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A
Sweet Treat
By
Malkanthi Leitan
Feature
Story from "Explore Sri Lanka"
(Article
provided by the Sri Lanka Embassy)
|
Jaggery
(popularly known as hakuru) has been a popular sweet as well as a
much used sweetening agent in many a traditional dessert. IT
is made from the Kaffery Plam (Caryota Urens), an attractive palm,
also known as the Sago Palm, being outstanding for its much
divided leaves and triangular leaflets. Known as Kitul in
Sinhala and Kundal Panai in Tamil, the Jaggery Palm was chiefly
cultivated in the Kandyan hills in ancient times for the sake of
its sap, which is drawn, boiled down and crystallized into a type
of brown sugar - jaggery.
Today, kitul jaffery
is prepared in many areas of Sri Lanka, including Bandarawela,
Badulla, Ingiriya, Kandy, Nuwara Eliya and other places. It
is just one of the many products that can be derived from the
Kitul or Jaggery Palm Tree. For example, toddy - a slightly
intoxicating but nutritious drink - is obtained by tapping the
tree when the tree is 15-20 years old and commences to
flower. The sap, known as pani, is also used as a
sweetener. From the interior of the stem, the sago-like
starch can also be made into bread of boiled into gruel.
Kitul fiber, made from the sheaths of the leaf stalks, is very
strong and can be made into ropes, brushes, baskets, fishing lines
and other articles. Kitul palm wood is much stronger and
durable than that of other palms and can be used for many domestic
purposes. Ranjini,
from Bandarawela, says that making jaggery is easy. She
makes it by boiling kitul pani (the sap of the jaggery or kitul
palm tree). "You have to boil it over a slow fire and
stir until it becomes sticky and thick anddoes not drip from the
spoon you are stirring it with," says Ranjini. "It
usually takes around 20 minutes to get the right
consistency," she says that the kitul pani must be the
genuine thing and should not contain additives such as refined
white sugar. Next
the mixture is poured into a coconut shell to harden.
Ranjini recommends a well moistened coconut shell or a dry that
has been lined with the leaf of a plantain tree. These
methods will ensure that the mixture will not stick making it
difficult to remove. Once the mixture has hardened, which
doesn't take very long, all you have to do is to tip over the
coconut shell and the jaggery or hakuru will come out of its mold
in its brown half-globe form. Jaggery
is best made from kitul pani. You can always tell if it is
kitul jaggery because the product will be dark brown in color and
soft. Jaggery can also be made from pani from the coconut
palm tree - polpani. Unfortunately today, where pot jaggery
is concerned, sugar is added and it doesn't give you the real
distinctive flavor of jaggery. Sometimes kitul jaggery can
be adulerated with sugar, too. Always buy the darkest and
softest jaggery, light and hard jaggery has probably been
adulterated with sugar. However, genuine coconut or pol
jaggery, without the addition of refined sugar, has a high
nutrition content. For every 100 g of edible portion you get
1,638 mp of calcium and 62 mg phosphorous - bone, teeth and muscle
builders. During
the Sinhala and Hindu New Year, jaggery or hakuru, is a popular
ingredient in many a dish. Tradtional sweets such as
bibikkan, kalu dodol and halapa taste good with jaggery. |
From
the Lankan Kitchen
~Recipes~
The breadfruit,
which is in season in most parts of the island is a starchy
vegetable. However, the islanders consider it a fruit, and
call it del (breadfruit).
Sri
Lankans have applied their imaginative talents to the preparation of
many palatable dishes from this tropical fruit.
When in
season, it is available in most local markets and in some
supermarkets too. The best way to select a good fruit is to
choose one with a skin that is smooth to the touch and is
yellowish-green in color. And the proper way to clean the
fruit is: first take the skin off completely, then cut into sections
and take out the core. Make sure to cut away the dummala
(bluish parts of the fruit) if any, as these parts will spoil the
flavor of the curry.
Cut the
cleaned fruit into thin slices and soak in water with a few drops of
time, and after a few minutes drain and dry in a towel. Deep
fry in oil (395oF) until light brown. Drain oil,
lay fried slices in absorbent paper. When required as a savory
snack, sprinkle the slices with salt and chili powder. And if
you prefer to have it as a candied snack, coat the dried fried
slices with sugar syrup. These snacks - savory and candied
chips can be kept for two to three months, provided you keep them in
an airtight container.
~~Some or all of
the following recipes may be difficult to make in North America
because of the uncommon ingredients.~~ |
Breadfruit Curry
Ingredients:
1 cup thick coconut milk
2 cups thin coconut milk
Salt to taste
Good pinch of saffron
3 green chilis
Few red onions sliced
1 teaspoon powdered Maldive fish
2 teaspoons raw curry powder
1 teaspoon fenugreek (uluhal)
Few pepper corns
Piece of cinnamon
Tempering:
Onions, few pieces of red dry chilis, 1 teaspoon mustard seeds,
curry leaves, (karapincha and rampe) little oil. Method:
Cut the breadfruit into cubes (1 inch) and wash, adding a few
drops of lime juice to the water. Rub in salt and saffron to
breadfruit pieces. Add sliced onions, green chilis, Maldive
fish, fenugreek, curry powder, peppercorns, curry leaves, cinnamon
and thin milk and cook on a slow fire stirring occasionally.
When the pieces are tender (20 minutes), add the thick milk,
simmer for a few minutes. Variations:
Add a few spinach leaves to the curry and/or heat oil in
another pan, temper some onions, chili pieces, curry leaves,
mustard seeds and mix in the prepared curry.
Potato Badun
1/2 lb potatoes
thick coconut milk
a pinch of saffron
1 dessertspoonful ground or powdered dry chili
a sprig of curry leaves
a piece of rampa and lemon grass
a dessertspoonful Maldive fish
salt to taste
2 slices green ginger
3 cloves garlic
coconut oil
3 or 4 sliced onions
Boil and peel the potatoes,
put into a pan with sufficient thick coconut milk to cover, and
add the rest of the ingredients. Allow to cook over a
moderate fire. Meanwhile, fry the onions in the oil in
another pan, and when browned nicely turn the contents of the
first pan into this. Cook over moderate heat (fire)
until the gravy dries up.
Snacks and Starters
Cutlis (Meatballs)
225 g beef
25 g salt
1/2 tsp pepper
25 ml vinegar
450 g potato
1 onion
3 springs mint leaves
1 green chili
1 stlak celery
1.25 liters oil
1 egg
50 g breadcrumbs
Mince the beef and season
with salt, pepper and vinegar. Boil and mash the potato and
chop the onion, mint leaves, chili and celery. Heat the oil
in a frying pan, add the book and cook for 3-4 minutes until
browned. Add the onion, mint leaves, chili and celery and
cook until the onion has softened slightly. Add the mashed
potato and mix well together. Roll into small balls or flat
cakes. Beat the eggs and coat the cutlis with the egg before
dipping into the breadcrumbs. Heat the oil and deep fry the
cutlis until browned. Drain well.
Kokis
1 egg
250 g rice flour
1/2 tsp turmeric
1/4 tsp salt
1 liter oil
coconut milk
Beat the egg. Sieve
flour into a bowl and add the egg, turmeric, salt and sufficient
coconut milk to make a thick batter. Heat the oil and when
bubbling hold the kokis mould in the oil until the mold is
hot. Carefully dip the mold into the batter, taking care not
to submerge it completely. Remove from the batter and place
in the hot oil where the batter should separate from the mold but
still retain it's shape as it fries. If the batter sticks it
may bee to be eased from the mold with a wooden toothpick.
Repeat the process until all the batter is used. |
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