JOURNAL — Zinara Rathnayake

When my mother was not working, she would make the curry we loved the most: Sri Lankan chicken curry. So every weekend at home, chunks of fresh village chicken cooked in a gravy scented and flavoured with roasted spices, homegrown curry leaves and pandan leaves. My mother thickened it with creamy coconut milk. It smelled of my mother’s love; and we would wait, so eagerly, for lunchtime to pair it with a plate of steaming white rice. Every family in our sunny little island craves this creamy chicken, devouring each morsel with carbs of choice: string hoppers, thin rice noodle...

Small, glossy and soft, fresh curry leaves are an integral part of Sri Lankan cooking. Karapincha or karuvepillai—Sinhala and Tamil for curry leaf plants—dot the backyards of our village homes in Sri Lanka, and grow in pots that cram the tiny balconies of urban Colombo. Eat your way through the emerald island and you’ll find it difficult to find a dish seasoned without curry leaves—their sweet, earthy fragrance is loved by all Sri Lankans. Think of creamy dals or a tangy chicken curry cooked with curry leaves, bringing together the flavours to complete a mouthwatering feast. Even if you live...

Often prepared during Christmas and special occasions, Sri Lankan love cake is a wonderful addition to teatime at home. Growing up in Sri Lanka, a piece of love cake meticulously wrapped in sequin paper is a gift that we all give, and love to receive. Although love cake has a brown, bland and somewhat uninteresting appeal, looks, like they say, can be deceiving. Sri Lankan love cake is a labour of love; it’s rich, delicate and dense; and tied to years of colonial past and folktales of the ethereal island. This uniquely Sri Lankan cake, for many Sri Lankans, is...