The Hathmaluwa

The Hathmaluwa (7-vegetable curry) is a timehonoured tradition that graces many Avurudu tables across Sri Lanka during the festival season. A Hathmaluwa is an uncomplicated, humble dish with no frills, eaten with milk rice to provide nourishment after indulging in oily, sugary treats throughout the Avurudu season. While some families prefer adding staples like cashew and jackfruit seeds, the choice of vegetables may vary from district to district or even among families. For instance, some may opt to include pulses like kidney beans or dhal.

Sadly, this dish is slowly disappearing from our tables, so we hope this recipe will help you reintroduce it to your Avurudu table.

Below, we share our Hathmaluwa recipe.

RECIPE: Ingredients:

8 Jackfruit seeds

50g string beans

50g cashews

50g Ash plantain

50g Potatoes (sweet potatoes or milk yams)

Brinjal (Turkey berry or Thai eggplant)

Leafy greens of your choice (pumpkin leaves, sarana, mukunuwenna, spinach)

Aromatics:

1 medium onion Curry leaves Pandan leaves

Spices:

1/4 tsp turmeric

1 tbsp curry powder 1 tbsp chili powder

1/2 tbsp roasted curry powder (optional)

1 cup coconut milk (first extract)

Method:

Wash and cut all vegetables and aromatics.

Soak cashews for 1 hour. Cook cashews and jackfruit seeds for 10 mins in water (don’t add any spices).

Add the remaining vegetables (except the leafy greens), spices, aromatics, and 1 cup coconut milk.

Close the lid and cook for 15 mins, stirring occasionally. Check water levels and continue cooking until you achieve a thick gravy coating all the vegetable pieces.

Now enjoy this with some milk rice.

Recipe by: Charindi Meegastenna (Check out the video on life.lk facebook)