Arts
Carrying on sweet traditions
The Avurudu season beckons as we hear the insistent call of the koha, see the bright erabadu flowers blooming and of course, anticipate the sounds and smells of the sweet treats that adorn the Avurudu mesaya with the tell-tale sizzling of kokis being fried and the smells of sugar, honey and spice wafting in the air.
With everyone leading such busy lives, it is seldom that we see anyone other than the older generation being involved in making these treats, but there are a few millennials and Gen Z people who are keen to carry on the traditions that have stood the test of time.
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- Taffy Shop’s sweet treats
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- Lathushini: Recalls preparing goodies with her mother
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- Delice: Assortment of Avurudu favourites
Thirty-year-old Rajintha and 25-year-old Monali Silva began Délice in 2020 taking pre-orders for customized menus and corporate orders for both desserts and savoury dishes. They had their first seasonal spread last Christmas.
For this Avurudu season, they have come up with an ‘Avurudu Kavili’ offering which includes kiribath with kattasambol, kondakavum, kokis, mungkavum, athirasa, pani-walalau and milk toffee.
“Traditional sweets are not easy, I must say. One has to be extremely patient and learn from scratch. It is not like how we would watch a YouTube video and make something. It takes so much practice. To be honest we still can’t get the end product right sometimes,” Rajintha tells us sharing that it was their mother and aunt who guided them through making these sweetmeats.
They note that it is pretty common to see people buy their Avurudu sweets nowadays as it takes a lot of effort, energy and time to make them but they highlight the importance of continuing these unique traditions.
“For the current and upcoming generations to know and understand the value of traditions while enjoying the craft involved in making the treats is important. Luckily, when we were young our parents made these at home and got us involved in the traditional rituals,” they tell us.
Lathushini Jayaseelan shares the same sentiment as she fondly reminisces how she would help her mother with little things like chopping cashews, peeling the skin off roasted peanuts and deseeding the dates all while popping a few in her mouth when her mother wasn’t watching.
“Our sweet table is usually filled with laddu, kesari, athirasam, suseum and vadeh. When I helped my mother make laddus, she would tell me all about the time she was a young girl living in Kandy and how she would prepare all these sweets with my grandmother,” shares the 20-year-old who is hoping to go into the biomedical field.
Funnily enough, it was not just the preparation of sweets that was passed down to her but her mother’s penchant for pinching a few treats behind her own mother’s back as well!
Store bought items are extremely convenient, Lathushini admits, but she says that there is an infinite amount of happiness and satisfaction when these sweets are prepared by one’s own hands because it is not only about making sweets but more about sharing special memories and deep conversations over their preparation.
Founder of ‘The Taffy Shop’, 20-year-old Tharushi Weerasinghe says that learning how to make these Avurudu sweets and enjoying them is a beautiful opportunity for cultural appreciation as certain parts of our local heritage are passed on through the food we enjoy.
At the Taffy Shop, she makes milk taffy with cashews with caramelized heavy cream with chunks of cashews mixed in, coconut rocks that have fresh coconut flakes stirred into heavy milk and sugar, semolina taffy (also known as the rulang toffee) and potato taffy more commonly known as ala toffee which are soft potatoes mashed in with sugar crystals and then stirred into heavy cream.
“My mother taught me how to make the sweets and she learnt them from her hometown in Moratuwa when she was younger. The recipes for my taffy were all passed down to me by the family that came before me and I began the Taffy Shop because when I shared my taffy with my friends, they wanted me to share the joy they felt eating it with everyone else,” Tharushi laughs.
Avurudu means holidays and family to me, she says recalling that her fondest memories from her childhood were sneaking a few sweets off the table with her cousins when the adults weren’t looking. “It’s a yummy ending to a series of fun Avurudu traditions and a reason for the family to get together and cook and then enjoy it together on the table,” she shares.
You can find Délice on Instagram at delice_madewithlove_ and the Taffy shop on Instagram and Facebook at thetaffyshopsl