A staple in South Asian, European and Middle Eastern cuisines, the humble chickpea is a versatile addition to your pantry. From the legume family, these nutritional little powerhouses offer a range of health benefits due to their high fibre, protein content and abundance of other vitamins and minerals such as iron, phosphate, calcium, magnesium, manganese, zinc and vitamin K.
When it comes to traditional cuisine, Jaffna stands out as a popular destination that has its own unique range of different specialties. While on our visit to Jaffna we discovered how to prepare a few of these varieties.
Adding flavour and colour to Colombo’s culinary offering the first Turkish restaurant was launched with much pomp and pageantry very recently. Located on Milagiriya Avenue in Colombo 4, diners will discover a mixture and refinement of traditional fare that draws its inspiration from Central Asian, Middle Eastern and Balkan cuisines.
The success story of Bakes by Bella highlights how powerful social media is in this day and age. What started off with baking at home just for the love of it, to eventually opening a separate Instagram page titled Bakes by Bella just to post her baking success stories, Melissa Dharmadasa (a Biomedical Scientist by profession) seems to have formed an almost celebrity like following simply because she whips up some really fine baked treats.
Sri Lankans and tea always go hand in hand. When my mother used to travel, she carried about 7-10 boxes of the assorted Dilmah fruit tea bags for her friends abroad. The milk tea was the champion for us. We never understood the huge hype about the flavoured and coloured cups of fruit and herb teas. We decided to give these ‘cuppas’ a shot and here are the shortlisted favourites.
Following on from my article last week about the soya centre I’m going to share with you a recipe for a basic tofu scramble. This is one of the first dishes I learnt how to cook when I went vegetarian as it’s super easy and you can use household staples.
Are you a big fan of garlic bread just like I am and tired of having to run to the store every time you get a craving? Sometimes you are let down by the taste even if you buy it from your favourite store! Here is a simple recipe that anyone can follow.
When it comes to traditional cuisine, Jaffna stands out as a popular destination that has its own unique range of different specialties. While on our visit to Jaffna we discovered how to prepare a few of these varieties.
Most people who have been to Kandy know of The Soya Centre. That haven for dairy free delights on Kotugodella Veediya, right in the centre of Kandy town. The two large ice cream cones that you can see from the street, beckon to locals and tourists alike.
We’ve been hearing good things about Café Noir, so we decided to check them out and see if they lived up to the hype.
Hangover Hostels Mirissa is a cool set up which caters to backpackers who can look forward to a clean, friendly place to relax and stay over for very reasonable rates but it seems to be their café - Hangover Café, which opened in December 2016 that gives the already funky spot a whole lot of life.
As part of its long term expansion plan, Harpo’s Pizza and Pasta, launched its second pizza parlour in Mount Lavinia. Conveniently located and easily accessible on Galle Road in a prime position of Mount Lavinia, Harpo’s Pizza and Pasta offers a range of woodfired, thin crust pizzas and fresh homemade pastas for customers to dine in, takeaway or have delivered to their home through their efficient delivery service.
Pasta is one of those foods that I can eat on a regular basis. Especially on a hectic weekday, when everything has been super exhausting, there is nothing like a good bowl of pasta to liven up my spirits. To deal with the hasty pace of a working day, this Marinara Sauce is set to fulfil your dining desires.
This is a recipe for cheese toast and it’s as Sri Lankan as it gets! It can be made as an appetizer for parties or something easy that you can whip up easily if you want to treat yourself.
There’s something special about being able to find holiday treats outside of December, so when I found out that Big Birds Delights sells Eggnog throughout the year I was ecstatic! Jovanka Jayaweera works full time in the banking industry but has always loved to cook. Two years ago she made Eggnog which went down really well with family and friends when they visited for Christmas.
Located in the Cinnamon Grand Hotel, Noodles restaurant delivers Asian fusion cuisine with inspirations from Thailand and Vietnam. The staff are welcoming, the atmosphere is inviting and there’s an interesting food and drinks menu. Although at first look there’s not a huge amount of dishes marked vegetarian on the menu, the chef will quite happily amend any of their animal based dishes to suit the vegetarian or vegan diner.
The Colombo Jazz Festival is set to take place on the 18th and 19th of February 2017 at the renowned Galle Face Hotel. As the official location partner of the Festival, the Galle Face Hotel will be hosting a plethora of culinary delights for Festival goers to enjoy.
Tired of making chocolate mousse every time? Why don’t you try out our simple mango mousse that will take you less than 15 minutes to make!
For the season of love, Mabroc Bubble Tea introduces a brand new and limited edition Valentine’s Day range! With new flavours and heart shaped jellies to the novel Couple’s Cup, you can’t go wrong this Valentine’s Day with Mabroc!
The newest addition to Waters Edge, the Tea Lounge at the Edge embraces the Dilmah Tea revolution in offering the finest Ceylon tea to the tea connoisseur of Sri Lanka. The beautifully designed and tastefully decorated lounge is the ideal place to hang out, relax and have a snack.
With Navam Poya being held on February 10 (Friday), it’s time to reflect on the first precept of Buddhism - panatipata veramani sikkhapadam samadiyami, which roughly translates to do not harm any living creature. It’s from this precept and consumer demand for organic and healthy plant based food that Mount Lavinia Hotel has changed its Poya day buffet menu from that of vegetarian cuisine to vegan.
Japanese cuisine has risen from relative obscurity to considerable fame over the past few years introducing us Sri Lankans to the concept of raw food based gastronomical experiences. Maki Sushi (rice, fish and other ingredients rolled up in seaweed) holds a special place in our hearts and is especially popular with those who find sashimi a little too difficult to stomach. So, here’s the roundup of our favourite spots to grab maki sushi.
Eranga Eliyapura is a medical doctor who owns and operates a clinic in Rajagiriya, with her husband Milinda Salpitikorala. They have a son who is just under the age of two and amidst all the madness of taking care of a toddler and working and running their own clinic, she felt she needed to find some inner peace and that was why she decided to start Dipped.
Cafe Kumbuk opened up a second location at the Colombo Good Market opposite Racecourse Grounds. As a vendor of the Good Market, Cafe Kumbuk has always been in close association with the Good Market and its product as owner of Cafe Kumbuk, Shana Dandeniya herself used to work there.
As much as Valentine’s Day is about celebrating love indulging in some delectable food with your partner - or if you are single - on your own, can certainly be on the cards. Below are a list of home cooks who make awesome cakes and desserts and here’s what they will be dishing out (on order) for Valentine’s Day...
If you are an achcharu fanatic you are going to love love love this drink! Next time you have friends over give them a surprise that will have them coming back for more.
So you’ve decided you want to try give vegetarianism or veganism a try. Whether it be for animal welfare, health or environmental concerns there’s a range of alternatives to using animal meat in your cooking.
Popular Negombo based sushi joint Sushi Bar Samurai recently set up shop in Parliament Road, Rajagiriya. We decided to drop by and check it out. Here’s the scoop.
With the aim of baking anything you could wish for, or almost anything you could wish for, Suulali Gunatissa of Bake A Wish, creates some of the most divine cakes and desserts using curd as a base for most of her frostings while also incorporating local fruit. She is also more than willing to customise orders and is very cooperative when taking on orders as well.
If there was one out of the many things that dear Maudiegirl Von Bloss taught me it was the importance of a rice puller. You know that little something to make your rice and curry even more interesting. This little Dry Onion Sambol is one of those rice pullers.
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