Three Sri Lankan recipes from ‘Weligama’

From shakshuka to fish pie, Emily Dobbs’ new book teaches homecooks how to adapt dishes from around the world with Sri Lankan flavours

Layer different leftover curries in this shakshuka for a breakfast with a kick

Tomato curry ‘shakshuka’ – තක්කාලි කරි

Shakshuka is a middle eastern breakfast dish. Here I have made it Sri Lankan by using tomato curry rather than a spiced tomato sauce. Curries make wonderful leftovers and most freeze well.

This is one such example: it is such a treat to have leftover tomato curry from the night before to whip up this impressive shakshuka.

You also could layer leftovers aubergine curry or sweet potato curry underneath the tomato if you want, like Tunisians might add artichoke hearts or broad beans.

Serves 2-4

For the tomato curry

700g vine-ripened tomatoes, (preferably datterini)
1 tbsp coconut oil or rapeseed oil
A handful of curry leaves
6cm piece pandan (optional)
1 cinnamon stick, broken
1 tsp fenugreek seeds
1 tbsp roasted curry powder 
1 tsp paprika
20g garlic, finely chopped
1 small red chilli, thinly sliced
20g fresh root ginger, peeled and finely grated
Freshly ground black pepper
250g red onions, halved and finely sliced
130ml coconut milk
1 tsp jaggery or dark brown sugar
2-3 good-quality salted anchovies, roughly chopped
1 tbsp fish sauce
Sea salt

To serve

Ghee
15g fresh coriander leaves

For the shakshuka

4 eggs
5 anchovies (optional)
150g full-fat yoghurt
10g garlic, grated
1 tsp kithul or maple syrup
Sea salt

To serve

Lime wedges
Pol roti or buttered toast
15g fresh coriander leaves
Smoked paprika or cayenne pepper (optional)

Slice the tomatoes in half and place in a large bowl. Heat the oil in a large frying pan or wok and, once about to smoke, add the curry leaves, pandan, cinnamon stick, fenugreek seeds, curry powder, paprika, garlic, chilli, ginger, black pepper and the onions with 1 teaspoon of salt. Stir-fry for a couple of minutes then turn down the heat and sweat for 15 minutes or until the onions are really soft and sweet. If it begins to stick you can add a splash of water.

Add 100ml of water and the coconut milk and simmer for 5 minutes. Finally, add the tomatoes, black pepper, jaggery or sugar, anchovies and fish sauce. Simmer for another 10 minutes until the tomatoes are just cooked, then leave to cool and check the seasoning. Serve with ghee stirred in at the end to thicken the curry and make it glossy, if you like, plus coriander leaves.

To make the shakshuka, pre-heat the oven to 180°C/fan 160°C/gas mark 4. Get a large, wide shallow pan, one that you don’t mind bringing to the table and is suitable to go in the oven. Heat the curry until it’s nice and hot, then drain a little of the liquid. Make four dents in the curry and gently crack the eggs into them. Season the yolks with a pinch of salt and black pepper. Scatter the anchovies over the top if you like. Cover the pan, place in the oven and cook for 10 minutes until the white is just set.

While the pan is in the oven, season the yoghurt with the grated garlic, syrup and a pinch of salt. Remove the pan from the oven and serve immediately with the yoghurt, lime wedges, coriander leaves and warm pol roti or lots of buttered toast to mop up the sauce. A sprinkle of smoked paprika or cayenne pepper on top is nice too.

Poppadom fish pie – මාළු පයි

My mum makes fish pie with cornflakes – and this is inspired by that. If you have time, you could make it with a layer of okra curry, fried potato or fried leeks

Serves 4

1 x monkfish curry
8 large cooked poppadoms, crushed with hands
100g grated cheddar cheese
1 tsp smoked paprika
1 tsp turmeric
4 limes, cut into wedges

For the fresh coriander chutney

50g washed bunch of coriander, leaves and stalk
1 green chilli
75g rapeseed oil
Pinch of salt
½ lime, juice

To serve

Lime wedges
A vegetable curry
Green salad

Preheat the oven to 180°C/fan 160°C/gas mark 4. Place the monkfish curry in a large ovenproof dish. Get a large bowl and crush up the poppadoms with your hands. You don’t want a dust but you also don’t want the pieces to be too large and spikey. Add the grated cheese, paprika and turmeric and mix well.

Place evenly on top of the curry, then transfer to the middle shelf of the oven. Cook for 30 minutes until the poppadom pieces are golden, the curry is bubbling and the cheese has melted.

While the fish pie is in the oven, prepare the coriander chutney. Place all the ingredients in a blender until the consistency is nice and smooth, or use a pestle and mortar. When the fish pie is ready, remove from the oven and leave to cool for 10 minutes or so before serving. Dollop spoonfuls of coriander chutney on top of the pie and serve with lime wedges, a vegetable curry and green salad.

Tuna and avocado cutlets with cucumber pickle – පිපිඤ්ඤා අච්චාරු ස මග ටූනා හා අලිගැට පේර අස ල ස ිටි

Sri Lanka’s croquette, cutlets are a cult street food snack. Sahana, off the main street in Galle, do very good ones as do the stalls by the town’s train station. Out there, cutlets are deep-fried, spicy and breaded and made with minced meat or fish and potatoes. This recipe is less heavy, as they are baked instead of fried (there is no potato) and the binding ingredient is avocado, resulting in a juicy, moist fish cutlet. I like to serve them warm with a sharp, tangy cucumber pickle to lift and freshen, plus extra avocado, fresh herbs and baby gem lettuce.

Serves 6-8

450g fresh tuna, roughly chopped into small chunks
80g shallots, finely chopped
1 small avocado, chopped
Handful of coriander stalk, finely chopped
2 spring onions, white part only, finely chopped
2 tsp roasted curry powder 
40g fine breadcrumbs
1 tsp black pepper
1½ tsp sea salt
Juice of ½ lime
2 small green chillies, finely chopped
20g fresh ginger, peeled and finely chopped
15g garlic, peeled and finely choppped
9 spring roll wrappers
1 egg
300g fine breadcrumbs

To serve

Cucumber pickle 
Lime and coriander yoghurt sauce 
Lunumiris 
2 limes, cut into wedges
Handful of coriander or dill leaves

Preheat the oven to 240°C/fan 220°C/gas mark 9 and line a baking tray with baking paper. Place all your ingredients in a blender except the spring roll wrappers, egg and second lot of breadcrumbs (300g). Combine until you have a rough paste. Divide the mix evenly into 24 pieces and use your hands to roll them into balls (a little smaller than a golf ball).

Soak each spring roll wrapper in warm water for 10 seconds, then cut in half. Roll each ball in a wrapper, cutting off the excess to save it for the next ball. This will make your ball easier to manage and extra crispy. They will keep nicely like this for a day or so in the fridge if you want to make in advance.

When you are ready to cook, lightly beat the egg in one bowl and place the remaining breadcrumbs in a separate bowl. Roll each ball in the egg then the breadcrumbs.

Transfer the balls to the baking tray and bake for 10-12 minutes on the top shelf of the oven. The cutlets should be golden brown on the outside and just cooked. Leave to cool slightly and then serve with cucumber pickle, coriander yoghurt sauce or coconut oil mayo with a swirl of lunumiris, lime wedges and coriander or dill leaves.

Recipes extracted from Weligama by Emily Dobbs (Seven Dials, £25)