Ten cents – it’s what a young Publis Silva was given every Avurudu. Much to his parents’ pleasure, he liked to share it with his playmates. They considered their son’s generosity in keeping with the spirit of the season. His mother did her part by turning the spare grain and manioc she had saved from many previous meals into seasonal delicacies. She would store the mouth-watering treats, now preserved and cooked with sugar, under her son’s bed. These would be served up every year at the same time, as the family would pile a table with traditional food and leave it open all day for their neighbours to partake of.
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| Go healthy this season with Publis’s New Year Salad.
Pix by Saman Kariyawasam |
Now, closing in on his eighth decade, Chef Publis knows it’s a tradition he’d like to maintain. Best identified by his long attachment to the Mount Lavinia Hotel, he ensures that every Avurudu there’s a whole table of Kavun, Kokis and other traditional Kevili (treats) set up there and that it’s free of charge. (The Mount Lavinia Hotel will have their Kevili table up on April 14.)
For Chef Publis, any conversation is a chance to expound on his philosophy of cooking. The father of truly Sri Lankan nouvelle cuisine sees the very act of cooking as a sacred calling. The choice of ingredients is everything and he emphasises that it should be fresh, organic and locally sourced wherever possible. Every house can grow something, even if it’s a small pot of leafy gotu kola he says.
He himself draws heavily on his knowledge of the 42 ingredients that are considered medicinal – they range from gotu kola itself to staples like rice. Subtleties in the way they are made determine the effect they have when ingested – the same green kenda or porridge could be used to stop a running stomach or loosen one depending on how it’s cooked.
This profound respect for food is something he inherited. Growing up, he remembers his parents would pray over the rice every day before they lit the stove. He says the care with which he prepares his food and the concentration and attention he gives it have nurtured his own body – at 76 he’s seldom needed a sick day. In part, he attributes this to the fact that Sri Lankan cuisine is robust and healthy - it doesn’t use animal fat, animal milk or artificial colouring like many other cuisines. It also helps that whether you’re rolling the ponderous miris-gala or stirring a pot full of ingredients, traditional Sri Lankan cooking offers plenty in the way of exercise, he adds, eyes twinkling.
He’d like to see Sri Lankans eat less meat – this Avurudu he suggests you try the ‘meat’ of a young jak fruit (Polos). Take the skin off it and roast until it’s a tender pink, he says–its flavour is subtle and delicious.
In the same healthy vein comes his New Year Salad – made with a mix of seasonal fruit, he suggests you include bananas, jambu (rose apple), uguressa (ramontechi), avocado, palameda or heart of the palm, kadju puhulan (cashew apple) and purple mangosteen. Thin strips of fried brinjal are used to garnish the dish. He also rattled off these recipes (entirely from memory), chosen for being perfect Avurudu fare, with the Chef Publis twist:
Jathika Kiribatha
Chef Publis approves entirely of kiri bath – it’s very healthy he says. Here however, he suggests using bee’s honey and raisins and cadju for a very special Avurudu dish.
Ingredients
- 250 grams red rice
- 6 cups water
- 1 cup thick coconut milk
- 100 grams cadju nut
- 50 grams sultanas
- 3 tablespoons ghee or butter
- 50 grams jaggery
- 4 tablespoons bees honey
- Salt to taste
Directions:
Wash rice. Add cadju and water and keep it on the fire. Once its three quarter cooked, add sultanas, thick coconut milk and salt. Mix well. Now add the jaggery. Take it off the stove and mix in the bee’s honey.
Tamil New Year specialties with Jetwing Blue chefs
The two cuisines of the communities celebrating New Year are quite distinctive, offering gourmands a sumptuous tasting. Tamil food often uses gingelly or sesame oil instead of the coconut oil more commonly found in Sri Lankan cooking says Chef Kennedy Jayamanne of Jetwing Blue in Negombo. In addition, the former is more likely to employ curd over coconut milk and to incorporate flavours like mustard seeds and perengayam powder (asafoetida).
These flavours are key in the dishes the hotel will put up for their sixth Sinhala and Tamil New Year Buffet. Drawing on the expertise of Chef J. Saravanan, Chef Jayamanne suggests these recipes as suitable for Tamil New Year celebrations.
Tamarind Rice
Tamarind is a popular rice recipe of the south India. Tamarind makes this dish tangy.
Ingredients:
- 2 cups basmathi rice
- 1/2 cup tamarind juice
- salt to taste
- 1/2 tsp turmeric powder
- 1/2 tsp jaggery powder
- 1 tsp fenugreek
- a pinch of asafoetida
- 1 tsp mustard
- 1 tsp channa dhal
- 6 red chillies
- 100 gms sesame oil(as needed)
- a bunch of curry leaves
- 1 tsp peanuts
Directions:
Pressure cook the rice and spread on a plate. Keep aside.
Heat the non-stick skillet add fenugreek and asafoetida and dry fry (without oil) for a minute. Grind this into a fine powder. Set aside.
To the tamarind juice add salt, turmeric powder, jaggery, ground powder of fenugreek and asafoetida. Fry mustard, red chillies, channa dhal, peanuts and curry leaves in sesame oil. Pour into the tamarind juice mixture. Boil tamarind juice till it reaches thick gravy form and until oil comes out with good flavour. Add cooked tamarind gravy to the rice.
Pour in 1 tsp. of oil, if needed. Mix well and serve.
Payatham Parippu Curry
Ingredients:
Green gram split 250 gms
Onion 1 small
Garlic 4 cloves
Green chillies 5
Turmeric powder ½ teaspoon
Jeera powder 2 teaspoon heaped
Black pepper powder 1/2 tea spoon
Salt to taste
Milk 1 cup
Water 3 cups
Directions:
Soak the split green gram in water for 15 minutes and wash well.
In a pan boil this with 3 cups water removing the scum until the gram is half cooked. Needs about 12 minutes
Add the diced onions, diced garlic, green chillies split into two lengthwise and turmeric powder .
Continue to boil until the green gram is well cooked and soft. Needs about 10 minutes.
Add water little by little if necessary to get the gram cooked.
In a cup of milk add Jeera powder, the pepper powder, salt and mix well into a suspension. See that there are no lumps.
Pour this mixture into the pan and boil stirring all the time.
Simmer until the gravy thickens a little. Needs about 5 minutes
Note: If the green split gram is dry roasted to a golden colour first before cooking, it gives a better taste and flavour.
Prawn Varai
Ingredients:
- Raw prawns 500 gms
- Onions 1 large
- Coconut scraped 150 gms
- Turmeric powder ½ teaspoon
- Chilli powder 2 teaspoons
- Curry leaves 6
- Dried chillies 2
- Oil
- Salt to taste
Directions:
Shell, clean and wash prawns.
Then mix the prawns with turmeric powder and salt and boil them in a little water until soft and firm.
Drain if there is excess water and let the prawns cool.
When cool, grind in a grinder coarsely.
In a dish, transfer the ground prawns, add chilli powder, coconut scrapings, curry leaves and mix well by hand.
Taste and add salt if necessary.
In a frying pan, fry some diced onions until soft, add cut dried chillies and fry further.
Add the prawn coconut mixture and keep stirring until the mixture is dry.
Do not over roast this.
Serve with rice or pittu.
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