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Turkish sour lentil soup (Eksili malhuta çorba)
Turkish cuisine is known for its amazing variety of soups, diverse and beautiful. Here is one that I really loved. Let's begin by breaking down the soup name. "Malhuta" means combined or mixed, and refers to the combination of grains and letils. "Eksili" refers to sour that makes this otherwise heavy soup light and refreshing. So the soup means "refreshing sour mixed soup". And that is what it is. The lentils are almost entirely broken down, forming a creamy base. The couscou

kzafarullah
Nov 25, 20252 min read


Curried eggplant (Kathirikai poriyal)
This is a poriyal, but not in the truest sense. A traditional poriyal is a South Indian dish, primarily seen in Tamil Nadu, that is a dry stir-fried vegetable dish with a specific recipe. Here, the recipe is followed, but the dish is made as a curry; it is very unusual. This is a robust curry. The flavours are bold, the eggplant soft and creamy. I love the combination of spicy and sour that this dish portrays. Southern Spice is a thin volume of amazing recipes by a master che

kzafarullah
Nov 19, 20252 min read


Sri Lankan pennywort sambol (Gotukola sambol)
If there is a sambol quintessential to the Sri Lankan table, it is gotukola sambol. It is recognised by the fresh green colour and the light aromatic aroma. I had not had gorukala, or pennywort, before this trip; I had seen recipes with it and so was curious. Early in the trip, I had a chance not just to taste this dish, but also to make it. We had gone to a home to prepare dishes for the Katina poojava ceremony, the most important of Buddhist ceremonies. We were invited to p

kzafarullah
Nov 18, 20252 min read
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