We made this curry in Sri Lanka with Chef Peper Kuruvita during one of his many cooking demonstrations. I fell in love with this curry; it is unique. Kalu kukul mas curry literally translates to "blackened chicken", and is a classic village-style dish in Sri Lanka. It is most popular around Galle and the southern Western region of the island, where spices grow abundantly. As history tells us, this is an ancient curry, pre-dating Colonialism and dating back to Buddhist times.

Our first day in Sri Lanka was the Katina Poojava, also known as Katina Pinkama, one of the most important Buddhist festivals. The entire community participates, organising, cooking dishes and preparing for this event. Our host, Yasassri, was contributing by making a few dishes. Together we cooked three dishes, see recipes below: Boiled manioc with grated coconut (Kaha manioc) Pumpkin curry with blackened coconut (Wattakka kalu pol maluwa) Pennywort sambols (Gotukola sambol)

Sometimes, a curry is a story, a piece of history, and so much more than a beautiful dish. To appreciate this curry, we need to understand Nuwara Eliya. Nuwara Eliya is about 1500 meters above sea level, and on the slopes of the mountains. It is cool, it has a thick forest densely populated by elephants, and it is beautiful. It was part of the Kandian Kingdom and was later discovered by the English, who turned it into a hill station retreat for the elite. In the 1850s, it was