Sri Lankan Kakiri Curry

Kakiri curry is another delicious Sri Lankan curry which comes to the table with flavours of Ceylon spices. The aroma of Ceylon cinnamon together with blends of spices will make others mouth water when you cook this curry. But, truly kekiri (Kakiri /කැකිරි ) is a fruit or vegetable that is watery similar to cucumber or melon. Therefore, when you cook kakiri curry, you have to get all the benefits of spices to make it a flavourful curry that suits Sri Lankan taste.

Well, I am lucky because my mother in law has her own vegetables grown in the garden. And she knows how to cook kakiri curry with pleasant appearance and taste as well. In my recent Sri Lanka holiday, I found that there is a kekri matured enough to be plucked in her garden. So, it is the time to get ready with camera while she cooks.

Below is how to cook Sri Lankan Kakiri curry and recipe is from my MIL. It is delicious and with good aroma. This curry looks oily. I asked her whether she tempered or not. No, she didn’t tempered. Instead, this oily appearance is due to the mustard seeds paste she sprinkle at the end of cooking. So, that’s the secret of this delicious looking kakiri curry.

Try it and let me know your experience cooking kakiri curry. (කැකිරි )

Sri Lankan Kakiri curry with mustard paste

Ingredients:

1 Kakiri (Yellow cucumber)

2-3 green chili sliced lengthwise

1 onion sliced

1 sprig curry leaves

1inch piece pandan leaf/(rampa)-optional

1 tspn red chili powder

¼ tsp turmeric powder

1 tsp raw curry powder

1/2 tsp mustard seed

1 tsp fenugreek seeds

Piece of cinnamon

Salt to taste

1/2 cup thick coconut milk

1 cup thin coconut milk

Method

Wash the yellow cucumber (Kakiri), Remove the top and bottom parts of the cucumber.

Then cut it into bite size pieces. Don’t forget to remove the seeds when you cut yellow cucumber.(kakiri)

Place in a pan.

In another pan, toast the spices until golden brown.(red chilli powder, turmeric powder and raw spice powder)

Add roasted spices, onion, green chili, curry leaf and all ingredients other than mustard seeds and thick coconut milk to the pan together with pieces of Kakiri.

Mix well. Add salt as per taste. Add thin coconut milk.

Cook in medium flame.

Meanwhile dry roast mustard seeds and grind into a thin paste. Keep aside.

When kakiri is cooked, add thick coconut milk.

Adjust salt to taste.

Stir well and remove from the flame when the coconut milk starts boiling.

Once the flame is switched off, sprinkle roasted mustard seeds on to the curry.

Leave it.

After few minutes when the hot flame is out, mix the curry.

It is ready to serve with plain rice.

How do you cook kakiri curry?Please share your recipe or experience below.