Beef Curry from Sri Lanka

When cooking Sri Lankan food, be aware that the heady aromas travel quite far and you might get neighbours dropping by to see what you are cooking.  This beef curry tastes as good as it smells.  I cooked it the day before so that the flavours could permeate through the beef cubes.

1kg beef stew meat cut into cubes
6 cloves garlic finely chopped
1 thumb-sized piece of ginger finely chopped
1 green chili finely chopped
3 1/2 tablespoons vinegar
1 tablespoon ground black pepper
2 teaspoons salt
1 tablespoon curry powder
1 tablespoon chili powder
3 tablespoons cooking oil
2 onions sliced thinly
1 teaspoon cinnamon
4 cardamom pods bruised
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 cup water
1 can coconut milk
Put oil into a large pot and add the garlic, ginger, cardamom pods, chilies and onion and cook until the onions are soft.  Add in the curry powder, chili powder, salt, pepper and cinnamon powder.  Mix well with the onion mixture.  Add the beef cubes and brown them and at the same time cover the beef with the curry and onion mixture.  Add in the 1 cup water, vinegar and tomato paste.  Let it cook on medium heat until it starts to boil.  Reduce the heat and add the coconut milk.  Leave to simmer until the beef is tender.  Serve with jasmine and cashew nut rice.
Cindy Vine is a South African living and working in Kyiv Ukraine.  She is the author of Hush Baby, Defective and The Case of Billy B.  All her books are available on Amazon in both Kindle and paperback format.

Chicken Curry from Sri Lanka

Sri Lankan curries have different flours to Indian and Thai curries.  Quite spicy with a heavenly aroma.  Cook the day before so the chicken can really absorb the flavours.  You can keep in the bones.  I removed them when the curry was cooked and falling off the bones as I just thought it looked prettier without bones sticking up.

3 tablespoons oil
1 cinnamon stick
6 garlic cloves finely chopped
1 thumb-sized piece of ginger finely chopped
6 cardamom pods bruised
2 chilies finely chopped
1 tablespoon chopped kaffir lime leaves (optional)
2 onions thinly sliced
 3 teaspoons chili powder
3 teaspoons curry powder
1 teaspoon cinnamon powder
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 teaspoon vinegar
1 teaspoon lemon juice
2.5 kg chicken pieces
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 can coconut milk
1/2 cup water
Put oil into a large pot and add the cinnamon stick, garlic, ginger, cardamom pods, chilies and onion and cook until the onions are soft.  Add in the curry powder, chili powder and cinnamon powder.  Mix well with the onion mixture.  Add the chicken pieces and brown the chicken pieces an at the same time cover the chicken with the curry and onion mixture.  Add in the 1/2 cup water, soy sauce, vinegar, lemon juice and tomato paste.  Let it cook on medium heat until it starts to boil.  Reduce the heat and add the coconut milk.  Leave to simmer until the chicken starts to fall off the bone.  Serve with jasmine and cashew nut rice.
Cindy Vine is a South African living and working in Kyiv Ukraine.  She is the author of Hush Baby, Defective and The Case of Billy B.  All her books are available on Amazon in both Kindle and paperback format.

Aubergine and Cashew Nut Curry from Sri Lanka

Being an out and out carnivore, vegetarian cooking has never been my strong point.  However having a vegetarian friend, one has to consider veggie options when planning a lunch or dinner party.  This was delicious and very easy to make.  The only problem was that I never made enough!

1 aubergine
1/4 teaspoon turmeric
2 teaspoons salt
4 cloves garlic finely chopped
1 green chili finely chopped
30g cashew nuts
3 tablespoons cooking oil
1 tablespoon curry powder
1/4 teaspoon chili powder
1 large onion thinly sliced
1/3 cup milk
1/2 teaspoon mustard 
Cut the aubergine into 3cm long thin slices.  Lay them flat on a plate and sprinkle with the salt and the turmeric.  Leave to marinate for 30 minutes.
Put the oil in a pan and fry the cashew nuts quickly.  Remove them from the pan and put them on some kitchen towel to absorb the oil.  Fry the aubergine slices until they turn golden.  Remove the aubergine and drain the oil.  Fry the onion, garlic and chili until the onion becomes translucent.
Add the chili powder, mustard and curry powder and mix well.  Pour in the milk and when it begins to simmer add in the aubergines and cashew nuts.  Allow it to simmer for a few minutes.  Done.
Cindy Vine is a South African currently living and working in Kyiv, Ukraine.  She is the author of Hush Baby, Defective and The Case of Billy B.  All her books are available on Amazon in both Kindle and paperback format.