WORLD CAFE ASIA

World Café Asia: Sri Lanka

Presenter: Bobby Chinn

Sri Lanka is located 32 km off the southern coast of India but - despite its proximity - has evolved as a very different country with its own distinct cultural heritage which is reflected in its deliciously simple and rustic cuisine. Sri Lankans enjoy their curry - there's no doubt about it - but they also enjoy natural flavours, which enhance the natural colour and freshness of the food. In this episode chef Bobby Chinn tantilises our tastebuds with 3 wonderful local dishes: Sri Lankan Crab Curry, Eggplant Moju, and classic Sri Lankan pancakes called Hoppers.

First off Bobby visits the Negombo Fish Market, one hour north of the capital Colombo and meets up with local chef Rohan Fernandopulle. They marvel at the abundance of fresh local seafood but today, Bobby is in search of a fresh water species: the world famous Sri Lankan Crab. So... Bobby and Rohan go crabbing in a traditional wooden hull canoe using bloody shark meat from purchased from the fish market as bait. And, they don’t go home disappointed. Bobby cooks up a storm on the local beach and prepare's Sri Lankan signature dish of Crab Curry

In the next leg of his culinary journey, Bobby discovers Colombo's Pettah Market is a great place to shop for fresh produce. In fact, the market has over 30 types of banana on sale and 365 varieties of fresh local vegetables. To find out where all this amazing produce is cultivated, Bobby hops on a train and heads south for the countryside where he visits a cinnamon plantation on the coast. Cinammon is indigenous to Sri Lanka and Bobby gets to see first hand the production techniques from the initial harvest, right down to removal of the cinnamon bark. He also meets up with famous Sri Lankan chef: Publis who teaches him how to prepare one of this favourite dides: Eggplant Moju, with plenty of cinnamon. Elephants are synonymous with Sri Lanka - over 3,000 live in the wild and 100s are kept in captivity. But what do they eat? To this end Bobby attempts to make a giant elephant salad using 3 varieties of leaves and generous helpings of bark.

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Back in Colombo, Bobby gets to sample Betlenut for the first time - this mild stimulant is chewed like chewing gum all over Asia. Bobby is not totally convinced and heads out in search of real Sri Lankan street food and Colombo nightlife. Local personality, chef and drag queen, Chef Koluu is on hand to show Bobby his favourite haunts. They both end up drunk, wearing er... womens' clothes! How did that happen? Nursing the mother of all hangovers, Koluu and Bobby decide to make Hoppers: delicate crepes made using rice flour and coconut milk with an egg cracked inside. Delicous.

Last, you can’t come to Sri Lanka without visiting a Buddhist temple as 70% of the local population are Buddhists. To this end, Bobby pays a visit to Kelanya, one of Sri Lankas 3 most ancient temples. Also synonymous with Sri Lanka is Ceylon Tea - Ceylon being the old colonial name for Sri Lanka. But... what's that the locals are drinking? Bobby finds out when he stops off a local tea stall where he samples refreshing Ginger-Spiced Ceylon Tea.

Coming soon...