Why did the chicken cross the road?

This is a famous riddle/joke having a long history. As the yarn goes, it has been posed to ordinary people as well as to famous thinkers.  Some of the answers were very fascinating and some others very hilarious. One of my best liked answers has come from none other than Isaac Newton. According to the one who imagined the answer that Newton would have given, ... "Chickens at rest tend to stay rest. Chickens in motion tend to cross roads". The one who tried to think like Einstein has answered... “Whether the chicken crossed the road or the road moved beneath the chicken depends upon your frame of reference”.

While sitting in a thought provoking conference session on “Low Carbon Transport” in Bogor, Indonesia during the last three days, some chicken questions popped in mind. Why did the chicken run away that evening in Yogyakarta? Why did the chicken cross the road full of traffic? Did the chicken use low-carbon transport to cross the road? Do chickens produce low-carbon food for us?

Chicken is almost a staple food in Asian countries. Asian food traditions have contributed popular chicken dishes like Tandoori Chicken, Hainan Chicken, Spring Chicken, and Chicken Massaman curry to the international food scene. Colonel Sanders has popularized Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) to be an internationally popular chicken dish but KFC cannot beat the Indonesian version of fried chicken – Ayam Goreng – for crispiness and flavor. It is Indonesia’s contribution to the international chicken seen. It does not have the chunkiness of KFC but it certainly has authentic chicken flavor due to the use of Kampung (village) chicken.

I was first introduced to Ayam Goreng in Yogyakarta by my colleague Henrika around 2004. At that time, we were establishing a community-based water supply cooperative in a kampung on the Code River bank. Henrika was very eager to show me the heritage monuments in Yogya whenever we got some spare time. She accompanied me to the Borobudur World Heritage site, Prambanan temple, Taman Sari water castle, Sultan palace and Kotagede silver craft village.

                                                                               Borobudur temple

                                                                      Tamansari water castle (Spa)

                                                                                  A street in Kota Geede

Visiting the Borobudur temple was an unforgettable experience for me. It is the most visited monument in Indonesia. It consists of six square platforms and 3 circular platforms placed in a pyramidal form. The central stupa is placed at the top of the last circular platform and surrounded by small perforated stupas with seated Buddha images inside them. 

Borobudur is the largest Buddhist monument in the world. It has been built in the 9th century following Buddhist cosmic traditions and to epitomize the attainment of Nirwana. The imposing Merapi volcano provides a mystic backdrop to Borobudur and harmonizes in form. Merapi is an active volcano. Every time I stayed in a hotel in Yogya I requested a room with Merapi view. It is such a magnificent sight to behold when the sky is cloudless and blue. I could even see it erupting during one of my visits.

                                                Merapi volcano set a backdrop to Borobudur Temple

My other favorite place to visit in Yogya is Malioboro Street. It is a popular place among tourists and locals alike. Its conserved streetscape is full of batik shops, craft shops and eateries. 

                                                                     Malioboro Street scene

Yogya is also famous as an education city. It has more than 25 universities and higher education institutes. After a tiring day of studies and research, thousands of students visit Malioboro Street to enjoy savory ayam gorengs, mie gorengs, nasi gorengs, satays and tempehs from ubiquitous street food stalls. Among them ayam goring seems to be the most sought after dish. The Yogya version of ayam goreng is called ayam goreng kalasan/kremes. It is made by boiling village chicken with a spice paste and then deep frying till crispy.

Henrika introduced me to a famous local brand of ayam goreng. The brand carries the name of a Madame who was believed to have a secret recipe. The Madame’s ayam goreng looks so different from the commonly available ayam goreng versions throughout Indonesia. Its golden brown, crispy look and the fluffy granule topping are so appealing. Colonel Sanders would have spent a fortune to get that recipe. I immediately liked it just for its appearance. Once inside the mouth it flakes and disintegrates like no other fried chicken. It is so unique compared to the rubbery and oily version of KFC and its copycats.

The Madame’s branded restaurants are located in the major cities of Indonesia. Since that first time I made sure to visit one of those restaurants whenever I visit Jakarta, Yogyakarta or Bandung. One evening Henrika and I were coming back from a tiring field visit. I requested Henrika to stopover at the Madame’s ayam goreng restaurant for a quick supper. While waiting for our order I saw a huge rat coming from the side of the kitchen and darting across the dining hall. For a moment I thought that it is one of Madame’s chicken escaping from the kitchen. It ran towards the front road and disappeared. Suddenly I knew the answer for the famous riddle – Why did the chicken cross the road? ….. It was to escape from the knife of Madame.


Needless to say that I immediately lost my appetite and barely touched the fluffy and crispy chicken that arrived at our table soon after. I did not say anything to Henrika and offend her. I just pretended nothing happened. That was my last visit to Madame’s restaurants anywhere in Indonesia. However, it did not stop me from tasting delicious ayam goreng’s elsewhere.

This is a recipe that I tried once at home.

Ayam Goreng Kremes (Deep fried chicken with crispy Kreme flakes)

Ingredients

6 pieces of chicken cuts

2 bay leaves

6 cloves garlic

6 shallots

6 candle nuts (can substitute with cashew nuts)

1 stalk lemon grass

2 tbsp coriander powder

2 tbsp all purpose flour

2 tbsp rice flour

½ tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

1 tsp sugar

1½ cup water

Oil for deep frying

1. Grind garlic, shallots, candle nuts, coriander powder into a paste.

2. Coat the chicken pieces with the spice paste and place in a saucepan.  Lightly bruise bay leaves and lemon grass stalk and place over the chicken. Add salt and sugar.

3. Pour water over chicken, cover with a lid and bring to a boil. After that simmer for 15 minutes

4. Remove chicken from the pot and set aside to cool.

5. Strain the cooking liquid and mix it with two kinds of flour and baking powder to form a thin batter

6. Deep fry chicken until crispy and golden brown and place on oil absorbing paper.

7. Carefully place droplets of batter in the same hot oil and fry until golden brown. Scoop it and place on oil absorbing paper.

8. Serve chicken topped with crispy Kreme flakes.  

(Note: All pictures were obtained from Google)

What is that Stinky Smell?

My summer break is coming to an end. Very soon I have to get back to my routine work. I had a very good working-holiday in Thailand and Sri Lanka. The highlight of the vacation was a visit to a fruit orchard in Rayong.

July-August time is the fruit season in tropical countries like Thailand and Sri Lanka. A variety of fruits are grown in large scale In Thailand. Fruit orchards are quite omnipresent in famous fruit growing provinces like Rayong and Chanthaburi. These orchards usually produce durian, rambutan, mangosteen, sala (sour palm) and langsat (ගඩුගුඩා). Among them, durian is known as the “king of fruits”.

    (At Suphattra Farm: source: Internet)

Those who like durian, really love it. The others really hate even its smell. My family belongs to the first group. We never let a chance to enjoy a good ripe fruit of durian. We even introduced the taste of durian to our children at very young age. Once I went somewhere with my wife leaving our 5 year old daughter with my younger brother and sister-in-law. They have brought a durian fruit and opened it. They were not sure whether they should give a piece to the kid. So they ate the whole fruit while the kid was looking on. When we came back home that evening she said “මෙහෙම දුරියන් පෙරේතයො දෙන්නෙක් මම නම් දැකල නැහැ. මට කෑල්ලක්වත් දෙන්නෙ නැතුව ඔක්කොම කෑව”.  She was mimicking some phrases that her grandmother often used. We all had a hearty laugh. Kids are kids. They quickly learn words of adults.

One day, while going to a tuition class in the evening I saw a notice at Thilaka Jayanthi Cool Spot in Maharagama.  අද විශේෂ - දුරියන් ජූස් (Today’s Special - Durian Juice). I wanted to try that because I have never tasted durian in juice form.  It tasted so delicious with a scoop of vanilla ice cream on top. Then I went to the class. Soon I felt my tummy bloating. Perhaps the juice got highly aerated when it was churned in the blender. Burp after burp after burp …….. so many burps came out and spread delicious durian smell all over. The whole class burst into a hysterical laugh. Some classmates were making fun of me. Some girls were closing their noses. I could not take it anymore. I left the class and never returned. That night I suffered very much. Never ever drink durian juice. I learnt a hard lesson.

My second durian episode happened in Thailand. One day I went to see the CFO of our institute, Mr. Vejjajeeva. He asked me, “where are you from?”.…. I said, “I am from Sri Lanka”… “Are you a Buddhist?” …. “Yes, I am”….” Very well, we are going to visit a temple in Chanthaburi this weekend to offer alms to monks. If you like to join us, tell the GRO (Governments Relations Officer) to include your name”. I immediately met Mr. Pravit and requested to include me and my wife in the list. Saturday came and we left early in the morning by a coach. There were about 40 people including two Sri Lankan school teachers who have come for a short training program at our institute. We reached the temple about 11 am. The temple was just normal and the alms giving uneventful. Thai participants did not want to eat the left over alms. They wanted to eat seafood that Chantaburi is also famous for. We followed them and enjoyed a scrumptious seafood lunch of shrimp and crabs.

               (not the real place, Source: internet)

After the lunch, Mr. Pravit announced that “we are visiting Mr. Vejjajeeva’s orchard”. We were stuffed up to neck and wanted a nap but we did not want to miss the chance of visiting a fruit orchard either. When we arrived there we saw a huge Roman style mansion in the middle of a large mixed-fruit plantation. There was a long buffet table of fruits waiting for us in the middle of the entrance porch. The pride of the buffet was freshly opened durians. We feasted on durian and mangosteen just after shrimps and crabs. What a combination. That evening was my second time to regret. 

In Sri Lanka durian and mangosteen are considered as heaty fruits, but I learned that Thais consider durian as heaty and mangosteen as cool. Therefore they should be eaten together in order to get a perfect balance.

               (source: Internet)

In Sri Lanka, durian trees are very tall and you have to wait until ripe fruits fall down. I guess they belong to an indigenous variety. In Thailand, they grow hybrid durian varieties. They are just about 4-5m tall and branches are full of fruits.

In Sri Lanka people usually buy durian fruits that are just split open. In Thailand, no one buy durian fruits like that. Therefore such fruits are sent for producing sweets like candy, bars, cream etc. Durian experts tap fruits using a wooden stuck and listen for the hollow sound to determine its degree of ripeness. Opening of such a durian fruit is a great skill.

This summer I learnt that there are 4 popular hybrid durian varieties grown in Thailand. They are;

Chanee – oblong shape with a round end, green color

Mongthong – oblong shape with a pointed end, rusty green color

Kanyao – round shape, light green color

Kradumthong – oblate shape, green color

                                                                                Chanee

                                                                            Mongthong

                                                                                 Kanyao

                                                                            Kradumthong

(Read this article if you are interested in details. http://www.dit.go.th/agriculture/durian/varietie.htm)

The Mongthong variety is the most popular because the seeds are smaller and the flesh is thicker. I was told that a Mongthong fruit from Nonthaburi Province near Bangkok can fetch about 150 USD. Durian fruits from Nonthaburi are believed to be the most delicious among all. One has to order in advance due to limited production.



If anybody dares to drink durian in liquid form, here is a recipe for a delicious durian smoothie.

Ingredients

1 cup Durian flesh

1 banana

1 cup crushed ice

½ cup milk

1 tbsp condensed milk

Method

Put all ingredients into a blender and churn to the desired degree of smoothness.

Tea Persons and Coffee Persons

Last week I was waiting for my daughter near her friend’s house around 6 pm. The second test match between Sri Lanka and England was on TV. The friend’s grandmother saw me listening to the commentary and invited me inside the house to watch the match. I very gladly accepted her invitation. Then she asked, … “Are you Sri Lankan?” I answered, … “certainly”. Then she asked in Sinhala, … “ලංකාවෙන් ගෙනාපු කෝපි තියෙනව. බොමුද ටිකක්? (There is some coffee brought from Sri Lanka. Would you like to have some?).  It was within few seconds into our conversation that I accepted another invitation from her very gleefully. She went inside the house and brought me a steaming cup of black coffee. Its aroma and taste reminded me my beloved mother.

My mother used to make her own coffee powder. She had planted few coffee bushes in our back garden. She picked coffee berries when they were ripe and then sun dried for few days before taking the shells off. Then she stored the dried and split berries in a jar and took batch by batch for roasting. She roasted the coffee in an old frying pan heated on a firewood stove and then powdered it using a stone mortar and pestle. The coarse powder was kept in an air tight glass jar. It was sufficient for about a month. Around the time of sunset she prepared black coffee and served with pieces of juggary. The taste was very unique and divine. Even if they come as a team, Gloria Jeans and Costa could have never beaten the taste of her coffee.

We Sri Lankans are generally tea drinkers, not coffee drinkers. We are famous for producing the best tea in the world and selling under the famous national brand “Ceylon Tea”. We fondly say that ‘any time is tea time in Sri Lanka’. That means coffee is a drink for only special times. My mother’s special time was around sunset. Weddings and homecoming receptions are some others special times for serving coffee in Sri Lanka. The Sri Lankan version of iced coffee is usually the choice of welcome drink in such occasions. When I moved to Middle East I found that Arabs also use coffee as a welcome drink. Arabic coffee is bitter and spicy tasting for me. I have not got used to Arabic Coffee yet.

Coffee drinking is deeply rooted as part of the culture in some other Asian countries. Laotians are very proud of Lao coffee. They use coffee as a gift as we Sri Lankans use tea as a gift. The Vietnamese use coffee as an interface to socialize with friends and guests. Drinking coffee is part of the everyday life in Vietnam. Probably there is no other culture in Asia that use coffee for leisure, gossip, romance, business, entertainment and just simple conversation as the Vietnamese do. There are a large variety of coffee shops to suit different times, moods and purposes. The architecture and ambience of coffee shops also vary accordingly. They range from chaotic street cafes to very romantic venues with cozy and intimate ambiences. 

The Vietnamese coffee belongs to the Robusta family of coffees. Drinking the traditional Vietnamese drip coffee is an experience itself. It is a perfect aide for conversation. While the hot brewing coffee drips drop by to the cups or glasses partly filled with condensed milk, the conversation can go on and on. It takes quite some time for the dripping to stop. Then you have to thoroughly mix the coffee with sweetened condensed milk to produce that uniquely Vietnamese taste.  You can either enjoy it as a hot drink or pour over ice to turn it into a cold drink. The blended and stylized coffees like Cappuccino, Americano, Latte, and Mocha in upmarket coffee shops are no way comparable with that heavenly taste. 

Every time I visit Vietnam I make sure that I drink at least one cup of drip coffee per day.  I was first introduced to its wonderful aroma and flavor by my good old friend Nguyen Nam Son. Later some architect friends like Hai and Thong accompanied me to several coffee shops in Saigon and Hanoi cities. Those places gave me a complete sensory experience of sights, sounds, aromas, flavors and feelings in a variety of architectural ambiances. I brought with me the necessary equipment and coffee powder to emulate Vietnamese drip coffee but never succeeded in doing so. You have to taste a cup made by a Vietnamese girl and enjoy it in a Vietnamese coffee shop to experience that wonderful sensory experience. When I visit Ho Chi Minh City, I really like to sit in the Highland Coffee shop located in the top floor of a shopping center and observe people in the little garden in front of the Saigon Opera House. How wonderfully well the sight of classical architecture and taste of traditional coffee flavor blend together. 

Coffee drinking is becoming a lifestyle trend in some Asian countries. Thailand got into that trend several years ago. Very cozy little coffee shops have sprung up in many cities and towns. The Amazon Coffee chain is one of my favorites on the go. I guess Amazon Coffee is a franchise now. No two Amazon shops are similar in architecture but all of them have a common architectural language. They are mostly located in the travel service stations. The transparency of the shop core and the openness of the sitting area and the landscape design of the surrounding encourage travellers to come in and relax while sipping coffee. I dream of owning a place like that one day.

If that dream comes true, I will serve the Sri Lankan versions of black hot coffee and iced coffee.

Sri Lankan style Iced Coffee

Ingredients

1 small can sweetened condensed milk

3 tbsp freshly roasted Sri Lankan coffee powder

1.5 tbsp white sugar

1.5 liter boiled water

1 tsp vanilla essence

1 tbsp brandy

Method

Pour condensed milk into a jug and pour half the quantity of boiled water into it. Stir it to form the milk solution.

Put coffee powder in another jug and pour the remaining quantity of boiled water. Stir well and keep it covered for 2-3 minutes.

Mix the above two solutions and add sugar, vanilla and brandy and stir well.

Strain the mixture twice using a fine cloth or a coffee filter and then refrigerate it.

Serve without ice in cold glasses. 

(All the pictures in this post were obtained from internet. I thank the unknown owners of those pictures.)

Visakha Bucha

The vesak week of 2014 is coming to an end in Sri Lanka. I wonder whether any other Buddhist society celebrates Gauthama Buddha’s birth, enlightenment and parinirvana as we Sri Lankans do. Vesak festival ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vesak )is one of the most beautiful times in Sri Lanka. Many villages, towns and cities look so beautiful in the evenings when thousands of pandols, lanterns and other decorations shimmer with colorful light. Buddhist style carols and chants reverberate in the air. The aroma of lighted coconut lamps and incense sticks fill the nostrils. The scrumptious meals and herbal beverages offered by numerous dansal (charity food stalls) tickle the taste buds. These sensations please both body and mind alike. Hence it is a complete sensory experience.

                                                        Vesak Pandol in Colombo (pic from internet)

                                                               Vesak Lantern (pic from internet)

When I was a very small kid I remember that our eldest brother Ananda used to make small pandols in front of our house for the vesak festival. They were about 4 m high and imitated the much larger versions seen in Colombo and other towns. Lighting design was done by his best friend Karunarathne. Our cousin sister Rupakka did water color paintings for the pandol to show the incidents of Buddha’s life. Once our second brother Sarath even wrote few verses of viridu (a uniquely Sri Lankan form of poetry) emulating what he has heard near big pandols in Colombo. One of the verses I still remember goes as follows. 

උයන තුලදි මහමායා දේවිට බඩරුජා හැදී

සල් අත්තක් අල්ල ගැනීමට අත දිගු කරන ලදී

Vesak is a time for Sri Lankan people to engage in more pious activities, visit many temples and revere the life of Buddha. We used to visit famous temples like Warana, Attanagalle, Kelaniya, during the day time and visit Colombo and suburban towns in the evenings to admire wesak decorations. Visiting few dansal on the way was a sure itinerary on these excursions. We miss that amazing experience after leaving Sri Lanka for higher studies and work. We have seen vesak festivals with decorations and lights in Japan, South Korea  and Thailand but they were no way comparable with Sri Lankan way of vesak celebration. Particularly in Thailand where we lived over a decade, we never witnessed vesak celebration in such grand scale as in Sri Lanka.

Vesak festival is called “Visakha Bucha” In Thailand. It is celebrated on the full moon day of May as we Sri Lankans do. But it is basically a one day festival in Thailand. The most important event of the day takes place after the sunset. It is called “vian tian” ceremony. Vian means to circle and tian means candle.  Vian tian is performed by walking around an image house or a chedi (stupa) for three times while holding a lighted candle and a white lotus flower. This is done in clockwise pattern with the right side of the body turned towards the image house (vihara) or stupa (chedi).  We Sri Lankans call this pradakshina but never do it in such an organized way as Thai people do. Vian Tian ceremony is the grand finale of Visakha Bucha festival. It is a sight to behold and an experience to cherish. 

  

                               Vian Tian ceremony at Wat Yai Chai Mongkol in Ayuthaya (pics from internet)

When we were living in Thailand we used to visit Ayuthaya Historical Park on Visakha Bucha days. Ayuthya is the last royal capital of Thailand (1351 – 1767) before Bangkok became the national capital. The ancient city of Ayuthaya has been conserved by the Royal Thai Government with the help of UNESCO. Presently it is a UNESCO world heritage site ( http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/576  ). Wat Yai Chai Mongkol (ජය මංගල මහා විහාරය) was our favorite destination in the historical park. Any Sri Lankan visiting this temple will be very happy to read the information board at the entrance and learn that the central stupa has been constructed following “Lanka style”. Thai people have learnt this style during the Sukhothai period (1238 -1438). Before that, stupas in Thailand had influence from Khmer and Lanna styles. Perhaps the predecessors of Sukhothai Kingdom had religious and cultural ties with Anuradhapura Kingdom (377 BC – 1017) and Polonnaruwa Kingdom (1017 -1215) in Sri Lanka. The Lanka style stupas in Sukhothai and Ayuthya are bell shaped. There are no bell shaped stupas in Polonnaruwa as far as I know. Does that mean the inspiration for “Lanka style” has come from none other than Thuparama Stupa in Anuradhapura, the very first stupa constructed in ancient Sri Lanka? 

    

          Thuparamaya Stupa (210 BC) in Anuradhapura, Sri Lanka (pic shows the 1862 reconstruction)

                                                                                            (pic from internet)

                                            Wat Sa Si in Sukhothai (late 14th Century) - (pic from internet)

                                                    Wat Yai Chai Mongkol (1357) - (pic from internet)

According to chronicles, the Siamese monks from Ayuthaya Kingdom have helped Sri Lankan monks to re-establish Sangha order when there was a crisis during the colonial period in Sri Lanka. That has given birth to the Siam Nikaya (Siam sect) of Buddhist monks based in Kandy. Later the Sri Lankan monks have returned the favor when Siamese monks were experiencing a crisis. The new Sangha order established in Thailand is called “Lanka wong”. We were thrilled to learn such intrinsic details during our numerous visits to Ayuthaya. We also learnt that a venerable monk called Upali thero was the leader of the Siamese delegation that visited Sri Lanka to re-establish Sangha order. He has stayed back in Sri Lanka and passed away in Kandy. His former avasa ge (monk’s residence) in Ayuthaya was conserved by the Sri Lankan government around 2002. We were fortunate to participate in the inauguration ceremony. To my very pleasant surprise I could meet the most venerable Ambanwalle Pnnnasekara thero who came from Sri Lanka to represent the Malwatta Chapter of Siam Nikaya. He was the anu-nayaka of Malwatta Chapter at that time. He was my Buddhism teacher in grades 9 and 10 at Ananda College in Colombo. He said that “wherever I go in the world I always meet Anandian sons”. Needless to say that I was very proud and happy to hear such words from a former teacher.

 

This post is incomplete without some remarks about Ayuthaya’s cuisine. In Thailand, almost every province has a signature dish or a product. Ayuthya has three signature dishes, (1) Ayuthaya boat noodle, (2) Roti Sai Mai (A Thai Muslim sweet similar to cotton candy wrapped in a very thin roti)  , (3) Wing bean salad (Yum Tua Ploo). The third one is my all-time favorite. I have tried to make this dish several times but I never could achieve the authentic taste offered by many river side restaurants in Ayuthaya. Here is the recipe. You can try.

                                                                    Wing Bean Salad (Yum Tua Ploo)

                                                                   (pic from internet)

Ingredients

250 gm tender wing beans

3 twigs of cilantro coarsely chopped

5-6 shrimps peeled and deveined

4-5 red hot chilies

3 tbsp thick coconut milk

1 tbsp tom yum paste (can substitute with chili paste)

2 tbsp fish sauce

2 tbsp fresh lime juice

2 tbsp cashew nuts coarsely ground

1 tsp sugar

1 tbsp salt

4-5 dried and fried red chilies (for garnish)

6 thinly sliced red onions deep fry half (for garnish) and keep the rest

3 tbsp shredded and dry roasted coconut

2 eggs hard boiled and sliced/quartered

Method

Boil 2 cups of water and add 1 tbsp salt

Blanch winged bean in boiled and slated water for 1 minute and remove to a bowl of cold water for 1 more minute. Place in a colander to drain all water. Soaking in cold water will help to keep them green. Slice the blanched wing beans diagonally and thinly as possible.

Boil shrimp until just done. Do not over boil.

Warm the coconut milk.

Put sliced wing beans, boiled shrimp, sliced red onion, sliced red chilies, chopped cilantro in a bowl.

Add coconut milk, tom yum paste, sugar, lime juice, and fish sauce.

Lightly toss like a salad. Adjust sour and salty tastes as desired by lime juice and fish sauce.

Plate the salad on a flat dish and garnish with roasted cashew nuts, roasted coconut, deep fried dry red chili and deep fried red onion.

Plate boiled and sliced/quartered eggs on the side.

Precariously Sitting on Stilts

The solar new year season in Sri  Lanka will come to an end today (30^th April). It spanned for almost three weeks from 13^th April. I could not participate in the new year festival held in our city few days ago. Although we are thousands of miles away from Sri Lanka many of us do not forget to follow the traditions associated with the new year. One tradition among them is the preparation of sweet meats and dishes associated with the festival.

Ladies in my family  had some special skills for preparing sweet meats and dishes. My paternal grandmother’s specialty was “seeni sambal”. Every new year period we looked forward to taste her tasty “seeni sambal” full of chunky pieces of maldive fish (උම්බලකඩ). She was very fond of maldive fish and even added it to her dry fish curry (කරවල හොද්ද) as a condiment. During Sirimavo government (1970-77) when every commodity was on ration, we had to purchase them from the co-operative store. She used her precious ration of maldive fish piece in an ingenious way. She tied it in a piece of twine and lowered to her curries for a while to infuse some flavor into them. Then she took the piece of maldive fish out, wiped it dry, and kept it in a secure place for the next round of cooking.

             

As I wrote in a previous post, my maternal grandmother’s special dish was “imbul kiribath” (lumped milk rice with sweetened coconut stuffing). She did not limit it to the new year period. Unlike the senior ladies who specialized on savory dishes, my mother’s specialty was a sweet called “Helapa”. “Kanda” leaf is essential for wrapping helapa. Therefore “Kanda” (කැන්ද) tree is mockingly called “Helapania Othenia” (helapa wrapper).  During this new year period we thought of making “helapa” to distribute among our friends, but how to find “helapania othenia” in this desert? Luckily we found some banana leaf imported from Kerala and used it as a substitute. The result was satisfactory but lacked that distinct flavor of “helapania othenia”.

                                        Helapa wrapped in Kanda leaf

                                 Our version of helapa wrapped in Banana leaf

I used to visit by friend Sarath’s family in Delana, Kuliyapitiya during the new year season and spend a week or two there. Before the visit I brought a bottle of “kitul” treacle and a pound of rice flour to  my aunt and requested her to prepare some “savu dodol” for me to take to Sarath’s mother. My aunt could prepare “savu dodol” that tasted heavenly. This new year we tried to make “savu dodol” from fake “kitul treacle” and rice flour available in the super markets here. Well the taste was at least earthly but it did not solidify adequately. So we could not distribute it among our friends here. If I remembered the following poem  about “savu dodol” (also known as “weli thalapa”) we wouldn’t have gone wrong about the required condition of heated treacle.

“කිතුල් ගසක පැනියෙන්ද

මඳක් සීනි සමගින්ද

හැඳිගා කකාරමින්ද

ලනු වැටෙනා පදමින්”

Sarath’s family really liked “savu dodol” and  Little Lion’s Butter Cake that I brought for them. When I informed Sarath that I am coming, his mother cooked her specialties, “polos ambula” (slow cooked young jack fruit) and cashew curry for me. I think women in Kurunegala district are all very skillful to cook those signature dishes of Sri Lanka.

New year time is the season for cashew. There were many cashew trees around Sarath’s house. So Sarath’s mother treated me with sumptuous “kiri kaju maaluwa” (raw cashew nut curry) almost every other day. Cashew curry is a special dish for new year festival and other celebratory occasions like weddings. This new year we also prepared a cashew curry. Since it is difficult to find raw cashew nut in this desert country we had to use dried cashew nuts bought from a super market. The taste and crunchiness is not quite the same but it was a decent alternative. I give below a recipe we used for our dish.

During my visits to Kuliyapitiya, Sarath used to take me to see vernacular architecture in the area. What I admired most were “tampita vihara” (temple on stilts) and “ambalama”(wayside resting places). Both types are built on stone pillara (stilts) or boulders. It is amazing to see how these delicate buildings are precariously balanced on stilts or boulders. Although functions are very different, tampita vihara as a shrine room having a religious function, and ambalama having a secular function, their architectural forms are more or less same. The tampita vihara distinguishes by its more elaborate roof details.   

                                                    A Tampita Viharaya (A shrine room on stilts)

                                                     Tampita Viaharaya at Bihalpola Raja Maha Viharaya
                                                           (Pic. Courtesy of Archt. Kolitha Perera)

                                                                    Panavitiya Ambalama
                                                                       (pic from internet)

                                                             Karagahagedara Ambalama
                                                                     (pic from internet)

There are several fine specimens of these vernacular building types in Kuliyapitiya area. It is sad to see the current condition of these heritage buildings. When Prof. Nimal De Silva talked about these heritage buildings during our first year in the architecture program at Moratuwa we did not realize that he was talking about the language of our traditional architectural expression. I wanted to write about the architecture of tampita vihara for my BSc Dissertation but Prof. Nimal De Silva directed me to write about something else. I was disappointed  for not getting that opportunity but the professor's assigned topic was equally interesting. I could learn the language of even an older architectural tradition of Wayamba Province. 

All languages evolve over time. So do the architectural languages. Preserving our Sri Lankan architectural heritage is like preserving our linguistic traditions.

The food culture of Sri Lanka is also full of traditional dishes. Food is the language of our ladies and also some gentleman. Our food traditions gradually disappear in the era of processed food. Sometimes it is disgusting to see the adulterated traditional dishes like cashew curry mixed with green peas, chick peas and even carrot. I end this post by giving the recipe of a traditional cashew curry that we tried in this new year

Ingredients

500g raw cashews/dried cashews (halved nuts are better than whole nuts)

4 green chilies sliced

5 small onions sliced

2 cloves garlic

1 inch cinnamon stick

1 sprig of curry leave

2 inch pandan (rampe) leave

1 tsp curry powder

¼ tsp turmeric powder

2 tsp chili powder

Pinch of roasted curry powder

2tbsp coconut oil or ghee

1 cup thick coconut milk

Salt to taste

Method

Soak cashew for 2-3 hours in water if you use dry cashew. Drain and keep aside to strain excess water.

Heat oil/ghee in a sauce pan. When smoke begins to come out, add sliced onion, green chilies, curry leave, pandan leave, cinnamon, garlic and little salt. Sauté until fragrance comes out.

Add cashew and mix well.

Add chilli powder, curry powder and turmeric and sauté for about 1 minute.

Add coconut milk bring to boil. Stir from time to time.

Add bit more salt if necessary.

Simmer for 15-20 minutes until cashew is well cooked and gravy is thickened.

Garnish with a pinch of roasted curry powder.