Sri Lankan Rotti (a bread)

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Ingredients:

· 400g flour (2 1/2 - 3 cups)
· 1/2 cup coconut scraped
· 3 teaspoons salt water
· 1/2 cup cold water

Optional:

· 6 sliced red onions
· 2 dry chilies cut
· Tablespoon butter/margarine

Method:

Mix together in a bowl; sieved flour, scraped coconut, and salt water. Add cold water and mix to a suitable consistency that will not stick to the bowl. If desired add the sliced onions and cut dry chilies. Make 6-8 equal balls.

Grease wax paper with a little butter. Flatten an even, round rotti. Apply butter to surface.

Heat pan with stove and bake the rotti on it. When one side is baked, turn over to the other side and brown.

Serve with sambol, curry, butter, or jam.

Delicious!

Traditional Watalappan

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(A Sri Lankan Dessert)
This is a Sri Lankan interpretation of a steamed egg custard. It is considered to be the King of puddings, and was served to the Queen Elizabeth 11 on one of her visits. Use only Sri Lankan Kitul Jaggery.
(Preparation time 15 minutes. Cooking time 1 hour)

(serves 6)

Ingredients:
150g (5 oz) creamed coconut
225g (8 oz) jaggery
5 eggs (size 4)
1 teaspoonful grated nutmeg

Directions:
1. Place jaggery in a pan with 50ml (2 fl oz) water. Bring to the boil, and simmer until the jaggery has dissolved. Dissolve the creamed coconut in 50 ml (2 fl oz ) of hot water and allow to cool. Beat the eggs and strain into a 1¼ litre (2 pint) bowl. Mix the jaggery and milk into the beaten eggs. Add grated nutmeg. Cover bowl with greaseproof paper. Steam in a pressure cooker or colander for 1 hour. Alternatively the mixture can be divided into 6 ramekin dishes and steamed covered for 20 minutes in a pan of simmering water.
[Jaggery is an unrefined brown sugar made from the sap of the toddy palm (Caryota urens). It is available in Sri Lankan shops in a ready-to-use form known as Kitul Treacle.]

Sri Lankan Christmas Cake

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Ingredients:
50g (2 oz) candied peel
100g (3.5oz) chow (without syrup)
100g (3.5oz) stem ginger (without syrup)
100g (3.5oz) raisins
300g (10oz) sultanas
125g (4oz) currants
225g (8oz) candied ash pumpkin or crystalised pineapple
225g (8oz) cashew nuts chopped
50g (2oz) almonds chopped
100g (3.5oz) glacé cherries
3 tablespoonsful brandy
3 tablespoonsful rose water triple strength
2 tablespoonsful honey
1 tablespoonsful vanilla
1/2 a nutmeg grated
2 teaspoonsful ground cinnamon
1 teaspoonful ground cardamom
1/2 teaspoonful ground cloves
225g (8oz) semolina
225g (8 oz) butter at room temperature
12 size 2 eggs
400g (14 oz) soft brown sugar

Directions:
1. Finely chop the fruit and the nuts (the first 10 ingredients). Put into a bowl together with the honey and essences (the brandy, rose water, vanila) and the spices (nutmeg, cinnamon, cardamom and cloves). Mix thoroughly and leave covered for 24 hours.
2. Double line 2 cake tins of diameter 20 cm (8") with lightly- oiled greaseproof paper. Put the oven on to 140oC (275oF)

3. In a medium-sized bowl, mix together the semolina and the butter. Separate the eggs. In a large bowl, beat the egg yolks together with the sugar until pale. Mix in the semolina. Add the fruit, a little at a time using a cutting motion, to make sure that the cake batter is thoroughly mixed in with the dried fruit. This movement provides a lot of wrist exercise!

4. Whisk half the egg whites until stiff. (The rest can be used for meringues.) Add 4 tablespoonsful of the egg whites and beat into cake mixture to slacken it. Fold the rest of the beaten egg whites and mix thoroughly. Put the cake mixture into the two tins and cook for about 1½ hours, or until a skewer when inserted comes out clean. Cool the cake on a wire rack. Once cold prick the surfaces with a skewer and pour two tablespoonsful of brandy over each cake. Cover with foil, place in an airtight tin and leave for a week before icing.

Triple strength rosewater is available from chemists shops. In Sri Lanka the christmas cake is cut into pieces and individually wrapped and served during the festive season. The marzipan is made from ground cashew-nuts.

Kiri Pani - Yogurt And Treacle

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Ingredients:
2 200g (7oz) cartons of yogurt
225g (8oz) jaggery
½ cup water.

Directions:
1. In a heavy-bottomed pan bring the jaggery and the water slowly to the boil. The heat should be kept to a minimum until the jaggery has dissolved. Once the jaggery has dissolved bring it to the boil and allow to reduce until you have a thick pouring sauce. Strain into a sauceboat or jug and pour over the yogurt before serving.

Sau Dodol (Weli Thalapa) - a dessert

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Ingredients:
2 lbs Rice flour
4 cups thick Coconut milk
4 cups Kithul or Coconut trealce
2 tsp Salt

Directions:
In a large bowl, mix the flour and salt thoroughly. Add a little coconut milk to the flour and mix until the flour forms into small balls like beads. Do not add water. Cover and steam the flour beads for abourt 30 minutes or until cooked. Remove from the steamer and separate the flour beads and set aside. Boil the treacle and coconut milk in a large saucepan and add the flour beads while stirring. Keep stirring the mixture until oil starts to separate. Remove from heat. Transfer into a greased dish and shape into a block. Cut into pieces of any shape.

Rulang Aluwa (a dessert)

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Ingredients:
1 lb Semolina (Wheatlets)
2 lbs Sugar
1/2 tsp powdered Cardamom
1/4 tsp powdered Cloves
50 Raw Cashews, chopped

Directions:
Roast the Semolina and set aside. Prepare a cutting board by sprinkling some roasted semlina and have it ready. In a saucepan add 1 cup of water to the sugar and heat. When the syrup thickens and starts to form a crust like layer on the sides of the saucepan, add the semolina and the spices. Mix thoroughly. Add the chopped cashews and mix thoroughly. Remove from heat before the mix thickens and transfer onto the cutting board. Flatten and form into a block (about 1-1/2" thick). Cut into pieces.

Mung Kavum (a dessert)

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Ingredients:
1 lb Rice flour
2 lb Mung flour
3 cups Coconut or Kithul Treacle (available in Sri Lankan Grocery Stores)
1 tbs. Ghee or Butter
1 tsp. Salt
Vegetable oil for deep frying

Batter:
1/2 lb Rice flour
1 cup Coconut milk
1 egg
pinch of Tumeric
1/2 tsp. Salt

Directions:
Mix the rice and mung flour to get an even mixture. Boil the treacle in a saucepan. Add the flour mix. When the mixture starts to thicken add butter and salt. Transfer the thickend mixtue into an aluminum tray (cookie tray) and allow to cool. Add about 1/2 cup water into the saucepan, leave on the hot plate and stir until thick syrup like consistency. Remove from heat. Add small amounts of this syrup to the flour mix in the aluminum tray and spread into 1/2 -1/4" thick block. Cut into shapes. Prepare the batter by mixing the ingredients well. Dip the above pieces in the batter and deep fry in vegetable oil.

Wattilappam (a dessert)

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Ingredients:
10 Eggs
2 ½ Cups thick Coconut milk
1 lb Jaggery
Pinch of Cinnamon, Nutmeg & Salt
½ tsp Cardamom

Directions:
Beat the eggs well.
Grate the jaggery and mix with the egg batter.
Add all the other ingredients and mix well.
Pour the mix into a greased bowl.
Cover with oil paper & steam for 1 1/4 hrs.
Let it cool in the container before serving.
Sprinkle some chopped cashews for added taste and decoration.

Bibikkan - (a dessert)

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Ingredients:
1 lb Semolina
1/4 lb Raisins
4 cups Honey
1/4 lb flour
25 Cashew nuts
2 cups Scraped Coconut
2 ozs Butter
rind of Lime
1/4 lb Sugar
2 tsps Vanilla
1 tsp Rose water
1/2 tsp Cardamom
1/2 tsp Cinnamon
Dates, Ginger preserves, Sultanas, Chow-Chow and any other fruit you like.

Directions:
Add sugar and honey to scraped coconut and cook over slow flame until coconut is cooked. Add all fruits and cool over night. Next day add butter semolina and flour to mixture. Then add vanilla, rose water, cinnamon and cardomons. Bake in moderate heat.

Ali Gyata Pera Dessert - Avocado Dessert

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Ingredients:
3 large, fully ripe avocados
caster sugar to taste
1 cup cream dash of rum, optional

Directions:
Cut avocados in halves lengthways, remove seeds and reserve. Scoop pulp from shells and mash smoothly with a fork. Add sugar to taste and stir in the cream. Put into serving bowl, return seeds to the pulp, cover closely with plastic wrap and chill before serving.The presence of the seeds in the pure'e is said to keep the avocado from discolouring, but make sure that the surface is protected from air by putting the plastic on the surface of the mixture. If you like, extra whipped and sweetened cream can be piped over the top of the dessert and a few paper.thin slices of avocado (sliced at the last moment and sprinkled with lemon juice) used for decoration. Note: While some favour rum for flavouring, I prefer to let the delicate avocado flavour stand alone.