Transform Your Brussels Sprouts into the Perfect Sri Lankan Stir Fry in Four Easy Steps
If you are curious about Sri Lankan cuisine and you want to try out a recipe, then a mallung (or mallum) is the easiest Sri Lankan dish to make. It’s simply a vegetable stir fry.
Being December, Brussels sprouts are all around us, and I am convinced that even the most die-hard Brussels sprout loather can be converted to a Brussels sprout liker, even a lover with a sprinkle of Sri Lankan spice and cooking know-how.
Mallungs are part of a group of side dishes, like dhal, that we eat alongside our main curries. They are a core part of the Sri Lankan menu, eaten with rice, with one or two servings of mallung to provide essential nutritional value to a meal.
What’s great about making a mallung is that you don’t need a whole storecupboard of spices, just three or four which don’t have to be roasted or ground. Like I said: Easy.
The art of getting your mallung right is to finely chop or shred your vegetables so they cook quickly and evenly in your pan or wok.
As well as the leafy greens, other key ingredients are coconut and lime.
I use desiccated coconut which I store in my larder. Frozen shredded coconut is easily available in supermarkets or Indian grocery stores. If you’re feeling adventurous you can always crack a coconut and scrape and grate the flesh.
I squeeze in the lime when I have finished cooking, it instantly brightens the flavour of this dish.
Did I mention fish? Sri Lanka, being an island nation, fish and seafood makes it’s make its way into a lot of our dishes, as main curries or an as ingredient such as Maldive fish.
Maldive fish is a staple in Sri Lankan cooking. Growing up I never questioned why we added fish to our vegetable dishes and dhals. You can get it at Sri Lankan grocery stores or online. We use it to enhance the flavour of a dish giving it a warming and comforting umami quality. Of course, if you are vegetarian or vegan, leave it out!
If you haven’t decided on your Christmas Brussels sprouts recipe recipe - why not give this one a go?!