Sri Lankan food

I'm leaving tomorrow to visit my parents in a very very very rural area of MN. Our Catholic priest is from Sri Lanka, and I believe got stuck in my parents' backwater church because no one can understand his accent. I'm not sure where in Sri Lanka is from. While not particularly religious, I feel for him on a "guy stuck in a place with no good food whatsoever" level. (Chowhound people routinely answer "where should I eat" questions regarding this part of MN with "In 20 years, I have yet to find a single good restaurant there.")

I'd like to bring something home for him so that he does not have to deal with my mother's butterbrickle in a grazing deer tin.

As I understand it, Sri Lankan food is similar to Southern Indian food.

What would you recommend we bring him? And where would you recommend we buy it? (I live in Lakeview) Something easily transportable and easy to pick up on our way out of the city would be best.

Hi,

Sri Lanka is an island nation off the southern tip of India or as my Dad just interjected, whose been there, is just 6 degrees north. It is mainly a Buddist country founded by Indians who fled there. The full moon is a holiday, so they have at least 13 holidays a year.

Since your Sri Lankan is a Catholic Priest, you don't have to worry about any Buddist religious dictate, though I imagine he is somewhat culturally Buddist simply from the environment he grew up in.

I would bring him spices from Devon Avenue around Western Avenue (west of that intersection there is Kamdar Plaza). What I learned from my other life, you can accomodate any local ingredients to fit your homefood desires as long as you have the right spices and herbs ... maybe ghee in his case. AFter you know him, then he will likely help you select what he wants. If he really is out in the middle of nowhere quite divorced from his culture, then I imagine any attempt to consider his homeland will touch his heart.

If your priest is like the Indians or Sri Lankan's I've met, they speak English at a very rapid pace. If he could be encouraged to slow down, it may help. Of course, this takes some diplomacy.

Merry Christmas!

Not sure if this will help, but it seems pretty easy if you have the ingredients - a recipe from the Sri Lanka chapter of Charmaine Soloman's "The Complete Asian Cookbook":

Thala Guli
"One of Sri Lanka's best-known local candies. They are sold on the road to Kandy, the ancient hill capital and favourite tourist resort, by village belles who also offer young ccoconuts for drinking."

2 cups sesame seeds
500g (1 lb) palm sugar or substitute [like light brown sugar - ed. comment]
generous pinch of salt

In a mortar and pestle pound the sesame, a little at a time, until the seeds are crushed and oily. As each batch is done, turn it into a bowl. Grate the palm sugar and add to the sesame with the salt. Mix well with hands.The heat of the hands and vigorous kneading slightly melts the palm sugar, and after a while the mixture will hold together. Make balls the size of a large marble. These are wrapped in rectangular pieces of wax or greaseproof paper fringed at the ends. The paper is twisted on either side of the thala guli so each one looks like a miniature Christmas fire cracker. Serve at the end of a curry meal, or as a between meal treat.

Caveat - I haven't tried making this, and if I did, I'd probably just try a 1/2 recipe.

Of course, if he has access to the internet, he may be buying his own groceries at http://www.namaste.com or http://www.ethnicgrocer.com
I'd consider bringing one of those tiffin tins of pastel colored Indian sweets made from semolina and decorated with pistachios or silver paper. Any Indian grocer should be able to put one together for you.

got beaten to the devon punch.

but, that notwithstanding, there used to be a fantastic restaurant in minneapolis called, Sri Lanka Restaurant (how unique, no?). i'm fairly well-travelled, but i've not had the pleasure of visiting to sri lanka, and i've never seen a restaurant solely devoted to sri lankan food other than the restaurant in minneapolis. i'm guessing there ain't that many.

i mention the restaurant because if its owner still lives in minnesota, your priest might be able to find and touch base with him to get ideas on where to get goods in minnesota or elsewhere. for a guy in minnesota to open up a sri lankan restaurant, something tells me he knows a thing or 2.

Thank you for the great suggestions.

I was surprised to see that one of the only returns when I did a Google search for Sri Lankan restaurants was one located in Minneapolis. Unfortunately, when I say middle of nowhere, that even means several hours from the Twin Cities...if we lived closer I would bring him some take-out from that restaurant.

If I go to a bakery or shop on Devon and ask for something a Sri Lankan would like, would it be offensive--like asking a Puerto Rican for a taco recipe?

Ann Fisher wrote:Of course, if he has access to the internet, he may be buying his own groceries at www.namaste.com or www.ethnicgrocer.com

A reasonable choice if you have the income level, which he may or may not have, and often it is Shipping and Handling where one gets nipped.

If you google 'sri lankan food' you will find a number of food websites, which will give you an orientation.

Regards,

just to be clear, sri lanka restaurant is closed if i'm not mistaken. that's really too bad as the restaurant was really good. but, minneapolis is no more known for its large sri lankan population than the rest of minnesota (a large state, i know) is. i mentioned the restaurant because if your priest can locate its owner, he might get some advice on how to get stuff in/to the middle of nowhere. also, as i recall, the owner was sri lankan, so it might still be good to hook up with a fellow countryman in the same state. just a thought.

I am far from an expert on Indian sweets (most are much too sweet for me) but of the Devon Avenue sweet shops be sure to visit Ambala. Take a look at this thread. Ambala gets high marks for its sweets and their packaging is much nicer than at most other places, making it especially appropriate for a gift.

I'm pretty sure there are no Sri Lankan restaurants in Chicago.

Ambala Sweets
2741 W Devon Av
Chicago
773-764-9000

It's a shame if the Sri Lankan resto in Minneapolis is closed. I was there once, and the food was spectacular. Imagine Indian food with the knobs turned to 11. We only ordered to level 5 out of their seven levels of heat, but still couldn't finish everything and my lips burned for two hours.

Should have been more skeptical when the travel posters on the walls all showed tables and tables of dried peppers

It was called Ceylon, if I remember correctly.

JoelF wrote:It was called Ceylon, if I remember correctly.

My Dad agrees.

This poor, poor man....I can overstate how horrible the food I was raised on is. I only realized over Thanksgiving when I offered to do the shopping that, although the supermarkets are as big as you'll find anywhere, they somehow manage to have absolutely no selection whatsoever. I refuse to buy iceburg lettuce, but had no other choice.

My guess is he doesn't have the money for ethnicgrocer.com.

Hi,

Sri Lanka is an island nation off the southern tip of India or as my Dad just interjected, whose been there, is just 6 degrees north. It is mainly a Buddist country founded by Indians who fled there. The full moon is a holiday, so they have at least 13 holidays a year.

Hey Cath,

Your dad is spot-on - just off the southern tip of India, separated by the
fairly thin "Palk Strait" (it can be swum on occasoin by good swimmers,
just like the English Channel). Wasnt aware of the moon-holiday, but 13
holidays a year is miniscule, Iam sure there are a lot more (India has
a *lot* more - 2 Eids to placate the Muslim population, at least a few to
placate the Hindu population, Christmas and NY to placate the Christian
populatoin, Guru Nanak's Birthday to placate the Sikh population,
Buddha's Birthday to placate the Buddhist population and so on Iam
sure Sri Lanka is similar.

Not sure I agree entirely with the "mainly Buddhist country founded by
Indians" thing though - Sri Lankans would violently disagree

Basically IMHO there are 2 major ethnic groups in SL - the Sinhalese
(indigenous I suppose, they are heavily Buddhist), and the Tamils
(who are immigrants from Tamil Nadu in India, a few centuries
ago, but who have held on to their language etc). This is quite well-known,
BTW, because of ethnic violence - the 1980s and 90s saw massive
amounts of terrorism in Sri Lanka, mostly by the LTTE (the "Liberation
Tigers of Tamil Eelam", fighting for their own independent Tamil homeland
in norther Sri Lanka - the majority of the Tamil population is based in
the north). Some people will tell you that the LTTE actually pioneered
suicide-bombers in world terrorism - it was a quite brutal "war", with
government reprisals etc. At least a couple of Sri Lankan presidents
were assasinated (and the former Indian Prime Minister too, seen by the
LTTE to have turned against them he was killed by a suicide-bomber while
campaigning for elections in India in the early 1990s. His widow could
have been Prime Minister this year, but chose to play king-maker instead).

Anyway, didnt mean to get on a political tangent. Basically, IMHO, there
are Sinhalese and Tamils - just the 2 broad groups. A lot of Buddhiests,
a lot of Hindus. But also a fair number of Muslims, and a small percentage
of Christians. The food will vary from group by group by a little
bit, obviously (for example the Buddhists will often be primarily vegetarians
due to religious reasons, the Hindus who are non-vegetarian will not
consume beef, the Muslims, mostly non-vegetarian, will not consume
pork and so on).

Since your Sri Lankan is a Catholic Priest, you don't have to worry about any Buddist religious dictate, though I imagine he is somewhat culturally Buddist simply from the environment he grew up in.

I would bring him spices from Devon Avenue around Western Avenue (west of that intersection there is Kamdar Plaza). What I learned from my other life, you can accomodate any local ingredients to fit your homefood desires as long as you have the right spices and herbs ... maybe ghee in his case. AFter you know him, then he will likely help you select what he wants. If he really is out in the middle of nowhere quite divorced from his culture, then I imagine any attempt to consider his homeland will touch his heart.

If your priest is like the Indians or Sri Lankan's I've met, they speak English at a very rapid pace. If he could be encouraged to slow down, it may help. Of course, this takes some diplomacy.

Whatdoyoumean theytalkfast?? Theydonothing ofthesort

Ive had some Sri Lankan food - not much, but some. Home-made it was,
I do recall rotis and curry, and lots of heat. Not sure Ive seen any SL
restaurants in Chicago however (though it does have a fair bit of a
SL population - I once saw some cricket players practicing in a park
in Skokie, sort of informally with a softball, and on asking found that they
were an all-Sri Lankan cricket side that played in a softball-cricket league in
Chicago, even travelling on occasion to Indiana etc

Basically, taking a quick google, that view is confirmed - that food in SL
can be heavily "curry-type". Chicken, Beef, Yellow-Fish, Eggplant,
Pineapple, Cashew etc - all curries (http://asiarecipe.com/srimain.html).
And the curries are not "North Indian style" - they are far richer in
North India, with a fair bit of cream-base etc. These are much more
simoilar to South Indian curries - maybe Tamil Nadu or Kerala or Andhra
type curries. A fair few pepper dishes in general is my feeling.

If youre picking up food from Chicagoland... maybe te best bets will be
Sizzle India (which is Andhra style food, curries etc) at both Devon and
in Schaumburg. And also Malabar Catering (details of which Ive been
meaning to ask Zim - need to stop by there. Though there are some
details of that available at Chowhound I suppose). Maybe Udipi Palace
too, as third choice (unless this priest was from the Tamil region of SL).
Above are all my guesses, BTW - Id guess one shouldnt pick up any
curries from Pakistani or North-Indian spots. (or else one could just
take him curry powder, available in most grocery stores?)

Indian Sweets? Hmm. Ambala is the best around IMHO - but it *is* North
Indian. I suppose some of the sweets are universal enough however,
nowadays. But maybe something like "payasam" found on the dessert
menus of Udipi etc would be the best fit?

Oh, and if he wants to meet other Sri Lankans (Iam sure you'll find that
he's found a few already, actually ... the best spots are usually
universities. Always found several in universities, often some sort of
"Sri Lankan Students Association" too (or else ask under "South Asian
Students Association", and they'll lead you to em). A few years ago
(well, 1996 actually), Sri Lanka won the Cricket World Cup. I watched
the final of that tournament at an auditorium at the University of Chicago -
and there were probably 200-300 Sri Lankans there watching, some
with their families. They had also brought food for the lunch break -
and that was rotis and curry etc too. Not that all 300 were from the
UofC of course, but a fair few student-SLans there I believe).

Merry Christmas!

Ditto. And to the Sri Lankan priest in rural Minnesota (I fancy the one thing
he misses most about home at the moment is the warm winter, actually -
MN is just awful in that respect:-) An entirely different Christmas without
snow on the ground in general - heard someplace that the traditional
Christmas in New Zealand, for example, is a picnic on the beach. Sri Lanka,
being an island nation with some very nice beaches, may not be entirely
different - they have a far more "calypso culture" than India in a lot of
ways (or maybe its just the Sri Lankas Ive met who have a great fondness
for beer, I dunno

c8w

You might try looking at this website for inspiration....the website for Sri Lankans in North America

I often think what a great advantage we now have to keep in touch with each other via the internet. I know quite a few of my friends from my youth were simply victims of atrophy because I was too lazy to send cards and avoided the high cost of long distance phone calls.

So in trying to think this through practically...I would suggest that if he is getting anything mail order, it would be spices etc. that are lightweight and easy to ship. He may enjoy something fresh that can't be easily shipped, like the sweets or other bulk commodities, like basmati rice, etc.

I tried looking for the link to the NYT Dining Out article on Sri Lanka..one of the best this year on food and culture.

While you might lose the element of surprise, I think there is nothing wrong with placing a phone call and saying..."I will be coming home to visit my parents and I would like to bring you something from the city of Chicago that you might not be able to get in Freezeyournozoff, MN is there something you would like or should I just use my best guess?" Above all else it is the gesture that will be appreciated.

pd

You are very right about the man speaking fast. I am a former ESL teacher, and I would just love to get my hands on that nearly incomprehensible intonation and pronunciation. It seems to me that priests under the age of 80 are usually sent to tiny backwater churches for a good reason--and in the case of this one it is because no one can understand him (which is a much better reason than most!).

c8w:

Whenever one makes a generality like: "Not sure I agree entirely with the "mainly Buddhist country founded by Indians" thing though - Sri Lankans would violently disagree." One always gets into trouble! (My Dad has read quite a bit about this part of the world, though I obviously haven't)

My Dad's Sri Lankan friend is a former Ambassador to Moscow who lives in Kandy. My Dad was visiting him in Moscow when one of the Presidents was assasinated. He immediately called in his secretary to dictate his letter of resignation as a courtesy to the new administration, who later asked him to continue on. I don't have the impression the violence there has ceased, I think I heard something earlier this year ... but gosh we are really here to help a stranded Priest in MN!

I hope cantforgethisscreenname will follow up after the holidays about his experience with this Priest. I'd like to know if he knows how to cook, because so far I have been presuming he does.

The restaurant in question in Minneapolis (26th and Hennipin Avenue) is/was called the Sri Lanka Curry House. And an excellent place it was - with some of the hottest food imaginable (although the tastes were always well-balanced). By the time I left Minnesota I found that I could only order moderate heat (6 of 11, perhaps).

Its origin (as best I recall) is interesting for anyone writing a history of Chowism. In the late 1970s, a small storefront restaurant was opened in Northeast Minneapolis, a working class area, called Mulligan House #1. There was no Mulligan House #2, but the owner wanted this to be a chain. The food at MH was nothing special (I can't recall if they served Mulligan Stew), but the owner permitted the Sri Lankan cooks (I believe it was a husband and wife) to serve a Sri Lankan dinner once a month. In time a bunch of proto-Chowists learned about this, and these dinners became sold out. Not only was the food delicious, but the IDEA of the food was delicious - as was their story. Eventually the restaurant was sold to these Sri Lankan cooks and Mulligan House became Sri Lanka Curry House. It became increasingly popular, and eventually moved to the more tony area of town and became quite elaborately decorated.

I can't promise that all the facts are correct, but that's my story and I'm sticking to it! I imagine that the Star-Tribune or the Pioneer Press did stories on the restaurant - and for those who care more about the written tradition than the oral tradition (of course, this post is written), you can check it out.

I checked on the StarTribune webpage and here is what Jeremy Iggers - a world-class food writer, who I think was there at the start - has to say. But I know that there were those special dinners because I was there:

Counter intelligence: Sri Lanka Restaurant
Jeremy Iggers, Star Tribune
April 24, 2003 INT24


An era in Twin Cities dining came to an end this week with the closing of the Sri Lanka restaurant in Minneapolis' Calhoun Village. Owner Evan Balasuriya and his former wife, Heather Jansz, launched that era back in 1978, when they opened Mulligan Stew House #1: The stews never caught on, but Balasuriya and Jansz quickly developed a loyal following for the curries they sold on the side. The popularity of their hot and spicy cuisine paved the way for a local gastronomic revolution, which brought Szechuan, Thai and many other foreign flavors to the local restaurant scene.

The flavors of Sri Lanka live on, though, thanks to Heather Jansz' Flavors of the World catering service (612-250-6556). Jansz offers cooking classes and in-home dinner preparation of Sri Lankan, Indonesian and other cuisines.

Cathy,

You might consider C8W's comment--

Not sure I agree entirely with the "mainly Buddhist country founded by
Indians" thing though - Sri Lankans would violently disagree

--was taking issue with the phrase "founded by Indians", rather than the fact that it is mainly a Buddhist culture.

I believe C8W is suggesting that Sri Lankans would take offense at having suggested that their civilization was anymore

From a linguistic standpoint, the largest population group are the Sinhalese, who speak an Indo-Aryan language (and a very interesting one at that); Indo-Aryan, which includes an Indic group (Hindi, Urdu, Bengali, etc. etc.) and an Aryan group (Persian, Ossetic, Kurdish, Pashto, etc. etc.) is a branch of the Indo-European language family. Clearly, the presence of an Indo-Aryan language in Sri Lanka is the culmination of the spread of Indo-Aryans into the South Asian area (they probably got to Ceylon in the 5th century B.C. or so).

The other major ethnic and linguistic group on the island are the Tamils, who speak a Dravidian language, the language family that dominated much of India before the arrival of the Indo-Aryans and is still well represented across southern India. Interestingly enough, the Tamils appear to have gotten to Ceylon a good bit after the Indo-Aryans, some time in the latter part of the first millennium A.D. I would surmise, however, that local views on this issue differ significantly and in somewhat predictable ways.

Antonius

The New York Times did an excellent piece on Sri Lankan food not that long ago--long enough that is probably off their free web site, but not too far that a bit of digging in a library could find it--it was the Sunday Travel section.

The only thing that comes to mind from the article is these things, I think they are called scoopies or something like that. They are like baskets made from frying noodles, and the curries are placed inside them. The whole article made Sri Lanka sound like a great place to visit.

Sorry to be without more info.

Rob

I have heard of what you call scoopies called bird's nests.

Vital Information wrote:The New York Times did an excellent piece on Sri Lankan food not that long ago--long enough that is probably off their free web site, but not too far that a bit of digging in a library could find it--it was the Sunday Travel section.

Rob,

they're called string hoppers

btw, here's the article

If I'm not mistaken charmaine solomon is part sri lankan and has many sri lankan ecipes in her books. a number of her recipes are also available here

You know Sarah, you could just email a moderator and let them know which email address you registered with, and they could remind you what your original username was? Hope you and Antonio had a great holiday with the family.

<Insert random joke referencing Guatemala here>

Thanks again everyone for your advice. Hi Pete!

A phone call to the priest revealed his favorte and most missed food to be chicken curry--very easy to find.

After his one hour sermon on the evils of gay people and gay marriage I decided he deserved a lump of coal.

Hopefully my parents will not neglect the curry in the midst of the canned ham holiday leftovers.