Rice
and rice dishes are always accompanied with one or more curries.
Sri Lankan curries cover the entire spectrum of hot red and
spicy brown curries, straight through to aromatic and flavor-rich
black curries and mild white curries.
Sri Lankan spices, unrivalled in quality, feature in all curries.
There are a total of 42 spices used in Sri Lankan cooking. Herbs
play an almost equal role and are found in all curries. At least
three are used in a typical dish along with the other key ingredients,
which are onion, garlic, chili, lime, turmeric and herbs. The
most commonly used herbs are sprigs of curry leaves (quite similar
to bay leaves) and the long pandan leaves.
Curry powders are almost always used to enhance the flavor and
fragrance of the curries. These powders are made from a variety
of roasted and un-roasted spices such as coriander seeds, fennel,
sweet cumin and herbs such as curry leaves. These are ground
to a fine powder and kept in air-tight containers.
All these ingredients are used more than to enhance the flavor
of the dish. The ancient medicine, aurveda recognizes the many
benefits hidden in the feisty spices and the unassuming herbs.
Many of the Sri Lankan dishes follow the principles of aurveda.
