Wednesday is one of my favorite days next to Sunday and Saturday, of course. It is a bit different in a sense that we still work on our regular chores and lessons for the day. But a lady comes to help with the chores which makes it lighter for me, giving me more time to attend to the children in their studies and little bit for me. The wonderful thing is she cooks lovely Sri Lankan dishes. She will cook any dish upon request if everything needed are available. And so, being the mom who tries to be resourceful on every given opportunity, I grabbed this one again. I made it sure that today the kitchen pantry has all the stuff needed to make what we have been craving for some time... we missed it when we were out of town. Yeah, they are called string hoppers and dhal curry. And what more could we ask for? It is a cooking class and a treat rolled into one =)
String hopper is a great alternative to plain rice. It is served with Seeni Sambol, meat curry dishes. But we love it with dhal.
String hoppers recipe:
string hopper mold
string hopper wattie, small circle trays
roasted red rice flour, there are ready to cook packets sol in grocery stores
METHOD:
1. Mix together two cups roasted fine rice flour and 1 tsp table salt.
2. Boil 4 cups of water and gradually add to the flour mixture.
3. Mix until the dough does not stick to the bowl, or has the right consistency.
Cooked string hoppers are light, fluffy & dry to the touch.
If the dough is too sticky, it will be difficult to squeeze fine strings
through the mold.
4. Fill the mold with dough and squeeze the fine strings in circular motion on the
watties.
5. In a boiler, pile the watties on top of each other and steam until done, which
usually takes only 2-5 minutes,
One cup of rice flour usually makes 6-7 small string hoppers.
Make the dough in small quantities at a time.
Dhal Curry recipe:
1 cup lentils
1 onion, chopped fine
1/2 tsp saffron (turmeric powder)
2 cloves garlic.
2 red dried chili
1 tsp mustard seeds
1 sprig curry leaves
1/2 cup coconut milk
METHOD:
1. Soak lentils in water for an hour. Wash and drain until water is clear.
2. In a pan, boil water and lentils in medium heat.
3. Add 1/4 tsp saffron. Boil until the lentils open up.
4. Add coconut milk and salt. Turn off heat and set aside.
5. Heat oil in a pan. Saute curry leaf, onion and garlic.
6. Add the remaining saffron, mustard seeds and dried chili. Cook until onions are golden brown.
7. Combine this to the pan with lentils and bring to boil.
8. Serve with the string hoppers.
Now, the Sri Lanka way of enjoying this lovely meal is with a bare hand. Try it!
Here is Joy, our Wednesday Lady who cooks and teaches us how to make
lovely Sri Lankan dishes. |
