Srilanka Food series- King Coconut

When I touched base with a friend asking her for inputs on Srilanka, where to go what to do etc, she shared her thoughts and inputs! The day I was travelling, she shared in our group - "Do have a King Coconut for me aaroo".. I did not know what this King coconut was, but knew it had to be something edible/drinkable. Forgot about it until our driver brought it up one day when we were on the road to Yala and it was freaking hot outside. We were gulping down water, and were parched. He asked us "you want to have King Coconut?". Both of us nodded and asked him what  it was. He pointed to one of the many shacks along the road that had these huge orange colour coconuts hanging on them and said that was it. Umm, back home we call that Coconut and Tender Coconut [ elaneer], but the coconuts are usually green in colour. They become orange, we throw them out thinking they are dry. 

But here in Sri Lanka, it is their pride and joy, the King Coconut. I then told him about our tender coconuts and he laughed "you have in India also?" This convo went on, references to food and fruits, almost to a point of competition between the two countries..hehe.. 

So, anyways, he stopped at a shack, and we each one King Coconut each. It was quite good, fresh and sweet water. The lady manning the shack, also cut it open and gave us a little sliver to scoop out the tender coconut flesh from inside. Umm, made me think about how back home the guy would actually scoop the whole thing out and give the sliver to be used like a spoon[ yes we are spoilt indeed].. Each costed 50LKR but was well worth it as they had nearly half a liter water inside them. 

 

There was music coming from somewhere behind the shack, and the lady pointed to the small house few yards away and said that was her house.  She also sold other fruits and bottled fresh honey... 

As we left the place and got back to the Air conditioned car, I wondered how much money she made in a day, esp since there was not much traffic on the road and it was mega hot.

When you are travelling around Sri Lanka, you will see these all over, and I am not exaggerating!! 

Srilanka Food series- Coconut Roti

Ah, we were up and on the road once again. This time we were driving from Nuwara Eliya to Mirissa/Galle via Bandarawela.. It was nearly 8.30 and the two of us were quite hungry. We had just a cup of tea in the morning and hunger pangs were getting to us. The weather was chill, which added to the hunger. We told Suchintha, our driver to stop somewhere for a bite to eat and he promptly pulled into a roadside cafe that looked decent. Like in many other places, we saw a board reading "Rice & Curry" ready, it had us wondering how much rice did the people in Sri Lanka eat. 

We walked in, and a lady from behind the counter came around to greet us. Through Suchinta we conveyed that we wanted something to eat, and we were veg. She asked Rice & Curry? We asked "Bread, roti, string hoppers?" and she replied "Roti- yes". We also asked her for Sambol, and she obliged. We also strolled around and found Aama Vadai, something that looked like samosa, and another which had idiyappam exterior and coconut+jaggery mix inside. It was neatly rolled up. We asked for 1 of each and few rotis. Within minutes, she brought a plate with 2 thick rotis and freshly made sambol. 

Biting into a piece of the roti had us both amazed, we wondered how it was made. We asked her and she said it was made with wheat flour, water and freshly grated coconut, a pinch of salt and cooked on a hot plate. It was thick like pita bread or bun and was just yummm.. Surprisingly it did not have coconut texture, was quite soft & smooth. Perfect morning breakfast with sambol, veg curry and a hot cup of tea.  She went on to tell us that the roti was not rolled out but flattened using the fingers/palm onto the plate. 

Recipe- Makki Di Roti & Palak Subzi

No, you read it right. We had Makki Di Roti & Palak Suzbi. I know the traditional combo is Makki di roti and Sarson ka saag, well, we don't get Sarson ka saag [the Mustard greens] in Chennai and so this alternative :)

When we had visited Delhi earlier this month, when i mentioned i like this combo, my aunt asked her maid to make it. Mom & I walked it down to this cool organic store called The Roots and bought Maize flour.We devoured the rotis and the Sarson ka saag, and mom decided she wanted to make them once we were back in Chennai. Since there was a packet of flour leftover, we brought it with us and yesterday mom made it for lunch.

She had asked the maid how to make [in her broken hindi] and managed to make a few small rotis, invited me over for lunch excitedly :)

What you need:
Maize Flour - 2 cups   

Salt -to taste
Ghee - as required to knead the dough

How to make:
1. Add salt and ghee to the flour and mix well till becomes a nice soft dough.
2. Make balls or divide the dough into portions
3. Take a plastic sheet and pat the dough on it, making it into a roti [dont make it too thin, it will stick to the sheet]... Alternatively you can roll out each ball between the folds of a greased plastic sheets.
4. Heat a tawa and cook the roti on it till both sides are done.
5. apply a dollop of butter or ghee and serve hot.

Palak Subzi that mom made was the usual subzi you make for rotis and it did go well with Makki di roti...

What you need:
Palak/spinach leaves - a bowl of chopped leaves
Onion- 1
Tomato- 1
Green chilli- 1[optional]
oil- as required
Salt- as required
Garam masala- 1 tsp
Cream/milk/curd- 1 tsp

How to make:
1. Boil the palak leaves with a dash of salt and make a puree
2. In a pan, add some oil and saute the onions & green chilli, once they turn golden brown, add the tomatoes and saute for a few more minutes.  [you can blend these if you wish]
3. To this add the spinach puree, salt, garam masala and allow it to cook
4. Add some cream/milk/curd just before you serve...

You can add palak to make it Palak paneer or potatoes if you desire. 

Bon Apettit!!