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At the heart of the cuisine in Sri Lanka is the curry powder in my opinion. spices for curry powder

It varies from one family to another and is often the reason why the same dish can taste different when compared between households. There are basically two types the roasted and un- roasted. Interchangeable in their use in either meat or vegetable dishes, ( fish and shellfish has it’s own unique curry powder details in a future post ). The roasted variety is often stronger in flavour and if your a vegetarian and require a more robust flavour for a soya dish for example it’s worth using the roasted variety. And yes I know here in Sri Lanka we can buy these curry powders ready made there is the "Ma’s" and "McCurry" brands or you can take your spices to William Grinding Mills on the Galle road and they will roast and grind them.

But never mind, my mother used a heavy iron pan to dry roast the spices individually. Starting with the larger spices then finally the more delicate fenugreek and tumeric. You can decide for yourself how light, dark or very dark you want the spices to be when you roast them, the darker they are the stronger the flavour. The smell that fills the house when you roast at home I find quite amazing and hard to describe in words.

 

Roasted curry powder :
2 cardamon pods
1/2 cup coriander seeds
10 ( a handful) curry leaves
10cm of rampe (also known as Pandanus leaf) cut into four
3 cloves
1 stick cinnamon
6cm lemongrass stalk (base white part only)
1/4 cup of cumin seeds
1/4 cup of fennel seeds

Roast the lemon grass and cinnamon stick whole until brown then add coriander seeds, curry leaves, rampe, cardamon and cloves for a minute after the lemon grass and cinnamon stick is brown. Remove from heat and add cumin and fennel these will cook with the heat of the pan. Grind in a coffee grinder in small batches or "work-out" with a pestle and mortar.

    To use mix the powder with some grated coconut and water into a paste and store in the fridge. Keep the remaining powder in an airtight container and away from moisture.