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.