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Rice and Curry Forever

December 26, 2017January 1, 2018 By admin

The national dish of Sri Lanka, by which I mean you can literally have it for every meal, is rice and curry. It’s basically a pile of rice and then a spread of different kinds of curries, all prepared separately, for you to create your own masterpiece. Chicken curry, dhal curry, aubergine (eggplant) curry, bananaflower curry, pumpkin curry (my favorite), fish curry… those are just the ones I can remember off the top of my head. We ate a LOT of rice and curry, but because of the variety of curries available at every table, it took a while for us to tire of it. This remarkable little place was a roadside stop with fantastic rice and curry lunch, where we had heaps of food for maybe two or three dollars.

Ok, I will!
Ok, I will!
This is the view out the door, so I can't really give you directions there.
This is the view out the door, so I can’t really give you directions there.
I love the buffet style, where we can all take what we're interested in and control the spice level (sort of).
I love the buffet style, where we can all take what we’re interested in and control the spice level (sort of).
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If you're cruising through Sri Lanka and see this place, stop and eat!!
If you’re cruising through Sri Lanka and see this place, stop and eat!!
These woven palm roofs are quite common- they last about two years before needing to be replaced.
These woven palm roofs are quite common- they last about two years before needing to be replaced.
Rice and curry
Rice and curry

 

Ajith also took us for a walk through a commercial fruit and vegetable market, which was awesome. They all knew him and were tolerant of us ooohing and ahhing over their giant piles of food, while Ajith picked up examples of all kinds of produce and told us what it was.

This one is a little blurry. I was probably shaking with fear because of the giant pile of Scotch Bonnets right in front of me.
This one is a little blurry. I was probably shaking with fear because of the giant pile of Scotch Bonnets right in front of me.
This guy was pretty stoked to have his photo taken
This guy was pretty stoked to have his photo taken
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Holy Scotch Bonnets! I think I'm starting to sweat already.
Holy Scotch Bonnets! I think I’m starting to sweat already.
The aptly named snake gourd
The aptly named snake gourd
Quick, someone make some curry out of all these pumpkins!
Quick, someone make some curry out of all these pumpkins!
Delivery man
Delivery man
Ginger for days
Ginger for days
Banana flowers are so interesting
Banana flowers are so interesting
This was a commercial market, so farmers would come and sell their produce to these middlemen, who would then sell it to markets or other large consumers.
This was a commercial market, so farmers would come and sell their produce to these middlemen, who would then sell it to markets or other large consumers.
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Ain't no party like an eggplant party
Ain’t no party like an eggplant party
Bananas on the stalk are so weird looking!
Bananas on the stalk are so weird looking!
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string beans. meh.
string beans. meh.

 

Before leaving Negombo the first day, we rose early to visit a commercial fish market. Like most island countries, Sri Lanka has a huge fishing industry and the cuisine near the coast revolves around seafood. The first boats start unloading their months’ worth of catches at 3 a.m., but thankfully we only rose early enough to catch the very end. There were piles of huge fish in varying states of being cleaned, and even a few that hadn’t finished fighting for their lives, as one guy experienced when he stuck his finger in a fish’s mouth while mugging for tourist cameras. He yelped and then tossed the suddenly wriggling fish onto another table and exacted his revenge with a large curved knife.

We saw yellowfin tuna (identifiable by their distinctive, um, yellow fins), a few sharks that had been mostly dismantled, a pile of manta ray heads the size of footballs, and bins full of smaller fish and shellfish. The previous few days’ weather had been quite severe in SL, so we weren’t sure if there would be boats at all, but even the “small” selection we saw was amazing. The hygiene, however, was less so. The fishermen slung fish bodies and guts around on the concrete, and stray dogs and crows skulked around stealing bits right off the bodies when they could. The ground was thick with fish…. juice? and small bits of bones and other discarded waste. I regretted not ordering fish curry the night before, because I wasn’t sure I’d be able to order it now. The market was closing as the sun came up, which made for a beautiful introduction to the seaside town of Negombo.

Because so many Sri Lankans are without refrigeration, much of the fish caught is dried so that it will keep longer. This process is as low-tech as it gets. These women go through and flip the fish over a couple times a day
Because so many Sri Lankans are without refrigeration, much of the fish caught is dried so that it will keep longer. This process is as low-tech as it gets. These women go through and flip the fish over a couple times a day
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I'm glad Ajith told us to wear closed-toe shoes.
I’m glad Ajith told us to wear closed-toe shoes.
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We also had one evening where we had a cooking lesson by a local family with a little kitchen purpose-built (with help from Intrepid) for teaching. It was fantastic, but also illustrated how time-consuming the “each curry cooks separately” and “everything from scratch” methods are. Luckily, we just had to follow directions, and then eat!

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Time to eat
Time to eat
Multi-burner stove top
Multi-burner stove top
These ladies gave all their instructions by memory, spices included.
These ladies gave all their instructions by memory, spices included.
Banana flowers are beautiful and delicious
Banana flowers are beautiful and delicious
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And a couple more random bits and pieces, including the street-ish food we tried. One of the best things about having Ajith to guide us is that he knew where to take us to get good authentic food (well, mostly authentic, as the cooks generally take the spice level down quite a bit for foreigners) that was prepared in a hygienic manner. And the cooks were cool when we wanted to watch them work, too. There were also tuk tuks that all drove around blaring Für Elise, like very erudite ice cream trucks, except they sold bread and pastries.

Coconut husks used in gardening for water retention
Coconut husks used in gardening for water retention
And egg hoppers, my true love. Just a hopper with an egg cooked in the bottom, but oh my- yum!
And egg hoppers, my true love. Just a hopper with an egg cooked in the bottom, but oh my- yum!
King coconuts, always available as a beverage with just a few whacks of a machete and a straw.
King coconuts, always available as a beverage with just a few whacks of a machete and a straw.
Lion lager, the default brew in Sri Lanka.
Lion lager, the default brew in Sri Lanka.
A lovely breakfast in the garden in Galle
A lovely breakfast in the garden in Galle
Our friendly neighborhood short order cook turns out a hopper, one of my favorite Sri Lankan treats. Its basically just rice flour and coconut milk, cooked in a wok-shaped pan that makes the top edge thin and crispy and the bottom thick and fluffy. Fill with the curry or sauce of your choice!
Our friendly neighborhood short order cook turns out a hopper, one of my favorite Sri Lankan treats. Its basically just rice flour and coconut milk, cooked in a wok-shaped pan that makes the top edge thin and crispy and the bottom thick and fluffy. Fill with the curry or sauce of your choice!
After tossing in a bunch of vegetables and peppers and seasoning, the guy starts cooking it.
After tossing in a bunch of vegetables and peppers and seasoning, the guy starts cooking it.
Fancy salmon at our goodbye dinner
Fancy salmon at our goodbye dinner
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A normal non-commercial market
A normal non-commercial market
I wish I had the intestinal fortitude to try the food this guy was selling. But I was not willing to chance it.
I wish I had the intestinal fortitude to try the food this guy was selling. But I was not willing to chance it.
This rotty or roti or rotti dough is chopped into bits for use in another go-to dish- kottu rotty!
This rotty or roti or rotti dough is chopped into bits for use in another go-to dish- kottu rotty!
Sometimes you just want a soda.
Sometimes you just want a soda.
Mmm, egg hoppers and dhal.
Mmm, egg hoppers and dhal.
Kottu rotty, scary deep red chicken gravy, regular rotty, and dhal.
Kottu rotty, scary deep red chicken gravy, regular rotty, and dhal.
Man, even eating potato chips is dangerous. Took a chomp of this dehydrated pepper before I knew what it was, and my eyeballs started sweating.
Man, even eating potato chips is dangerous. Took a chomp of this dehydrated pepper before I knew what it was, and my eyeballs started sweating.
Rice and curry!
Rice and curry!
Not for me!
Not for me!
You guessed it- rice and curry!
You guessed it- rice and curry!
This was hard to find, but my beer of choice.
This was hard to find, but my beer of choice.
Rice and curry for lunch by Elephant Pond, made for us by our drivers wife.
Rice and curry for lunch by Elephant Pond, made for us by our drivers wife.
Beetle nut leaves
Beetle nut leaves
One of these things will melt your face off. Do you know which one? If you guessed the Vegetable Rotty, you were right. None of us guessed correctly, but we survived. For reference, 50 rupees is about 30 cents.
One of these things will melt your face off. Do you know which one? If you guessed the Vegetable Rotty, you were right. None of us guessed correctly, but we survived. For reference, 50 rupees is about 30 cents.
Heres where the "kottu" part comes in- he chops and bangs those things on the pan and makes quite a racket. They all have good rhythm, though, and it must be part performance. All that noise surely has a Pavlovian effect on diners.
Heres where the “kottu” part comes in- he chops and bangs those things on the pan and makes quite a racket. They all have good rhythm, though, and it must be part performance. All that noise surely has a Pavlovian effect on diners.
Street food (we did not try).
Street food (we did not try).

 

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