Day Fifteen: Cinnamon and other flavours of Sri Lanka

Walking every morning in a new country is a great way of orientating yourself and understanding the  minutiae of the local people's lives, which I find fascinating.

And to solve a mystery! Every morning in every place we have been - even in remote Koslanda!- the simple tones of Beethoven's Fur Elise can be heard. It sounds more like Mr Whippy than an orchestra. Finally I saw a tuk tuk fitted out as a bakery with rows of bread and rolls etc belting out the tune very loudly. Clearly this is to alert potential customers so they can rush out and buy! I'm not sure whether Beethoven would be happy about it, but it happens across the whole country so he's very popular!

As Jan was still recovering I headed off for a walk on my own through the ricefields, past local stalls selling essentials, hearing the endless horn honking of buses and tuk tuks, trying to avoid suspicious dogs and their poo, weaving around the odd cow or goat or water buffalo,

and saying hello or good morning to everyone. I clearly stood out because everyone wanted to acknowledge my presence: even motorcyclists would yell hello or smile and nod. Occasionally someone had enough English to ask where I was from, but conversations were limited.

I was so absorbed in all of this that I completely missed the turn to walk around a loop which would bring me back to Why House within a few kilometres. I simply kept walking in the right direction until I thought I should consult Google maps to find my location. To cut a long story short it wanted to send me back and walk more than five kilometres whereas if I'd kept going I would get back to Why House quicker. I gave up as we were on a time schedule, and flagged down a tuk tuk.

 I hadn't realised there were two people in the back but the driver insisted I get in and he made his early teens daughter sit on her Mum's lap so I could squeeze in! They were both dressed in very nice dresses and were possibly on their way to church as it was a Sunday.

We headed off for Why House which I had to show the driver Google Maps , but then he made a call on his mobile whilst driving (standard practice here!) and I heard the words Australian and Why House. Meanwhile I had established that the Mum and daughter spoke no English and as I speak no Sri Lankan there wasn't going to be much chatting. However there was a lot of smiling . And we all went Aaaah!when the driver nearly wiped out an old guy on a bicycle! There is no such thing as boom gates here so to cross a train track you have to stop and look both ways before venturing across. I said Phew! after we made it across and everyone laughed.

When we arrived at Why House I had to dash in and get some money. When I asked the driver the price he said "Happy price" meaning I had to work it out. I had no idea and in the end I gave him probably more than triple what the trip was worth, but it wasn't much for me. Then there was a lot of chatter as the gardener was one of his best friends. A lovely incident!

I had dosas (savoury soft pancakes) with chicken curry and red sambal for breakfast: not commonly served at our house!

Then we piled into the van for a 'Cinnamon Experience and Cooking'. No detail provided. Sometimes we just have to go with the flow. The only issue that arises is if we do a surprise visit to a Temple and we're not dressed appropriately, although usually we manage!

First stop was to decant into tuk tuks so we could traverse a causeway that was very narrow. ( See the photo below to see how one driver pimped his tuk tuk!).

 Lots of water buffaloes grazing in front of ricefields. We stopped at a large roadside stall selling a huge range of vegetables, some I had never seen. A new guide Douglas had joined us but Udaya was more help than he was.

We had to choose five vegetables to cook for lunch so we chose eggplant, cassava, beans, beetroot and leeks alongside the usual culprits - chilli, onions, ginger and garlic. Some tiny green and red bell chillies looked inviting but Udaya described them as "Dynamite!!!!!" so we thought better of it.

He bought one of the 'cigarettes' containing tobacco, betel nut, betel leaves and gum.  Apparently the idea is to chew it and get high basically. Apparently a favourite for maniacal public bus drivers so they stay awake! I did ask Udaya if he was going to send me crazy but he just laughed.... I haven't tried it of course!

After traversing some local dirt tracks we arrived at a modest family house. This was our chance to see the process for producing cinnamon quills: one of Sri Lanka's major exports. As there are only two seasons for cinnamon per year they also have some tea and coconuts planted and their own cows and goats. They also have jobs in the local town.

We were greeted by the father and his chatty 12 year old son who spoke good English. He chatted abut his interests and school. 

After cinnamon tea we headed for some low outdoor benches so his father could demonstrate the process. He started by scraping a small cinnamon branch with a special sharp scraper to get rid of the outside layer and then we assisted. No one did any damage to themselves or the branch so all good! Then he very skilfully eased the next layer off the branch and it curled slightly as it started to dry. It has to be 21" lengths that are cut into the short lengths we know later. Then it's placed on drying racks and has to dry for a minimum of 4 days before being sold

IMPORTANT FACT ABOUT CINNAMON QUILLS: the highest quality quills are made from one piece of 'bark' which rolls up tightly. The lesser quality quills have pieces inserted into the middle of them.

Then it was time for another tuk tuk ride along dirt tracks to reach the Cooking experience: an outdoor ochre-coloured roofed building. Lots of large brown earthernware cooking pots were lined up alongside tiny bowls full of every spice imaginable. There was only one I hadn't seen before called Gambone, which is a type of tart black berry used for black fish and chicken curries. The rest included mustard seeds, fennel seeds, small cardamom pods, chili powder and flakes, mustard paste in a jar, cumin seeds, turmeric, ground cumin and two types of curry powder containg five ingredients - one of them roasted. Quite an array!

We assisted with the chopping of vegetables and the stirring of the curries once each one was assembled.

The basics - ginger, garlic, onion, pandan leaves , curry leaves and turmeric seemed to be the start of every dish. Then every dish had different amounts and a different selection from the spices. Those that required more liquid had coconut milk or curry added to them.

Some were cooked over very high gas and others over a traditional clay fireplace fuelled by cinnamon wood. I had a great time peering into pots and stirring lots of the dishes.

It seemed to me that cooking them quickly over very high heat was the trick to not burning them and it preserved their natural flavours. 

After slaving away in the heat, I turned around to find the others sitting down looking very relaxed and sipping G&Ts provided by Udaya. (I'm sure Sid, who had farewelled us the previous night, had a hand in the appearance of the G&Ts!).

Chandana arrived to join us for lunch : I note he didn't arrive in time to help with the chopping! Of our group Anne and I were the only ones eating: too much chilli for Kerryn (we did request no chilli in some of the curries but to no avail). Jan didn't come as she wasn't well enough and Jenny was off-colour. So Udaya joined us as usual. (We find it strange that in many tour groups the drivers and guides are excluded from meals and activities. We were having none of that and have really enjoyed their company).

So the curries included: fish (tuna), black fish (tuna), green beans, cassava, beetroot, leeks and eggplant served with red rice and pappadums. What a meal! Anne and I thoroughly enjoyed it: they were all beautiful complex combinations of spices and perfect heat for us, as we like moderate amounts of chilli.

For dessert we had the creamiest curd we had tasted, with ketul treacle from the fantail palm: an absolutely perfect end to one of the best meals we had here.

One of the young chefs made a red sambal primarily from onions and chili powder and asked me to try it. With great hesitation I did, but it was actually OK: hot, but not mind-blowingly hot! I think he was surprised I didn't react dramatically and could tolerate it. He wanted to chat about cricket with me but I know nothing, so that conversation didn't last long!

Then we retraced our journey to arrive at Why House ready to wallow in the pool and enjoy some rest.

Henrietta had organised a traditional English meal for dinner: roast chicken, bread sauce, roast potatoes, cauliflower puree and green beans, followed by pineapple crumble. We had eaten and thoroughly enjoyed the local food everywhere we went, so we really enjoyed something more traditional - and Henrietta is English after all.

I wasn't sure that an 8km walk and a few aquarobics exercises in the pool actually balanced my calorie intake!!

Off to bed a well-fed and contented correspondent 

Dianne