Family Meal Plan: Sri Lankan Pumpkin Chickpea Curry in a Mug + Orange Chai Creme Soda for One

Sri Lankan Pumpkin Chickpea Curry in a Mug

Happy & Healthy Cooking,

Fun-Da-Mentals Kitchen Skills

• chop :

  to cut something into small, rough pieces using a blade.

• microwave :

  to heat or cook food or liquid quickly in a microwave oven, which uses high-frequency electromagnetic waves to generate heat in the food's water molecules.

• mix :

  to thoroughly combine two or more ingredients until uniform in texture.

• pour :

  to cause liquid, granules, or powder to stream from one container into another.

• seal :

  to close tightly, keeping filling inside.

• season :

  to add flavor to food with spices, herbs, and salt.

• shake :

  to rapidly and vigorously move a covered container filled with food up and down and side to side to combine ingredients and create a different consistency, such as shaking whipped cream to make butter.

• snip :

  to use scissors to cut something with quick, sharp strokes.

• squeeze :

  to firmly press or twist a food with fingers, hands, or a device to remove its liquid, like shredded potatoes, frozen and thawed spinach, or tofu.

History of Curry!

• Curry can refer to an assortment of dishes that originated in India, and it can also refer to curry powder, a spice blend. However, curries use a complex variety and combination of spices and herbs, vegetables, meat, chicken, or fish!
• Depending on the country and region, curries will taste very different. In Thailand, for example, curries incorporate coconut milk. In India, turmeric is a common ingredient in curry, turning it into a beautiful yellow color. Sri Lankan curries often include vinegar and cinnamon. 
• The history of curry powder goes back a long way. There is evidence of it being used in Mesopotamia in 1700 BCE. While the use of curry probably originated in India, it was used in England as early as the 1300s and probably even earlier. Mention of its use can be found in the first book on English cooking, written during the time of Richard II (the late 1300s).
• Curry powder can be a mild or hot blend of spices. This golden-colored spice is one of the oldest spice mixes and is most often associated with Indian cuisine.

Let's Learn About Sri Lanka!

Sri Lanka (Shree Lawn-ka) is a South Asian island country located just south of India in the Indian Ocean. Officially it is the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, and before becoming a republic in 1972, it was known as Ceylon (sih-Lahn).

Its nicknames are "Pearl of the Ocean" and "Teardrop of India" for its shape and location off the southeastern tip of India. 

Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte, or just Kotte, is the legislative capital of Sri Lanka. Colombo is the executive and judicial capital and the largest city. The government is a unitary semi-presidential republic with a president, prime minister, and parliament.

Sri Lanka's total area is 25,332.2 square miles, a little larger than the US state of West Virginia, and its population is over 22 million. 

The majority of people are Sinhalese, and Sinhala is one of the country's official languages. The other is Tamil, and Sri Lankan Tamils are the largest minority group on the island. English is a recognized language.

Other ethnic groups include Sri Lankan Moors, Indian Tamils, and Burghers, who are of European (including Dutch, Portuguese, or British) and Sri Lankan descent.

Sri Lanka has 103 rivers and over 50 waterfalls! It has slightly more than 17,000 acres of mangroves, trees that can grow in salt water and help protect coasts from extreme weather and tsunamis.

Mountains and deep valleys are found in the Central Highlands in the south-central part of the country, and plains with rolling hills and rocky flats extend out to the coasts. The tallest mountain is Pidurutalagala (Mount Pedro), at 8,281 feet.

The Central Highlands is a World Heritage Site consisting of protected rainforests. Sri Lanka also has almost 1,000 miles of coastline, beautiful, pristine beaches, incredible wildlife (including elephants, leopards, sloth bears, monkeys, and many kinds of birds), and ancient ruins.

Due to the ocean winds, the weather is tropical and warm, although the Central Highlands can experience frost in the winter. Rainfall can vary, with areas facing the monsoon winds (windward) getting more rain and areas sheltered from the wind (leeward) getting less rain.

Sri Lanka is famous for its tea plantations, gardens, and Ceylon tea. It is the second-largest tea producer worldwide.

Cinnamon originally came from Sri Lanka, and Ceylon Cinnamon is known as the "true cinnamon." This is why cinnamon is commonly found in Sri Lankan curries. Rice and curry are a big part of Sri Lankan cuisine. 

In addition to many types of curries, Sri Lankan cuisine includes "lamprais," from the Dutch Burghers, made of rice boiled in stock and wrapped in a banana leaf with other ingredients. 

For breakfast, they may eat "puttu," logs of steamed rice flour, grated coconut, salt, and water, served with sweet or savory fillings, and "kiribath" or milk rice, made of cooked rice and coconut milk and cut into wedges. "Kiribath" is also served on holidays and is often paired with the condiment "lunu miris," a paste made of chili and onions.

Sri Lankans may also eat the pulp of a hard-shelled fruit called a "wood-apple," which is often made into a drink with sugar and coconut milk.  

What's It Like to Be a Kid in Sri Lanka?

Kids start school in grade 1 at age 5. They wear school uniforms. Their school year goes from January through December, with three terms and two-week breaks between them.

Kids may play cricket, volleyball, football (soccer), or a game similar to softball called "elle."

Families can visit one of the many beaches along the coast. Kids might enjoy seeing turtles at Turtle Beach or turtle hatcheries and sanctuaries. At Yala National Park, you can see wildlife, like elephants, leopards, and sloth bears in their natural habitat on a safari tour.

Kids may have "appam" (or "hoppers") for breakfast or a snack. These are thin, bowl-shaped pancakes made of fermented rice batter and coconut milk. They can eat them with a sweet filling called "kiri peni" (buffalo milk curd and "kithul" palm syrup) or a savory filling of eggs, curry, or vegetables.   

Popular sweets include "watalappan," a coconut custard pudding, and "kiri aluwa" (or "milk toffee"), a confection similar to fudge made with condensed milk, sugar, cardamom, and cashews or peanuts.