p...

Coconut & Honey Cookies Ingredients - 125g of  Butter - 1 1/2 Cups of Self Raising Flour  - 1/2 Cup of Sugar - 2 Tablespoons of Honey - 1 Egg - 2 Tablespoons of Decicated Coconut Method Preheat oven to 180. Put baking sheets on  a cookie tray. Cream Butter & sugar Add honey and egg. Cream the ingredients Add Self raising flour. After mixing take a spoon full mix to your hand. Dip that in coconut. Roll and flatten them.  Lay on cookie sheets. Bake 180 about 10 - 15 minutes.

Chicken Drumsticks Curry. Ingredients - 1kg of Chicken Drumsticks - Green Chillies - Pundan Leaves - Curry Leaves - SeveralTomatoes - 1 tsp Coriander Powder - 1 tspPepper - 1/2 tsp Turmeric Powder - 1 Tblsp Chilli Powder    1 Tblsp Curry Powder  Salt 1 Onion Garlic Ginger Method If you are doing it in a pot add all the ingredients in to a pressure cooker and cook for 15 min adding a cup of water. If doing in a pan.. Add 2 tblsp oil in to a pan. Add ginger and garlic with onions cook several minutes. Add curry leaves , cinnamon and pandan leaves & cook for a minute. Add spices and cook another minute. Add salt. Add chicken and tomatoes with 3 cups of water. Cook for an hour on low heat.

Spicy Tofu Fry Ingredients 550 g Tofu 1 Onion 1 Tomato Green Part of the leek 1 Tblsp from each Ginger & Garlic paste 1 Tblsp Crushed Chillies Salt 2 Tblsp Dark soy sauce 1/2 tblsp Shrimp paste Green Chillies 2-3 Tblsp oil Corn flour for coatinf tofu Tomato sauce or ketch up. Method Coat  the tofu with enough corn flour and leave several minutes . Add oil in to a pan and fry the tofu. Drain on paper towels. Fry onion, ginger garlic and all the other ingredients in the same pan with the oil left in  the pan. Add vegetables. Add tofu and cook for several minutes.

Butterfly Cup Cakes Ingredients - 3 Eggs - 160g of Caster Sugar - 80ml of Milk - 125g of Butter - 1 1/2 Cups of Self Raising Flour - Vanilla  - Thickened Cream - Srawberry Jam Method Preheat oven to 180. Prepare a 12 muffin hole tray with paper cases. Beat butter & sugar. Add vanilla eggs and beat well. Then add the self raising flour and milk. Mix one minute. Fill the muffin holes equally and bake for 20-30 minutes. After cooling several hours cut a large circle from the top using a sharp pointed knife. Fill with butter and whipped cream. Cut the top in to two equal pieces and put it on the cream as feathers of a butterfly.

Fish & vegetable lasagna recipe is really a good dish and I thought of sharing this recipe with you all. Every time I come home from work I wish if some one can cook for me. With the busy life style I am always trying to do one pot meal for dinner. I was so tired when I was doing this video. If you find me not energetic when talking thats the reason. I used a nice tomato pasta sauce that one of my Italian friend gave me after making a big batch for them for the whole year. Its really favour ful and fresh. Not alt all like what you buy from the shop. I dont like very wet saucy lasagna. I really like to see it in shape when you cut it serve. If it is holding the shape well you can serve it any one proudly. If you can make the sauce a day head its really easy to assemble them when you want to cook. Fish & Vegetable Lasagna. Ingredients -  Spanish mackerel or any kind of fish  - Beans  - Carrots - 1 Onion - 20g of Butter - 1 stock Cuber - 30g of Flou...

Chicken Giblets Curry Ingredients     7 50g of Chicken Giblets  - 1 Cup of Coconut Milk - Curry Leaves - Pundan Leaves - Garlic - Salt - Green Chillies - 1 Onion - 1 Chicken Stock Cube - Chillie Powder - Pepper - Tumeric Powder - Roasted Curry Powder   Cinnamon Method. Add oil in to a pan and cook onion and garlic,cinnamon, curry leaves and pandan leaves Add chicken giblets with the spices and the stock cubes and cook several minutes. Add tomatoes and green chillies. Cook half an hour. Add coconut milk and cook further 5 -10 min.

Chicken Samosa Ingredients - 500g of Chicken Mince - 2 Onions - Garlic - Salt - Green Chillies - Tomato - Green Beans - Carrot Garlic  - Ginger - Pepper -  Tumeric Powder - Coriander Powder - Chillie Powder  - Short Crust Pastry Method Preheat oven to 180. Add oil in to a pan and cook the onions ginger and garlic paste. Add the chicken mince and brown it. Add all the other ingredients and cook until there is no liquid. Leave the mix to cool down. Take short crust pastry sheets and cut a large circle. Then cut the circle in to four. Take a piece of pastry in to your hand and make a corn as instructed in the video. Fill in the mix. press and seal the edges. Bake 20 - 30 minutes or deep fry them until golden brown. Serve hot with tomato sauce.

String Hopper Biriyani Ingredients - 30 String Hoppers - 200g of Chicken Thight Cutlets - Sprin Onions - Green Chillies - Carrots - Garlic & Ginger Paste - 1 Cup Beans - 1 Tomato - 2 Onions - 2 Stock Cubes - Cumin Seeds - Cardamom Seeds - Corriander Powder - Tumerioc Powder - Chillie Powder 1 cup water to dissolve stock cubes or 1 cup stock water 1 cup thick coconut milk. Method. Add one tblsp oil in to a pan. Add the coconut milk in to the string hoppers. Add cumin seeds & cardamon seeds and let it splutter. Then add onion garlic , ginger paste ,& curry leaves. Cook several minutes. Add chicken, chillies and spices. Add tomatoes and stock water. Cook 20 min. Add vegetables and cook one min. Lastly add spring onions and string hoppers. Mix and serve hot.

Lime & Currant Loaf Ingredients  1 Cup of Currents - 1 Cup of Caster Sugar - 125g of Butter - 3 Eggs - Lime zest - 2 tblsp Lime Juice - 1 cup of Self Raising Flour - 1/2 Cup of Plain Flour - 1/3 Cup of Sour Cream    Zest of the lime. Method. Preheat oven to 180. Spray a 4x10 inch or 9x5 inch loaf pan. Beat Butter sugar & lime zest Add sour cram & eggs,Mix well Add plain & self raising flours, lime juice, & currants. Mix one minute. Spread the mix in the pan. Bake 40 - 60 min.