Bread pudding a la Sri Lankan

I <3 Bread pudding :)

Cold bread pudding, screwing my face up as I bite into pieces of lemon peel, cardamom pods and sorting through raisins are amongst my most fondest memories of childhood. And that is exactly what this blog is about - Nostalgic food that are close to the heart.

Of course this is a different recipe than what my mother used to make for us when we were small. I don't remember the exact differences but I do remember this; she likes to serve it cold, I like my bread pudding hot.

Derived from the British, the classic bread-and-butter pudding becomes plain old bread pudding when it comes to this tiny island. How do we like it? Very Sri Lankan. And here is my recipe.

Ingredients

• 12 pieces of bread (approx.) top crust removed
• 4 eggs
• Sugar (as per taste)
• 500 ml Sweetened condensed milk (can be alternated by 500ml regular milk)
• 1 rind of lime
• 4 tablespoons powdered spice (cinnamon, cardamom, nutmeg, clove) 
• 200 g butter
• 200g raisins/sultanas
• Vanilla essence

Method

- Beat the eggs and sugar together until well combined.
- Add the milk.condensed milk and beat.
- Add the ground spice, few drops of vanilla essence and the rind of lemon. Keep mixture aside.
- Butter both sides of the bread and layer the bottom of a baking dish with a layer of bread.
- Sprinkle raisins/sultanas over the bread. Then pour a part of the egg/milk mixture to soak the bread.
- Spread another layer of bread over this. Keep layering till all the bread and the mixture is gone.
- Bake in a moderate oven till the top is crisp and a skewer inserted in the middle of the pudding comes out clean.
- Serve warm with a scoop of ice cream melting over the top.

The result? Beautiful, soft, yielding pudding with a moist middle that is buttery, milky and not too sweet. The top is browned wonderfully so as to give a buttery crunch to the otherwise spongy treat. The finely grated lime rind gives the pudding the distinct citrus taste and aroma while the spices add a certain fragrance while also cutting through the buttery sweetness of the pudding. Ah, decadence!

I like this warm with a bit of vanilla ice cream melting over the top. It's just fine without the ice cream too and would serve very well as a teatime treat on its own as well as an indulgent dessert after a meal. Get creative with it as this is a very versatile dish. Fruit sauce, fresh fruit, custard anything goes.

A warm bowl of this on a rainy cold day, cuddled up on a couch. Heaven just heaved a longing sigh.

I like this very Sri Lankan bread pudding for the fact that is unimaginably simple. Uncomplicated, clean flavours and a myriad of textures for your whole being to wonder and ponder over. What is more, it can be made out of the ingredients that can be found in any household without having to splurge on expensive ingredients. It also appeals to the lazy person that I am, taking literally just minutes to make. And the sweetness isn't too overpowering either. This can be downed in bowlfuls and while it is very filling, one would not feel sick from too much sweetness as is the case with other desserts out there.

What can I say? This is a taste from childhood that I still crave for from time to time. Mother, the best cook that I know in this world said that this particular one was exceptionally good. Made meself proud :)

  

Street food fix - Isso roti/wadei

I was feeling hungry the other day (shock, gasp, yelp!) as I was going home after work, and anybody knowing the area would agree that there is not a single pastry shop/cafe/petti kade, etc to be found around there, the area being the bathroom central that it is (this part of Nawala is bombarded with shops selling bathroom fittings, tiles and the like. Whose bright idea it is to flock all bathroom shops in this place I do not know). However, as I started crossing the road and wait for my trusty office transport I notice this duwanagiriya by the side of the road willed with roti-like disks and what to my delight looked like isso wadei! Determined to get myself an isso wadei, I hastened towards it. On closer inspection I noticed that what looked like isso wadei was not the isso wadei that we know. Oh well, it had isso on it and looked flat like a wadei so I bought three of it. And almost missed Gamage transport in doing so as well! 

The man had hastily taken the wadei-like disks out of the hot oil and packed it up for me so it was quite hot when I took them out. As I opened up the parcel, a delicious aroma filled the van and I noticed out of the corner of my eye a few nosy aunties peeking in as well. It looked quite spicy (my palate has low tolerance for chilli) so I gingerly took a bite. And then, I was hooked.

Although it looked like a wadei, it was a small round roti, a combination of what I suspected was a hint of ground dhal, plenty of coconut, flour and a dash of Maldives fish here and there. It was topped by three scrawny looking prawns and was deep fried in oil. The seasoning was just perfect. Not disappointingly bland like some street food out there with a hint of chilli and the perfect amount of salt, just enough to bring out the flavour of the dhal and the coconut and of course, the scrawny prawns. Not too overpowering either so my palate was happy. The man had topped each disk with a dollop of curry (a thick sort of gravy like what you get with koththu) and a generous sprinkling of finely diced fresh onions and green chilli. It was indeed, a textural extravaganza. As you bite into the wadei/roti, at first you get the yielding softness of the roti followed by the tad bit harder shell of the prawn. Once you start munching on the mouthful, you are treated to the fresh crunch of the onions and the slight sting of the green chilli all blending with the overall mellowness of the rotti and the flavourfulness of the prawn. Gravies usually gross me out but the gravy that was added to this actually adds character to the whole food spectacle. It gives the very necessary streety-ness, that tastes-so-good-that-it-must-be-bad-ness to the whole thing, rounding it up in that special way that makes you hide your saiwar kade cravings from your mom. 

Will I buy from here again? Absolutely. Although I’m bit of a health nut and this is anything but healthy, (oozing with oil, complimented with mysterious condiments god-knows-how-old and kept at a dusty old open cart) I am quite fond of my street food. Yes, I’d definitely go back for more for my weekly street food fix. Want to try the big white roti that looked like godamba roti next time. Wonder what obscure delights he would be offering with that one!  

True that the picture does not look too alluring, but that's the beauty of street food ; they overdeliver and amazes you when it comes to the taste! I should also maybe add that these wadeis were hastily gobbled down after the picture :)

        

Quest for the perfect Boondi

................and I found it. At a wayward Duwanagiriya (a tiny box type boutique on wheels) in front of a duplicate Devon Restaurant in the heart of Polonnaruwa.

I have wasted a multitude of Rs 10/20/30s upon this quest over the years, but to no avail. Years of tongue colouring with various shades of outrageous dyes, suffering with the lingering chemical-ish tastes upon the tongue for weeks afterwards, yakking at the pungent oily aftertaste of boondi left on the shelves for too long, coated upon the tongue, seems that it all paid off. I've finally found the perfect boondi.

While Boondi is originally an Indian sweetmeat, us Sri Lankans, true to our nature have made it our own. The result is a blood red coloured, somewhat chemical-tasting overly sweet batter oozing with oil. While the result is not always pleasing, it sure is a good mood fixer. Girls and boys, if you are going through that moping period right after a bad breakup and feel the need to stuff your faces under the guise of stuffing that gaping hole in your heart (exaggeration people, exaggeration), boondi is your perfect fix.

Anyhow, while the Indian boondi is made out of chickpea flour, ours is made out of good ol pan piti (wheat flour). One reason being pan piti is much cheaper than chickpea flour and therefore it being more popular (in a nation where bread has become a staple, this comes as no wonder). While the Indian boondi is fried in ghee or vegetable oil, ours is fried in good ol pol thel (coconut oil). Once again, ghee and vegetable oil are a bit on the expensive side whereas we have plenty of coconut trees growing about! So why not Lankanize the boondi with our very own pol thel? Another difference between the Indian boondi and our is that while the syrup in which the Indian boondi is dunked in after frying is fragranced with a myriad of spices, our buggers just don't bother. In a way its a good thing. Makes our boondi taste a tad bit more raw and realistic.

Also, Indian boondi is of more mellow colours. Ours, like the people within this island is an intense and fiery red, passionate as blood and vivid as life itself. Indian boondi is small, dainty and droplet-like whereas ours are big and bold, large chunks of uncivilized looking pieces. Which does make all the difference in the world, texturally. Theirs is smooth and dainty, ours, coarse and a quite a mouthful. Bold is the word, just like our people.

However, this boondi is a cross between the Indian and the Sri Lankan. It was still warm and you can see it was fresh. Instead of sugar crystals forming on the outside of the pieces, the syrup has been absorbed well into it. When bitten into, the sweet juice just squirts into the mouth while the dough itself just melts between the syrup and the tongue. It was a boondi nicely done.

It was with great self-control that the above photo was taken. It was all I could do to keep myself from reaching out and empting the plate into the bottomless pit that is my stomach. So appreciate the effort please.