Hath maaluwa: Cooking up the perfect Avurudu medley
Hath Maaluwa reigns supreme among curries on the traditional Avurudu table- quite superior in rank this season to the ubiquitous lunu miris, cadju badun, seeni sambol, or even the ambul thiyal with its seer fish amply marinated in spices. It is a traditional dish mostly peculiar to the upcountry- and the walawwa chatelaines and humbler housewives of Kandy, Sabaragamuwa, Uva or Kegalle vie with each other for possessing the ‘perfect’ recipe. But while the core ingredients may change somewhat, the curry of seven vegetables is a very particular delicacy indeed.
The delicious curry and the ingredients that go to make it
While the history of the hath maaluwa is as murky as the rich dish itself, it is one of the most nutritious of ‘ricepullers’ (or rather milk-rice-pullers since it is the ‘honorary ADC’ on the table to kiribath), its basic ingredients being full of goodness.
Given here is a traditional Sabaragamuwa version of this milky curry, as it is made in Ratnapura and the adjacent districts blessed by “the god of Adam’s Peak”.
As consummate housewife Sooriyakanthi Wickremeratne of Ratnapura, who imparted this heirloom recipe, tells us, it is important to get that ‘perfect balance’ with the core ingredients. And indeed it is the perfect Avurudu medley, essentially reaped from the bounty of the traditional kitchen garden, of leaf, fruit, vegetable, root, and seed.
While cashew, wattaka leaves, brinjal and jak fruit seeds are indispensable almost across the map of the hath maaluwa ‘homeland’, the other ingredients can get replaced with those including beans, sweet potato and sarana leaves, etc. – attesting to how this culinary hotchpotch has adapted to the different locales, even within the Uda-rata region.
| Recipe Ingredients: 2 Brinjals 8 Jak fruit seeds Cashew 150g Thampala – 8 leaves 6 Pumpkin leaves 2 Small potatoes 4 Long beans Karapincha Rampe 8-10 Red onions 4 cloves of garlic 1 ½ teaspoons chili powder 1 teaspoon curry powder ½ teaspoon turmeric powder 4-6 Fenugreek seeds 2 Green chilies Milk of one medium sized coconut Method: Pour thin coconut milk into a pan and add boiled cashew, jak seeds and sliced potato. Add all the condiments plus 1 teaspoon salt and start to boil. Once half boiled add chopped long bean pieces and brinjal pieces. Add thick milk and pumpkin leaves and thampala leaves. Let the curry thicken, take off the fire and serve with milk rice. | |
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