Everyday Epicurean

Digging through my offline recipes I came across on old favourite – Ceylon Curry Powder.

This spice blend is reputed to come from what is now called Sri Lanka.

h2. Ingredients.

* 1 cup coriander seeds
* 0.5 cup cumin seeds
* 1 Tablespoon fennel seeds
* 1 teaspoon fenugreek seeds
* 1 cinnamon stick
* 1 teaspoon of cloves
* 1 teaspoon of cardamon seeds
* 2 Tablespoons of curry leaves
* 2 teaspoons of chilli powder
* 2 Tablespoons of ground rice (rice flour) ((optional))

h2. Method.

Dry fry the seeds (separately) and grind with a mortar and pestle.
Grind the curry leaves and cinnamon stick.
Combine all the ingredients and store in an air-tight container.

Ingredients.

Rice:

• 1.5 cups of brown rice
• 2.5 cups of water
• 1 dried kashmiri chilli
• ½ cup of sultanas
• 2 teaspoons of turmeric 
• 1 teaspoon of dried powdered ginger

Main:

• 400g pork fillet or lean steak – cubed
• 1 tablespoon of ghee
• 1 capsicum – roughly diced
• 1 onion – roughly diced
• 2 rashers of bacon, diced
• 3-5 drops fish sauce
• 2 teaspoons Ceylon Curry Powder 
• 1 teaspoon of dried coriander leaves
• 2 teaspoons of brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon or so of apple cider vinegar 
• ½ to ¾ cup of shredded coconut
• 1 – 2 dried kashmiri chillies sliced thinly
• Splash of sesame oil
• Optionally, some fresh coriander leaves for garnish

Method.

Rice:

In a large cast iron frying pan dry roast the rice until a good amount of it pops and the rest toasts well (do not burn).

Place the rest of the ingredients in your rice cooker, then add the toasted rice and set it to cook. (You can do this on the stove, just cook as you usually would for rice)

Main:

In the same fry pan, add the ghee, heat until melted, then add the onion, bacon and capsicum. Cook until just softened. Remove and place in a bowl for later. 

Now in the frypan, splash in the sesame oil, add the pork (high heat), and brown on all sides. Add the curry powder, chillies, and vinegar. Stir well and cook for a minute or two. Add back the veg, fish sauce, coriander, and brown sugar. Stir through well. If the rice is almost done, add the coconut and stir well cooking for a couple of minutes.

Serve the rice as a bed, topped with the meat dish, and garnish with fresh coriander. 

Mas Ismoru is a Sri Lankan Pot Roast with a coconut based curry sauce. It is delightfully tangy and can be made as hot or not as you like.

Sri Lankan Pot Roast with Curry sauce and Ghee Rice

Prep time: roughly an hour
Cooking time: 2.5 hours

Stage 1 Ingredients.

Stage 2 ingredients.

Method.

Pierce the meat well with a skewer or knife all over.
Place in a large pot with the ghee and fry lightly on all sides.
Add all the Stage 1 ingredients. Stir well, bring to the boil, then reduce to a simmer and cover.
Cook for about 2 hours, stirring occasionally.
Add the coconut cream and increase the heat slightly. Simmer uncovered for about 15 mins.

Now remove the meat and place in a frypan with the ghee. Fry on all sides of the meat to give a nice seared finish.

While doing this, reduce the sauce further.

Rest the meat for 5 mins and then carve.

Serve on Ghee Rice ( https://degroot.id.au/recipes/2006/03/18/ghee-rice/ ) with spoonfuls of the sauce.