What makes a great mixed grill? It depends on what's available at hand, as well individual preferences of the Diner. At our house, my wife and I all the standard cuts of meat, as well as stuff like liver, and tripe. Kids tend to stay away from those 😂. 

A mixed grill is all about assortment and in my mind the more the merrier. My wife and I grew up in in the far off tropical island of Sri Lanka, and our favorite restaurant that served this dish to perfection was the Fountain Cafe in Colombo (Which may or may not be around now).

I suggest you always bring the meat to room temperature before you season it and head to grill. Doing so allows the meat to cook more evenly. On this plate: Quality Bratwursts, Chicken breasts, Pork Chops and grilled chicken livers, along with a fried egg and Steak cut fries. A cold brew to wash it all down.

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A bit of TLC

My lovely wife @shehaniesilva was having some cold weather blues. I though of making something special to cheer her up a bit. Mission accomplished 🥰

On her plate: Stuffed yellow banana pepper (මාළු මිරිස්), fish cutlet, spicy sauteed potatoes, parsley salad, eggplant moju, chicken curry with saffron ghee rice.

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Eggplant Moju Recipe - Airfryer Version

Sri Lankan eggplant/brinjal pickle(wambatu moju).

Fried eggplant, shallots, green chillies mixed with mustard-vinegar to pickle the vegetables, giving it a combo of sweet, sour and heat. You’ll have every opportunity to taste the sour brinjal curry if you ever set foot in a Sri Lankan home, specially during festive celebrations or Sunday Lunches and dinners. The dish is a classic and found in most Sri Lankan menus.

Ingredients:

• I used 2 Large Aubergines/ Eggplant, about 500g
• a few red onions or pearl onions, about 250g
• a few small Thai green chillies, about 100g
• Teaspoon of Garlic paste
• Teaspoon of Ginger paste
• Half a teaspoon of Turmeric powder
• Two Teaspoons of Chilli powder
• Two tablespoons of prepared mustard seed
• Two Tablespoons of sugar
• about 100ml of Vinegar
• about 200ml of an unflavoured/ mild oil
• a few fried sprats or a piece of Fried dry fish (Karavala) in whole or pounded (this adds a depth of flavour)
• salt and pepper according to taste

Method:

I prepared this in the Air fryer to avoid the smell of fried food from permeating throughout the house. The method is in two steps.

• Slice the Aubergines into batonettes or like french fries
• in a large bowl, mix the sliced aubergine with salt, turmeric, chilli powder, salt and pepper along with half of the oil
• spray or lightly coat the fryer basket with some oil, to prevent sticking
• place the well coated aubergine 'fries' in the air fryer basket, do not overload
• Select 'French fries' program, or set fryer to 380C for 15-16 minutes manually
• shake the basket, or toss contents to allow for even frying
• Check for doneness by tasting a small piece. product should be crispy and cooked through

Heat the rest of the oil in a large frying pan on stove top over medium high heat. add the garlic and ginger, saute for a few seconds. add the the pearl/red onions and green chillies. Saute till the onions are cooked. add the fried aubergines, the prepared mustard seed, fried sprats/karavala, vinegar and sugar. mix well. Check for salt levels and spiciness, adjust according to taste. mix contents of pan carefully. Enjoy. (you can also cheat a bit if you are in a hurry, and you have a bottle of MD Brand Sinhala/Aba Atcharu. This is technically a pickle, and the Sinhala/aba Atcharu is a premix of most ingredients required for the moju, sans the aubergines)

Store in an airtight bottle in the refrigerator

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Poker night ♠️♥️♣️♦️

The guys were coming over to shoot the breeze, drink beer and play poker, if we ever got around to it. Prepared some snacks to go along with the cold brews. Crispy chicken wings, crumb coated shrimp and crispy steak cut fries. We ended up bitching more about the current squatter in the White house than playing poker. 😂😄

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Parippu Vadai (පරිප්පු වඩේ) - Recipe

Nothing brings back fond memories when indulging in this tasty street food. Any time we visited the Galle Face green as kids, travelling by train or bus on long distance journeys, vendors shouting වඩේ වඩේ, and the first bite of the crispy lentil fritter, sometimes garnished with a prawn, was pure bliss. Since this is not something commonly available in Canada, I researched a bit on how they were made, made a few adjustments, and Voila!.. 

Ingredients

• 1 cup කඩල පරිප්පු / Split Pea/chana dhal soaked for 6hrs
• ¾ cups Red Onions chopped
• ½ tbs Ginger minced
• 1 tbs Green Chilli minced
• 2 tbs Curry Leaves thinly sliced
• ½ tsp Chili Flakes
• ½ tsp Salt
• Oil to fry

Method:

• Wash and soak the dhal at least for 6hrs. Drain well, then grind in a food processor without adding water. Don’t completely grind to a paste, leave some broken bits and the rest ground well, so it’ll help with forming the fritters.
• Mix in the rest of the ingredients. The chopped onions, minced ginger, green chilli, thinly cut curry leaves, chilli flakes, and salt.
• Combine everything together well and start to shape them into small flat patties (do not make them thick, the middle might not cook properly, while the outside is burnt), a small bulge in the middle, tapering off to the edges.
• Heat the oil in a deep pan on medium heat. Make sure the oil is hot, fry the vada, a couple at a time until they turn to a golden colour. Do not overcook, the fritters will darken even after removing from the deep fryer
• Use a spider or a slotted spoon to take them out of the oil and place them on paper towels or a draining rack to drain the excess oil.
• Enjoy it with a cup of Ceylon ginger tea.

On Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/p/CH1PlAihq9J/

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Chinese (Fish) Rolls - Recipe

 

Filling

• A Can of Tinned Mackerel (or Tuna), deboned and shredded. (or minced/ground beef/mutton, if you prefer Mutton Rolls
• 2 medium potatoes – boiled, peeled and roughly chopped
• 1 large onion and a couple of cloves of garlic
• Few curry leaves, Pandan leaf and thinly sliced green chillies
• 3 Cardamom pods and 3 cloves (crushed in a mortar and pestle)
• Salt, pepper, chilli flakes, coriander and cumin powder
• Squeeze of lemon
• Oil for frying

For the crêpes

3 cups of flour

1 Egg

2 – 3 cups of Water

Crumb coating

Egg

Flour

Bread crumbs

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Method:

The filling

• Heat a couple of tablespoons of oil in a pan and sauté the chopped onions, garlic and the curry leaves, till the onions softens, add the crushed cardamoms and cloves and pandan leaf and the sliced green chilli. keep sauteing till the aromatics are active
• Add in the shredded Mackerel or Tuna, followed by the rest of spices.
• Once the fish has been sauteed, I like to add in a handful of chopped fresh coriander/Cilantro to add a bit of freshness.
• Lastly stir in the mashed/cubed potato. For beef rolls specifically, keep the meat to potato ratio low as the potatoes should not overshadow the taste and texture of the mince.
• Lastly taste for seasoning and round off the flavours with a squeeze of lemon juice
• Set aside to cool down

The Crêpe (pancake)

Mix the flour, egg, & water and whisk to form a smooth, lump free batter. The consistency of the batter should be somewhat similar to that of a pancake mixture – but slightly runnier. A simple hand whisk always ensures a lump free mixture. Use a blender if you must, and strain for lump free batter

Season with a pinch of salt

Note: It is important to make the batter thin as a thick mixture would result in thick crêpes which would make the ‘roll’ thicker and tends to split after rolling. So remember to take the water quantity only as a guide and adjust accordingly.

Forming the roll

• Heat a non stick (it is really essential to use a non stick pan for this!) pan under medium heat and ladle in a spoonful of the crêpe mixture in and swirl it around the same way you would to make an omelette.
• Once cooked on one side, Flip the pancake with a flat spatula and cook the other side.
• Remove the crêpe from the pan, onto a plate.
• Repeat with remaining batter
• Bring two sides of the crêpe towards the centre and start rolling to form a ‘roll’ shape as shown below.
  

  
  
• be mindful that the crêpes fresh out of the pan are obviously hot!
• When making the rolls with crêpes fresh out of the pan, you do not have to seal the edges with a egg mixture. But if you feel the roll is not sealed properly at the end, you could seal the edge with a bit of egg wash.

Crumb Coating

• Add All purpose flour to dish and set aside.
• For the egg wash, beat an egg or two with a fork and set aside. Or You could simply prepare a thin batter made from a bit of water and a 1/4 cup of all purpose flour.
• Next add breadcrumbs into a deep dish and set aside. 
• Now, dip a roll in the flour, then the egg wash or batter and transfer it to the breadcrumbs to coat it well.
• Set aside on a plate, repeat.
• Refrigerate for at least half an hour. This will make sure the roll actually binds the coating properly, and not fall apart when dropped into the deep fryer.
• Heat up oil in a pan and deep fry the crumbed rolls till they are golden, Do not overcook! The roll will keep on cooking even after removing from the oil, and will darken. Drain on a draining rack or on newspapers/paper towels.
• Enjoy with some Sri Lankan Chilli Sauce or some tomato ketchup

On Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/p/CHq_2L3BKfr/

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Chicken Samosas

 

A samosa is a fried or baked pastry with a savory filling, such as spiced potatoes, onions, peas, cheese, beef and other meats, or lentils. It may take different forms, including triangular, cone, or half-moon shapes, depending on the region. The Indian style, often accompanied by a chutney, is probably the most widely known of a broad family of recipes from Africa to China, which have origins in medieval times or earlier. 

Samosas are a popular entrée, appetizer, or snack in the local cuisines of South Asia, Western Asia, Southeast Asia, the Mediterranean, and Africa. Due to emigration and cultural diffusion from these areas, samosas today are often prepared in other regions.

The Samosas I make are very different to the ones that's familiar at Indian restaurants. Basically it's a lazy man's way out, making something quick, easy and savoury for tea time. A detailed recipe will be posted in another post.

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Sunday morning Brekky

 

Kids: Dad? please make a tasty breakfast?
Me: boiled sweet potatoes with coconut sambol? 🤔
Also me: boiled mung bean with grated coconut and katta sambol? 🤔
Kids: 😣😝🙄😭

On Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/p/CHVW17Wh4Wk/

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Trolling the Family..

 

OK.. I was bored... Wifey said "honey, can we have something light for dinner?" Well, she wasn't exactly specific what she wanted.. probably hoping it wasn't pasta 😄🤣 So I served this. 😎 kids were like.. WTH??

Spicy Bratwurst sausages wrapped in... a paratha roti ??? 😆😋 and prepared a la typical Sri Lanka fish/mutton roti. Hasselback potatoes brushed with roasted sausage drippings. Disappointed looks from kids, who were looking for seconds. (My son actually looked under the table to see if anything had fallen off the plate 😂😄)

On Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/p/CHRYJVVh8KU/

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Chicken Parmigiana

 

Kids wanted Chicken parmigiana, as they liked the preparation. So I prepared it again, but with a different side. 3 cheese tortellini in a roasted garlic and cheese sauce, crisp Romaine in a Caesar salad, topped with freshly grated Parmigiano Reggiano.

On Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/p/CHME3OyhdML/

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Chicken Parmigiana

 

Dinner.. Pollo alla parmigiana a la Giovanni 😂, or in plain English, Chicken Parmesan by me 😅😉 resting on bed of pasta in marinara sauce with a dash of chili flakes and grated parmesan cheese. Delicioso!

On Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/p/CHEc5N0hZsZ/

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