Sri Lankan Food Safari

1st July 2008 | 05:42 AET

Food Safari explores the colourful fresh flavours and seductive charm of Sri Lankan cooking. Maeve visits a fragrant spice emporium with top Australian Sri Lankan chef Peter Kuruvita from Flying Fish restaurant who hones in on the essentials. He whips up an elegant prawn curry with a creamy coconut sauce.

We meet caterer, food reviewer and tour guide Paul Van Reyk who demonstrates how to grate a fresh coconut and uses it to make a simple vibrant sambol with a touch of chilli and a delicious fresh green stir fry with a handful of ingredients. Maeve's chef friend Sunil Ranasinghe cooks up the most beautiful pumpkin curry thickened with toasted coconut and ground rice.

Australia's queen of Asian cooking Charmaine Solomon shows some shortcuts and tips on making a marvellous Sri Lankan chicken curry. She then shows Maeve how to eat Sri Lankan style - without knives and forks, using stringhoppers to scoop up curry and accompaniments. We see how stringhoppers and hoppers are made - both are made with riceflour - one looks like a little mat of fine noodles, the other like a bowl-shaped pancake, both adored by Sri Lankans. Dessert is the easiest dinner party sweet you'll find - a dense spiced custard made with coconut milk and palm sugar called wattalappam, made to a family recipe by Deborah Solomon.

Featured Businesses

Curry Leaf Restaurant
47 Boomerang Place
Seven Hills NSW 2147
(02) 9676 5825

 

Indo Lankan Food Bar
59-61 Boomerang Place
Seven Hills NSW 2147
(02) 9676 7602

Janani Restaurant
32 Burlington Rd
Homebush NSW 2140
(02) 9763 2306

Flying Fish Restaurant & Bar Lower Deck
Piers 19-21 Jones Bay Wharf
Pirrama Rd
Pyrmont NSW 2009
(02) 9518 6677

Spiceland
Shop 14, 14-22 Henley Rd
Homebush West NSW 2140
(02) 9746 2996

Sunil's Spice Centre
Shop 2, 4 Station St
Thornleigh NSW 2120
(02) 9484 8241

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