Forgotten Foods: Kiri Roti (Sri Lanka)

Kiri Roti
Prepared by Nalini Dharmika
Uththamavi Guarantee Company/SANASA International
Sri Lanka

Kiri Roti is a cherished traditional Sri Lankan delicacy, celebrated for its exceptional nutritional value. Typically crafted by the devoted hands of a farmer’s wife, it is a special meal reserved for her hardworking husband before he embarks on his day in the fields. This delectable dish serves as an essential source of sustenance, bestowing the energy required for the strenuous hours of labor that lie ahead.

Ingredients:

• Raw white rice, 2 cups
• White pepper, 2 teaspoons
• Kithul treacle, 200 grams
• Coconut water, 1 cup
• Yeast, 1 teaspoon
• Baking powder, ½ teaspoon
• Sugar, 2 teaspoons
• Fresh coconut milk, 1 cup
• Grated coconut, ½
• Water, 1 cup
• Salt, 2 teaspoons
• Sesame oil, 2 teaspoons

Instructions:

1. Take 2 cups of raw white rice and soak it in water for 24 hours.
2. Once the 24 hours have passed, grind the soaked rice well to create a powder mixture.
3. Add to the rice powder one by one the following ingredients: 1 teaspoon of yeast, ½ teaspoon of baking powder, 2 teaspoons of sugar, ½ cup of coconut water, and 1 cup of fresh coconut milk. Mix it all together thoroughly and leave the mixture for 8 hours to rise.
4. After 8 hours, you can now resume making the recipe. Add half of the grated coconut with one cup of water and put it in a blender. Blend the mixture for 30 seconds.
5. After that, add the blended concoction to the previous mixture that has been resting for 8 hours.
6. Add 2 teaspoons of salt and mix well. Set aside the dough.
7. Put half a bottle of kithul treacle into a preheated pan.
8. Add half a cup of water and 2 teaspoons of white pepper, and half a teaspoon of salt. Mix well until the desired consistency is achieved. You can also add kithul jaggery to the pan.
9. When the batter is a little bit thickened, leave it aside and place a new pan on the stove. Preheat this pan and wipe it with sesame oil with low heat.
10. Add a big spoonful of the dough mix to the pan and close the lid.
11. You can tell that the kiri roti is already cooked once it can be easily removed from the pan.  Soak it immediately in the kithul honey batter, then take it out. It is now ready for serving. Re-wipe the pan with sesame oil to continue making more kiri roti.

_____

The “Women Ensuring Food Security and Nutrition: Forgotten Foods Cooking Contest” is organized by the consortium Asian Farmers’ Association for Sustainable Rural Development (AFA) and La Via Campesina (LVC) through the Asia-Pacific Farmers’ Program (APFP) – Farmers’ Organizations for Asia (FO4A) and Assuring Resiliency of Family Farmers (ARISE). APFP-FO4A is supported by the European Union (EU) and the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD). ARISE is supported by IFAD.

More info at https://asianfarmers.org/women-ensuring-food-security-and-nutrition-forgotten-foods-cooking-contest/