Sri Lankan Vegetable Curry

Now from yesterday's dal, let's proceed towards a delicious curry from another neighbor of India. Sri Lanka, that is. I have been never to Sri Lanka but I gather that it's cuisine though appears to be similar to India, it is not. However Sri Lankan cuisine, similar to south Indian states is built around rice and in fact their national dish is rice and curry. These curries are supposedly fiery than the Indian counterparts and can be meat based or vegetarian. Rice and curry can be accompanied by a dal, and sambols, the Sri Lankan version of spicy pickles. I had a vegetable based curry bookmarked from Vaishali's blog which I got to try today. It uses a special blend of spices from the region called Sri Lankan curry powder that is aromatic and flavorful. And by the way it does not taste like garam masala or any of the Indian spice blends. The curry is not that hard to prepare though the list of the ingredients is a lengthy one. The coconut milk - corn starch mixture lend a thick, creamy base to this
yummy curry. Vaishali's version had mushrooms and cauliflower and I used beans and peas instead.

Ingredients:
2 tbsp. oil
1 onion, peeled and chopped
1 potato, peeled and chopped
1 carrot, peeled and chopped
1 cup French beans, stringed and cut into one inch pieces 
1 tsp finely grated ginger
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
1 green chili, finely chopped
1 tsp. coriander powder
1 tsp. paprika
2 tsp. Sri Lanka curry powder
1 cup water / vegetable stock
1 big sized tomato, chopped
1/4 cup chopped green capsicum
1/4 cup fresh / frozen peas
1/2 cup thick coconut milk
2 tsp. corn starch
1 tbsp. ground almonds
Salt to taste
 
Method:
* Heat oil in a pan and add onion, potato, carrot and beans. Saute on medium flame for about five minutes.
* Next add ginger, garlic, green chili, coriander powder, paprika and curry powder and saute for about a minute.
* Add vegetable stock / water to the pan, cover and cook on low flame until the vegetables are almost done.
* Now add the capsicum pieces, tomato and peas if using. Continue to cook until the capsicum is done.
* Meanwhile, blend cornstarch and coconut milk well and stir into the mixture. 
* Add ground almonds and salt to the pan. Check the seasonings and adjust if necessary.
* Simmer for a couple of minutes and turn off the stove. 
* Serve with rice / rotis.

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