Jaffna Goat Curry - My Sri Lanka

This recipe of Peter Kurivita's for Jaffna Goat Curry was another from his show on SBS My Sri Lanka.

I have eaten goat but never attempted to cook it before. And since I loved other recipes from My Sri Lanka (pork curry, cashew nut curry and prawns with black pepper sauce) I knew I had to try it.

Fortunately I live in an area in Sydney where Sri Lankan ingredients are easily come by, and that includes goat! In fact goat brains, tripe, liver.....

The spices are prepared and mixed with the meat along with tomato paste and coconut milk.

Then the aromats. I tried this technique Peter shared of making garlic paste with salt. He made it look very easy and although I was pleased with the result it was nothing on Peter's effort!

The garlic, ginger, onion, green chilli, pandan, curry leaves and lemon grass are all fried initially in some oil until the onion is translucent and the aroma incredible.

Then in goes the meat and its sauce along with water.

Now this is where my problems started. The recipe says to cook for 30 minutes or until gravy thickens and meat tender. Well the gravy thickened beautifully and I tested a piece of meat, it seemed quite tender. But when we served it most of the meat was quite tough. 

I am assuming that the cut of meat I used was not right. Anyway I tried using the same cut again 'goat curry on bone' and it took two hours to become tender adding extra water at intervals.

But the sauce was incredible. Oh my goodness it tasted like a real curry!

Served with some string hoppers made at our local Sri Lankan takeaway, it was amazing.

The goat flavour wise was fantastic, suited the sauce perfectly, but mastering the cooking time is an issue.

Next time I'll probably just use lamb!

Tea Country Pork Curry with Pol Rotti and Coconut Sambol - My Sri Lanka SBS

This is another of Peter Kuruvita's recipes from his new television show My Sri Lanka.

If you click here not only will you get the detailed recipe but will also be able to watch him cooking in Sri Lankan tea country complete with a waterfall in the background and the mist coming and going. It is an amazing show to watch as Peter really shares himself and his love for the country and of course its food.

If you missed my previous post on My Sri Lanka I have also cooked prawns and a cashew nut curry.

I am going to share this recipe as I cooked it.

So firstly the pork was marinated with cardamon, roasted fenugreek seeds, cracked cardamon pods, chilli  powder, curry powder, salt, pepper, cinnamon and goroka. 

I must confess I skimped alot on the chilli as my children are not so keen on the heat.

Next you prepare the Pol Rotti with atta flour, finely chopped onion and green chilli, salt, ghee and freshly shredded coconut (I used frozen). 

Curry leaves are also meant to be added but my local shops were all out today.

Enough water is added to knead a smooth dough which is then rolled into balls and allowed to rest.

As you can see my daughter helped me prepare this meal, one her many additions was rolling out 'cute' rotti balls.

Meanwhile you start the curry by heating ghee (I used oil and butter) in a pot. 

I went all out and bought a gorgeous clay pot at one of our local spice shops.

First add pandan and curry leaves (I used dry and I was unable to get fresh today).

Followed by onion, green chilli, garlic and ginger.

Then in goes the marinated pork, covering with water, and cook until it thickens up.

My pot is so huge I could have cooked 10x as much!

Once the curry is on you move on to the carrot sambol which is simply grated carrot, finely chopped onion, garlic and green chilli, fresh coconut, salt and pepper, lime juice and crushed maldive fish.

I bought this down at the spice shop, another interesting ingredient to add to my pantry!

You use your hands to flatten out the pol rotti and cook both sides over high heat with a little oil in a flat pan.

It is served with more fresh coconut on top.

Alongside the carrot sambol. 

You can see I used a beautiful golden carrot bought at the markets on the weekend.

And of course the pork curry.

It was really incredible, every component of the meal complimented the next. 

The whole family really enjoyed it. 

The sambol added the zing and freshness to the tasty pork and incredibly moreish rotti. 

Can't wait until the next episode, need some more recipes for my new pot, and maldive fish, and goroka.....

Prawns with Black Pepper and Curry Leaf Sauce and Cashew Nut Curry - My Sri Lanka

I have a place in my heart for the country Sri Lanka. Years ago my husband and I booked our first ever overseas holiday - to Sri Lanka. It was called a 'Helping Hands' tour run by NRMA and included times in the trip that helped out those in need. We were so excited but then I received a phone call telling me the tour had been cancelled due to the war, it was no longer safe for us to travel. I was truly devastated and my heart went out to the people who had to live in this 'unsafe' country.

So when I saw advertised the new television series My Sri Lanka by one of my favourite chefs Peter Kuruvita I was so pleased. And I was not disappointed, it really felt as though you were seeing and experiencing a piece of the Sri Lanka Peter knew and obviously loved.

And I was inspired to cook more of this amazing cuisine.

So here are two recipes from the first episode - first a Cashew Nut Curry and the second Prawns with Black Pepper and Curry Leaf Sauce

This curry recipe was really quite simple. 

The onions, green chilli, pandan and curry leaves are cooked before adding in spices of cumin, coriander, turmeric and cinnamon.

 

The cashews and coconut milk are then added and the curry allowed to reduce and thicken.

Finally at the end add some coconut cream.

It was delicious and really did taste fit for a priest!

The flavours were rich and slightly sweet from the coconut with all the underlying flavours allowed to come through.

Just had to include my 'griddled' flatbread, worked a treat, they were perfect.

The sauce from the prawns included a base of chilli. curry leaves, garlic, onion and ginger.

They were cooked over high heat before turning it down and adding lots of butter.

This was allowed to simmer down after adding soy sauce, fish sauce, oyster sauce, sugar and of course black pepper. I actually had trouble with my lowest heat being too hot and ended up having to drastically reduce my cooking time.

The result was a very thick and intense sauce that was amazing with the prawns especially topped with some freshly shredded coconut and some fresh curry leaves.

So I was able to have a little Sri Lankan adventure in my kitchen and one that was greatly enjoyed at our dinner table.

Looking forward to the next episode (thursday 7:30pm SBS).

I am also so excited as for our 10th wedding anniversary next month we are having lunch at Peter's restaurant Flying Fish.

Watalappan

Recently on Twitter a photo of the Sri-Lankan dessert Watalappan was posted by Flying Fish. It looked delicious and different to desserts I normally make so I did a search to find so many variations of the steamed custard. I confirmed with Peter Kuruvita from Flying Fish that you need kithul treacle. This I was able to find at our local spice shop imported from Sri-Lanka.

Firstly I whisked 4 eggs very well. I then added 200ml of the kithul treacle, 200ml of thick coconut cream, 1/4 cup well smashed cardamon pods and 1/2 tsp vanilla paste. I whisked well before straining into a dish for steaming. It took about 1/2 hour to be set. 

For the top I put some kithul treacle in a pan until caramelising and then mixed in cashews until well coated. I put the cashews on some grease proof paper to set.

We tried the Watalappan while still warm and it was really lovely, the texture was so silky soft and it was quite sweet. 

The next night we had some cold and it was even more delicious. The flavours had developed and the sweetness toned down. My cashews still had a lovely crunch since they were coated in the treacle toffee. I'm assuming that it is meant to be eaten cold the next day! 

I really loved it and will have to cook a Sri-Lankan themed meal one night with this as dessert.