01x09 - Jaffna

[bunniefuu]

PETER KURUVITA: For three decades,
Sri Lanka's northern capital, Jaffna,

was hidden from the world
because of civil w*r.

At last, the w*r is over

and I have the very great privilege
of being allowed in to film.

It's quite a special place, Jaffna.

But one thing that you can't miss
here is the military presence.

It's not for me to say
whether it's necessary or not,

but obviously they think it is.

After 30 years,

it'll be a long time before people
forget and forgive and move on,

but for everyone's sake here,
I hope it happens quickly.

[BLOWS WHISTLE]

You know, for people not having seen
anyone or being closed off,

it still has a...
has a real vibrant feel about it.

It has all the makings
of a new Galle.

It's just popped out of gear.
[CHUCKLES]

I'm really reliving a bit of, uh...
one of my great memories

driving this car, a Morris Oxford.

My dad had one.

It still smells the same.

[LAUGHS]

Needs a bit of aircon
in this car, though.

And I think that was one of my
complaints before, as well.

[HORN HONKS]
Yay!

There goes a Morris Minor 1000.

With a horn that works.
Mine doesn't.

Within the majority
Tamil population,

there is great diversity
of religions...

..Hindu, Muslim and Roman Catholic.

I'm popping into
St Mary's monastery,

as I've heard the brothers there
make nelly juice

and some interesting wine.

MAN: This is another
product of ours.

This is pure grape wine.

And everything's done manually?
Manually. Done manually.

I can offer you, um...a small sip.

I would love that.

How long's this one been
bottled for now?

Um, for three months. Yeah.

That's a good small sip. [CHORTLES]

So...

It's...I haven't even tasted it yet,

but I can smell
a lot of port in this.

A sweetness. Is that correct?
Yeah, of course.

It's great. It's dry.

It's got enough...tang in it

to make it nice and fresh
and lively.

Finishes with a bit of sweetness.

And has a little bit
of alcohol, I think.

What's the percentage, do you think,
of the alcohol in this?

Alcohol, not more than 5% or 6%.
Yeah.

Well, I like this. Well done.

I think I'm gonna cook
something with this. Yeah.

Jaffna is hot.

The locals absolutely love
their ice-cream.

There are parlours everywhere,

so it's fitting
I make an ice-cream dessert.

I'm gonna make
a reduction of this wine,

which I just pour into here.

And make a banana split, which was
one of my childhood favourites.

To that, one nice, big spoonful
of sugar.

A stick of cinnamon,

which I'm breaking up
to get all the flavour in.

A few cloves.

And some mace.

Mace is the covering of nutmeg
and has a milder flavour.

It's not too strong,

so it just suits perfectly
when you're cooking down wine.

I've also got a few oranges,

and I'm just going to take
a little bit of skin off

and add that to it.

And a little bit of lime skin
as well.

While that's reducing,
I'm going to make the next thing -

a garnish, which is caramelised
peanuts, or peanut brittle.

So, firstly,
I'm gonna roast the peanuts,

and to do that, I'm just gonna
place them in a pan and toss them.

If you have an oven,
you can put them in an oven as well.

And once they've gone
a nice golden colour

and you can smell
the roasted peanuts, take it out.

Now, into the same pan - wipe it -
you make your caramel.

The sugar here is quite coarse.

I'd suggest you use caster sugar.

And to make sure that sugar doesn't
burn when you're caramelising it,

if you add a little bit of water
to moisten all of the sugar,

it'll dissolve at the same time,

and then won't...
burn in places or crystallise.

It needs to be a light golden brown.

If it goes any darker, it's gonna be
bitter, which is good sometimes,

but for this, I just want a nice,
clear, light golden brown toffee.

So, while that's happening,

I need to prepare a place
to put this toffee onto,

which I'm just gonna use a lid,
and place a little bit of oil on it.

And I'm gonna add my peanuts
right now.

And then pour it out onto my tray.

That needs to set.

Now, while that's happening,

I'm gonna prepare
one of my garnishes,

which is just gonna be
some orange segments.

I'm just thinking about colour.

This jackfruit is very soft,

so what I'll do is I'll chop it up,
and this can be my base.

I'm just gonna cut it roughly.

It tastes so good.

Mmm.

I remember my grandmother
loved this too.

We used to sit in the backyard
with half of these

and her and I would share it, talk.

She'd tell me not to be naughty.

Why am I causing my parents
so much trouble? But she loved me.

Toffee is ready.
Now, will it come off?

Ha ha.

Perfect. Perfect. And...

[CRUNCH!]

If you don't cook it enough,
when you do that,

what'll happen is it'll be chewy.

But that's crunch
and disappeared in my mouth.

But what I have to do
is let it cool.

So, next is a little bit
of whipped cream.

My toffee's gone cool.

Into a mortar and pestle,
and then just give it a nice grind.

So, my reduction now is ready.

You may be misled to leaving it on
a little bit longer,

but a test here...

..and on my fingers...

..will prove that it's ready to go.

Yep, perfect.

And the flavour's REALLY nice.

OK.

I'm now ready to plate up.

And I have got a very unique way
of doing it.

Well, it's hot,

and I thought
we might need to cool it down.

Remember Bubby,
my assistant from the south?

There we go.

How's that for a presentation bowl?

First...

..will be this...syrup.

And now my beautiful jackfruit.

The splitting of bananas.

Add my ice-cream. It's so hot here,
it's starting to melt.

I've got some orange.

Put that on.

Some whipped cream.

Crushed nuts. Stay, stay!

And finally...

Oh! Look how quickly it's melting.

This is my banana split

with Father Francis syrup.

A lot of the butcher shops in Jaffna
are run by Muslims,

and goat is the preferred red meat
around here.

I think everyone that eats meat
really needs to see

that an animal has to die
before you can eat meat.

That's just the reality.

Basically, with a goat,

because there's not much of a back,
the best bits really are in the leg,

and that's what everyone comes for.

And for some reason,
they always leave the tail on.

I don't know whether that means

the colour of the goat has anything
to do with the flavour or anything,

but everyone...

Even trim the tail,
so that it looks nice.

The butcher's there, standing,
with a laugh on his face.

All of these gentlemen are
actually here to buy the food,

but they've decided that they're
gonna pretend to be the butchers.

So I hope no-one loses a finger.

Very good chop.
Yeah. Must be a butcher.

MAN: A butcher!
[LAUGHS]

No, no.

Oh, yeah?

Alright. Give me a shot.

And, of course, I had to have a go.

MAN: Ah. Right, OK.

Ah. Yeah.
[font color = #00FFFF][MAN LAUGHS]

Thank you.
One shot.

One shot.
[font color = #00FFFF]One shot. OK.

Ah!

Being in Jaffna, I couldn't go away
without making a goat curry.

Starting off with liver.

Now, using offal in this
works in a few different ways -

firstly, to thicken the curry,
but it also adds a great flavour.

And whenever you're using liver,

it's always good
just to peel the skin off.

That sinewy skin can become tough.

It comes off very easily.

And then just chop the liver
into cubes.

And what I'm going to do
with all of this

is just add all the flavours first,
so that it marinates a little bit.

The best part of the goat
is the leg.

Now, you can do this two ways
as well - with bone in, or boneless.

I'm gonna do boneless today.

OK, so, I have...
my three main muscles

and then all the little flap
and offcut as well.

And now it's time
to just chop it up.

And if the animal is really freshly
k*lled, it'll be quite tough,

so it needs to be cooked
for a while.

I'm cutting all of these
against the grain.

Last piece.

We're in Jaffna,

and I just discovered
Jaffna curry powder earlier,

so I'm gonna add some of that.

And this is roasted cumin powder.

Some cardamoms,
which will just be crushed.

Salt.

Some fenugreek seeds.

A stick of cinnamon.

Turmeric.

Chilli. It's got to be a hot one.

Give it two big spoonfuls.

And lastly,
Sri Lankan roasted curry powder.

Which is like
the Jaffna curry powder,

but everything's roasted
a dark colour.

And finally, instead of blood,

I'm putting tomato paste.

And then some...
second extract of coconut.

And this is just gonna marinate.

But that'll sit there and marinate
while I prepare the rest.

And the rest...

..are...onion.

Garlic.

So, the garlic cloves
are peeled, roughly chopped

and then mixed with salt.

Using the back of your knife...

And it works really well -
it just happens so quickly

and you have a very concentrated
garlic paste.

Also gonna put
two green chillies into it.

Actually, three. Why not?

Some ginger, peeled...

..and chopped finely.

I've also got some pandan leaf,
torn up.

And, of course, some curry leaves.

And we've got a lovely pile here
of aromats ready to be fried.

[OIL SIZZLES]

My oil's really hot now.

Easy way to check...
[POPPING]

..throw in a curry leaf,
and it'll pop and spit back at you.

Put everything in.

The smell of garlic will bring
people for miles, you know?

It's so nice.

Whenever we cook curry at my house,

you can smell it
as you come down the street.

Once the onions are to the stage
where they're just translucent,

it's time to add the mutton,
or goat.

Did you know that here,

'mutton' is not an old lamb
that's fallen down dead -

it's goat?

Gets a bit confusing
until you realise that.

Now, I also need to add some water.

So, without wasting
any of this marinade,

I'll put the water into the pot.

Right now, all those flavours
need to blend in.

And once it boils,
I'll turn it right down

and then we'll be going.

Now, a dish like this,
anyone can make.

There's only one rule that you
should follow - fresh spices.

Fresh spices are the secret

to having a full-bodied,
full-flavoured curry,

so ensure that you buy them
in small amounts,

ensure that you use them
nice and fresh,

and keep them in sealed containers,

and curries will become
flavoursome and easy.

Now a message from me
to all you up-and-coming TV chefs.

It's not all beer and skittles,
you know.

Last night I was eating
a lovely chicken curry with bones,

and - crunch! - lost half a tooth.

I'm worried.

Now, I'm in Jaffna,
and after 30 years of civil w*r,

things are pretty basic,
including dental services.

In fact, these dentists
supply dentures, false eyeballs

and God knows what else.

Climbing into the dentist's chair
has never been so scary for me,

but he gave me something to smell
and all my fear disappeared.

What is that stuff?

I don't know what it was that
he put in there, but I'm wasted.

Oh - and the whole thing cost
just five bucks.

I survived.

This is one diabolical place.

He's a nice guy.
He didn't even wash his hands.

Did not even wash his hands.

So, anyway, I'll relax,
I'll enjoy the high,

and hopefully, the tooth lasts.
[CHUCKLES]

There's the smile!

Most of the people in Sri Lanka's
north are Tamil Hindus.

This means that they do things
a little bit differently up here,

especially at this time of the year.

New Year's Eve in Jaffna.

Auspiciously, green and gold
has been chosen,

which is quite ironic, really.

I should just wear my Aussie jumper.

I've been invited
into my guide's family home

for new year's celebrations,

and part of the tradition
is the giving of gifts.

These new year's celebrations
are unique to the Sinhalese Buddhists

and the Tamil Hindus of Sri Lanka.

It coincides with
the April full moon.

Hello?

[SPEAKS LOCAL LANGUAGE, LAUGHS]

How are you? Nice to meet you all.

These few days of partying
are all about family, friends

and getting together to cook up
a whole lot of new year's treats.

Happy new year. Oh, good.
[font color = #00FFFF]Thank you.

Good. You said it in English.

Here. Happy new year.

Thank you.

Who is that? [LAUGHS]

We're making three things today.
New year sweets.

And this, the first one, is a roti,
which I've never seen before.

Broken red rice going into it.

Me? Can I have a turn?
[LAUGHS] Come on. Let me have a go.

Oh! It's like...it feels like putty.

Lumpy putty.
But the best part is...

Yes! Get to chuck it.

Ah. It's not wet enough.

This is cool. I can't wait
to see what this becomes.

Now throw it?

Ah.
Ohhh...

[LAUGHS] And again? Ready?

We're actually doing this because,
apparently, it puts air into it.

Here we go. Last one. Ah!

That was great fun.

In here is the murukku.

So we've got sesame seeds,
salt, plain flour,

and a fair bit of chilli.

Murukku is like a beer snack.

One of those ones
that you nibble on,

and you can buy in packets
either in nuts

or broken-up little strings
of pastry.

Well, that's what this is.

For this one?
[font color = #00FFFF]Yes.

And you put it together?
And then fry it?

Ah.

Cooking with leaves.

This is great.

Being so careful...

[MAN SPEAKS INDISTINCTLY NEARBY]

..to squeeze the leaf.

Uncles always have a lot to say
in these situations. They never cook.

They like to eat.But they will have t
five cents' worth.

The idea of the leaf
is to smooth out this ball,

and what it is, basically,

is your table.

And the leaf's
actually not cooked at all.

It's just used...

..to flatten it out.

Is that alright? OK?
[font color = #00FFFF]OK.

Uncle? [CHUCKLES]

I have to check with Uncle. [LAUGHS]

Peel it off.

Ready.

You can use it again.

See how they're puffing up now?

This is the second one,
which is the murukku,

which is like a rice flour biscuit
which is going to be deep-fried.

Biscuit.
Yeah. Like biscuit, isn't it?

The three dishes are done.
All fried.

The last thing we have to do now -
they're caramelising sugar.

But there's a reason for it.
It's to coat these biscuits.

Look at that. Puffy and beautiful.

Nice little hole in the centre.

I can taste the coconut in it,
which is really nice.

It's very rich,
and it's just wholesome.

And now the finishing touch -
the caramel on the murukku biscuit.

Yum.

Let me try. Ready? [WHISTLES]

[SMACKS LIPS]

[OTHERS LAUGH]

[CHUCKLES] It's good!

That's nice. It's crispy.

The caramel is crystallised.

And now the chilli one.

I should have gone
the other way, actually.

[LAUGHS] Anticipation.

Ready?

Good. All good.
Thank you very much.

Next time on My Sri Lanka,
it's string hoppers and Jaffna kool.

I pop over to the remote
Delft Island

to learn some tricks from a lady

who makes the best crab curry
I have ever tasted.