My island home

“In my quest to understand Sri Lankan food, I am constantly discovering new recipes, as well as knowledge and ideas.”

Sitting on the edge of the Indian Ocean, just below India, is a tiny teardrop-shaped island called Sri Lanka.

It’s a place often described as a tropical paradise and, at its best, it is. There are beautiful coastlines. There are rain forests, lush hill country and delicious fruits. The weather is glorious, the heat broken at intervals by cleansing monsoonal rains. There is a constant wafting of spices, the smell of onions cooking, of the briny ocean, and the vegetal greens of gardens and forests. It’s an easy place to travel, full of excellent humans who are welcoming and friendly.

There are also bits that are not so great. In some areas poverty is extreme. The capital, Colombo, can feel too crowded, dusty, busy, oppressively hot and polluted. Politically it’s had to battle, with a long history of foreign rule, a violent civil war, and sustained corruption. This small island, similar in size to Tasmania, is rife with contradictions.

Just as Sri Lanka slowly starts to find its post-civil war independent voice, it seems like the entire world is rediscovering the island – and its food. So many peoples, flavours and ideas overlap and blend to create a cuisine that is distinct, yet difficult to define.

In my quest to understand Sri Lankan food, I am constantly discovering new recipes, as well as knowledge and ideas. This book will hopefully bring you all three.

Crab cutlets

MAKES 36

“In Indian and Sri Lankan cooking, the term cutlet refers to a Pictured p99