• Home
  • About
  • Noodle Tutorials
  • Resources
    • Noodle Resources
    • Blogging Resources
    • Dubai Resources

Ginger and Scotch

Learn to Make Asian Noodles at Home. Create, Bond, Transform.

Sri Lanka 2014 – Day 5 (Galle and Cooking Class)

Tue, Sep 16, 2014 | 7 Comments

posted in: Asia, Travels | tagged as: Asia, sri lanka

  • 7

20140503-104520.jpg

I had really hoped to get this post finished in April when we were in Sri Lanka but here we are in September!

We spent our last full day in Sri Lanka by traveling to Galle Fort which is a UNESCO World Heritage site. I also participated in a Sri Lankan cooking class which was amazing – educational and delicious!

Galle was a one-hour drive from our hotel in Balapitiya. Our first stop was lunch at the Galle Fort hotel. We dined in the open-air courtyard, cooled only by ceiling fans, that overlooked the small hotel pool. We would soon discover that all dining in Galle is open-air (as in no air conditioning!).

20140503-104240.jpg

Galle Fort Hotel

We ordered a Parmesan crusted chicken snitzel sandwich, chicken skewers, and a Vietnamese rice noodle salad (nice minty taste with crunchy cucumber and carrot but the fish sauce too mild for my taste).

20140503-104225.jpg

We also felt inclined to order iced tea so that we could cool off somewhat in the hot weather. I loved those elephant stirrers so much that we bought some to bring back with us to Dubai.

20140503-104245.jpg
I had read about a Sri Lankan cooking class in Galle from Sarah at The Hedonista who has traveled many times to Sri Lanka and has written a fabulous and informative Sri Lanka destination guide which I found invaluable while doing research on where to stay and dine.

Before leaving Dubai, I tried emailing and organizing the cooking class/food tour on their website at Sri Serendipity without much success so while we were in Galle, we decided to see if we could book in person.

Finding the tour guide’s (Juliet’s) location/”office” based on the website was easy enough but when Scotch and I arrived at the address, the place looked abandon and there was no response to our calls of, “Hellooooo! Anyone home?”

We were about to give up but then I saw a a sign advertising “Fort Tours” a few houses down. We inquired at that place if anyone knew about Juliet’s tour. The lady who we spoke to was able to locate her husband inside the seemingly abandoned house who told us the timings for her tour and how to book via the Serendipity Arts Cafe which I believe is owned by Juliet and her husband.

20140503-104337.jpg

So we stopped at the Serendipity Arts Cafe for refreshments and ice cream and I signed up for the cooking class that was being held that afternoon. I think the cost was US$45 per adult.

The kids were too young to join the class so Scotch, Wee Scotch and Little Ginger spent the afternoon and early evening at the Fort Printer’s hotel while I participated in Juliet’s cooking class and tour of Galle Fort.

20140503-104345.jpg

At the cooking class, there was myself and a British family of four. Juliet facilitated the class while a Sri Lankan chef managed most of the cooking, of which we were encouraged to participate in.

First Juliet talked about the food culture in Sri Lanka and I wish she had pre-printed notes and recipe cards to hand out because I had a hard time listening, watching the cooking, and getting all the ingredients and instructions written down accurately.

20140503-104412.jpg

 

20140503-104356.jpg

 

20140503-104404.jpg

We used all fresh ingredients – including the shredded coconut which we all took turns grating and required a lot of elbow grease.

Here I am grating coconut for the first time using a hand grinder contraption:

20140503-104431.jpg

Here I am grating coconut for the first time ever

Our first dish was Pol Sambol (Coconut sambol) which we made from the freshly grated coconut and subsequent coconut milk. This is a traditional Sri Lankan dish that is served with nearly every meal and also eaten at breakfast rolled in a coconut “pancake” which I can’t remember how we made it but I do remember using coconut milk made from the grated coconut.

I need to get one of those little woks!

20140503-104437.jpg

For the Pol Sambo, in addition to grated coconut, we also used red onions, plum tomato, lime juice, chilli flakes and salt. Optional dried anchovies (Maldivian fish) could also be added.

20140503-104446.jpg

The next dish was an Okra Curry with turmeric, Sri Lankan curry powder, and coconut milk:

20140503-104453.jpg

Next we were shown how to make Green Bean Sambol with red onion, curry leaves, turmeric and shredded coconut. The final vegetable dish was a Pumpkin Curry (not pictured) with ginger, garlic, curry leaves, turmeric and coconut milk.

I couldn’t get over the brightness of the green beans:

20140503-104500.jpg

For the protein, we were shown how to make a Fish Curry with red onion, tomatoes, curry leaves, lemongrass, curry powder, turmeric and coconut milk:

20140503-104508.jpg

Fish curry simmering away:

20140503-104514.jpg

Every dish was just amazing – distinct in taste and delicious!

What I learned with Sri Lankan curries is that there are several dishes that comprise the whole meal. So all the dishes that were made in the cooking class were to be served all together.

Juliet encouraged us to eat like the locals with our (left) hand. So we started with unrefined red rice and, according to Juliet, the key to eating Sri Lankan style was to squeeze the rice and the ingredients together, while turning and mixing all the ingredients as we ate.  It felt odd at first to eat with my fingers but I did manage to clean my plate and ask for seconds 🙂 . After the class, Juliet took us on a walking tour around Galle Fort.

This cooking class and walking tour was certainly one of the highlights of my trip to Sri Lanka – Juliet imparted a ton of food knowledge with us and I would highly recommend this course for anyone who is in Galle and can interested in Sri Lankan cooking. More details on the cooking course and walking tours can be found on the Sri Serendity website here.

20140503-104520.jpg

Clockwise from top left: Green bean sambol, pumpkin curry, pol sambol, okra curry, fish curry, and unrefined red rice in the center.

I really cannot wait to return to Sri Lanka and visit more of the island and of course to sample more of the food.

*   *   *   *   *

I leave you with some photos of our walk around Galle Fort:

 

20140503-104253.jpg

 

20140503-104307.jpg

 

20140503-104315.jpg

*     *     *     *     *

On our last day (Day 6), we had an evening flight back to Dubai and had considered checking out of our hotel right after breakfast to start our long journey back to Colombo and visit some sights along the way. But after a late night (because 10pm is bedtime for old fogies like is) we decided to just hang out one last time at the pool.

Our driver for some reason drove 30 km below the speed limit. We were averaging 60 km per hour (36 mph). I had to close my eyes to relax and keep my blood pressure down – my New York blood was boiling!

On the day we landed, I slept thru most of the drive so didn’t see much. This time, I observed how very lush and green the countryside is – lots of coconut palms and banana plants. Of course, being used to the Dubai desert ecosystem, I found it particularly striking to see a tropical rainforest. And as Sri Lankan new year was in 2 days (like Christmas with exchange of presents), there were lots and lots of people on the streets doing last minute shopping and many people on the roads traveling back to their homes.

And that concludes our first trip to Sri Lanka. I hope we can visit again soon as there’s still so much to discover about the island!

Quick Start Guide to Making Homemade Noodles

Download my FREE quick-start guide and enjoy fresh noodles for lunch or dinner today!

You'll also receive new tutorials, tips and tricks for making Asian noodles at home.


We hate spam and will never share your email.

About Sandy

I’m Sandy (aka “Ginger”), married to “Scotch” (not his real name).
 
I believe that it’s not just noodles we are creating, but memories, traditions, and a sense of pride.
  
I believe in slowing down, relishing time spent with our children and loved ones, and bonding through shared noodle-making experiences.  Read more...

Comments

    Leave a Reply Cancel reply

    Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

    Recipe Rating




  1. Geordie Armani says

    Sun, Jul 17, 2016 at 6:21 pm

    thank you, read them all 🙂

    Reply
  2. Monica says

    Sat, Feb 7, 2015 at 1:40 pm

    LOVED Sri Lanka and the food, also stayed near Galle in a place called Kanda Kahanda, really nice but not for younger kids. Loved Chutneys restaurant in Coloumbo but my favourite was Ministry of Crab! So good.

    http://doindubai.com/travelling/foodie-traveller/sri-lanka-perfect-short-break-destination-from-dubai

    Reply
  3. Olga says

    Thu, Jan 15, 2015 at 6:04 pm

    I’ve been in Sri-Lanka last year and totally would love to go back. For now will cook fish curry and dream about my next holidays. Great blog by the way, totally enjoyed reading it : )

    Olga

    Reply
  4. IshitaUnblogged says

    Sat, Sep 20, 2014 at 11:42 pm

    I am so glad that you could ultimately blog about this – we had such a fantastic time in Srilanka this year. I miss your blogposts Sandy.

    Reply
  5. Sally - My Custard Pie says

    Wed, Sep 17, 2014 at 8:28 am

    So glad you finished this series – really interesting post too. It’s not a part of Sri Lanka I’ve visited.

    Reply
  6. nadia says

    Tue, Sep 16, 2014 at 1:52 pm

    I can almost smell the aroma of the spices! The food looks so delicious and healthy. Do they mostly use coconut oil when cooking? Eating with the left hand sounds strange. Also, my late grandmother used to have a similar coconut grater. I remember the serrated blade can be so sharp!

    And Galle reminds me of the rural areas in the Philippines.

    Reply
  7. Sarah Walton says

    Tue, Sep 16, 2014 at 12:31 pm

    Wow – that looks superb! Aspecially those hoppers and pol sambol. I got one of the pans from Lulus if you need one! Thanks for the shout out. xx

    Reply

About Me

Homemade Chinese Noodles From ScratchI’m Sandy (aka “Ginger”), married to “Scotch” (yes, he’s Scottish).

I believe that it’s not just noodles we are creating, but memories, traditions, and a sense of pride.

I believe in slowing down, relishing time spent with our children and loved ones, and bonding through shared noodle-making experiences.  Read more…

Dowload my
FREE GUIDE

Quick Start Guide to Making Homemade Noodles

You'll also receive new tutorials, tips and tricks for making Asian noodles at home.

We hate spam and will never share your email.

5 Unique Gift Ideas for Pasta and Noodle Lovers


10 Best Books for Ramen Lovers


Amazon Prime UAE
 
 

Follow Ginger and Scotch:

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter

Subscribe To Blog Updates

Quick Start Guide to Making Homemade Noodles

Subscribe and Get New Noodle Tutorials Delivered to Your Email

And you'll also receive my FREE quick-start guide: "5 Easy Steps to Homemade Noodles in Just 30 Minutes"

We hate spam and will never share your email.

Archives by Date

Archives by Category

Copyright © 2007-2021 · Ginger and Scotch · All rights reserved · RSS · Privacy Policy · Contact Us
Blog built with Genesis Framework | Theme by Restored 316 | Logo Art by Freepik

Copyright © 2021 · Tasteful Theme on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in

One Sec...Before You Go! 

Quick Start Guide to Making Homemade Noodles

Download my FREE quick-start guide:
"5 Easy Steps to Homemade Noodles in Just 30 Minutes" and enjoy fresh noodles for lunch or dinner today.

You'll also receive new tutorials, tips and tricks for making Asian noodles at home.

{We hate spam and will never share your email.}

x
We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you continue, we'll assume that you are happy for us to use cookies for this purpose.Continue