Tap, tap, tap! Class! Today we are having a culinary geography lesson and the subject is: Sri Lanka. An island of just over 20 million people, Sri Lanka sits off the southern coast of India and is known as “The Pearl of the Indian Ocean”. We had a word with our friends down at Seasoned Pioneers when we decided to create his recipe and they sent us this incredible fruity blend to transport you to sunnier climes. Enjoy!
The quantities provided above are averages only.
Boxes and ingredients are packed in facilities that handles Peanut, Nuts, Sesame, Fish, Crustaceans, Milk, Egg, Mustard, Celery, Soya, Gluten and Sulphites. Due to the war in Ukraine, it has been necessary to substitute sunflower oil with rapeseed oil in some products without a label change. The FSA have advised that allergic reactions to rapeseed oil are rare.
1
Sweet Potato
1
Onion
1
Garlic Clove
⅗
Coconut Milk
175
Brown Basmati Rice
1
Green Beans
1
Cashew Nuts
(Contains Nuts May contain Sesame, Nuts, Peanut)
1
Sri Lankan Curry Powder
1
Desiccated Coconut
¼
Chilli Flakes
½
Coriander
½
Lime
1
Ginger
Salt
Vegetable Oil
Pepper
Bring a large pot of water to a rapid boil with ½ tsp of salt. Wash the rice under running water for 30 seconds (important step!). Boil the rice for 25 mins until soft enough to eat. Drain the rice and put it back in the pan off the heat and cover with a tea towel.
Meanwhile, peel and roughly chop the onion and finely dice the garlic. Peel the ginger using the edge of a spoon and finely dice. Cut the very top and bottom off the green beans (i.e. ‘top and tail’ them) then chop into bite sized pieces. Wash the sweet potato and chop into 1cm cubes then roughly chop the coriander.
Heat a pan with 1 tbsp of oil over a medium heat. Add the onion and cook for 4 mins until soft, add the garlic and ginger and cook for another minute. Add the curry powder, the sweet potatoes, as much of the flaked chilli as you dare along with ¼ tsp of salt and mix well.
Add the coconut milk. Refill the tin halfway with water, swill it around and add this too. Cover with a lid and cook gently for 10-15 mins, until the potatoes are just cooked. Add the green beans and continue to cook for a further 5 mins.
Toast the cashew nuts in a dry pan for a few mins. Watch them carefully as they can burn quickly. In a separate pan do the same with the desiccated coconut. Tip: Be really careful as the coconut can burn really quickly
Once the sauce has bubbled down to a nice thick consistency squeeze the juice from half the lime into the curry. Stir through the cashew nuts and ¾ of the coriander. Add more salt and pepper to taste.
Serve the rice topped with the curry and the toasted coconut and the remaining chopped coriander.