Sri Lankan Chicken Lamprais with Banana Leaf-Wrapped Yellow Rice, Mixed Curry, Frikkadel Meatballs and Eggplant Pahi

Pre-cook the yellow rice: in a heavy pot, lightly toast the cinnamon, cardamom and cloves in 1 tbsp ghee for 60 seconds. Add the rinsed rice and turmeric and stir for 30 seconds to coat. Pour in stock, coconut milk and salt. Bring to a boil, cover, reduce heat to lowest setting and cook 12 minutes. Rest off heat 10 minutes covered. Fluff and fold in the fried onions.

Ingredients

• For the yellow rice:
• 300g (1.5 cups) basmati rice, rinsed until water runs clear
• 500ml (2 cups) chicken stock
• 60ml (1/4 cup) coconut milk
• 1 tsp ground turmeric
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 4 cardamom pods, crushed
• 4 cloves
• 1 small onion, finely sliced and fried in 2 tbsp ghee until golden
• 1 tsp salt
• For the chicken curry:
• 500g (1.1 lbs) bone-in chicken thighs, skin removed, cut into chunks
• 2 tbsp Sri Lankan unroasted curry powder (kiri hodi style) — substitute Madras
• 1 tsp Kashmiri chili powder
• 1 tsp ground coriander
• 1/2 tsp ground fenugreek
• 1 medium onion, sliced
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 tsp grated ginger
• 1 sprig fresh curry leaves
• 1 stalk lemongrass, bruised
• 1 small pandan leaf, knotted
• 400ml (1.7 cups) coconut milk
• 1 tbsp tamarind paste
• Salt to taste
• For the frikkadel (Dutch-Burgher meatballs):
• 300g (10 oz) ground beef
• 1 small onion, very finely grated
• 1 slice white bread, soaked in 2 tbsp milk and squeezed dry
• 1 egg yolk
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 1/2 tsp ground cloves
• 1/2 tsp salt
• Neutral oil for shallow frying
• For the eggplant pahi (sweet-sour pickle):
• 2 small purple eggplants, cut into batons and shallow-fried until golden
• 1 tbsp mustard seeds, ground with 2 tbsp white vinegar
• 1 tbsp jaggery or brown sugar
• 1 tsp tamarind paste
• 1 tsp Kashmiri chili powder
• Pinch of salt
• For the seeni sambol (caramelized onion relish):
• 2 large red onions, very finely sliced
• 2 tbsp coconut oil
• 1 tsp Maldive fish flakes (optional — substitute 1 tsp dried shrimp powder or omit)
• 1 tbsp jaggery
• 1 tsp tamarind paste
• 1 tsp chili flakes
• For wrapping:
• 4 large banana leaf squares (about 30cm x 30cm) — softened over an open gas flame for 5 seconds per side until pliable and shiny
• Kitchen twine for tying

Instructions

1. Pre-cook the yellow rice: in a heavy pot, lightly toast the cinnamon, cardamom and cloves in 1 tbsp ghee for 60 seconds. Add the rinsed rice and turmeric and stir for 30 seconds to coat. Pour in stock, coconut milk and salt. Bring to a boil, cover, reduce heat to lowest setting and cook 12 minutes. Rest off heat 10 minutes covered. Fluff and fold in the fried onions.
2. Make the chicken curry: dry-roast the curry powder, chili and coriander in a heavy pan for 60 seconds. Add 2 tbsp coconut oil, onion, garlic, ginger, curry leaves, lemongrass and pandan. Cook 5 minutes until aromatic. Add chicken and toss to coat in the spice base. Add coconut milk, tamarind and 1 tsp salt. Cover and simmer 25-30 minutes until the chicken is tender and the gravy is thick enough to coat a spoon.
3. Form and fry the frikkadel: combine beef, grated onion, soaked bread, egg yolk, cumin, cloves and salt. Mix with hands for 90 seconds until tacky. Roll into 16 small marble-sized meatballs. Shallow-fry in 1cm of oil over medium heat for 6 minutes, rolling for even browning. The frikkadel should be deeply golden and just cooked through. Drain.
4. Make the eggplant pahi: in a small saucepan combine the ground mustard slurry, jaggery, tamarind, chili and salt. Simmer 3 minutes until syrupy. Add the fried eggplant and toss gently to coat. The pahi should taste sweet, sour, hot and earthy in equal measure.
5. Make the seeni sambol: heat coconut oil in a wide pan over medium-low heat. Add onions and cook slowly for 25 minutes, stirring often, until deeply caramelized — almost mahogany. Add Maldive fish (if using), jaggery, tamarind and chili flakes. Cook 5 more minutes until jam-like and glossy. Cool.
6. Build each lamprais parcel: lay a banana leaf flat, glossy side up. Mound 4-5 tbsp of yellow rice in the center. Spoon a generous portion of chicken curry alongside. Add 4 frikkadel, 2 tbsp eggplant pahi and 1 tbsp seeni sambol — arranged in distinct quadrants around the rice mound. Do not mix.
7. Wrap and seal: fold the bottom of the leaf up over the mound, then the top down, then both sides in to form a tight rectangular parcel. Secure with kitchen twine. Repeat for the remaining three parcels.
8. Bake the parcels: preheat oven to 175C (350F). Lay parcels seam-side down on a baking tray. Bake for 20 minutes — this is the magic step. The banana leaf releases its grassy oils into the rice, the curries marry, and the entire parcel becomes one cohesive aromatic plate.
9. Serve unopened: bring the parcels to the table tied. Each diner snips the twine and unwraps their own — releasing a cloud of curry leaf, pandan and banana leaf steam. Eat with the fingers in the traditional Sri Lankan style or with a spoon and fork.
10. Lamprais is the defining heritage dish of Sri Lanka's Burgher community — descendants of Dutch and Portuguese settlers who married into Sinhalese and Tamil families during the 17th and 18th centuries. The name comes from the Dutch lomprijst (lump rice), and the dish is a uniquely Burgher fusion: yellow rice from Sri Lankan tradition, frikkadel meatballs from Dutch home cooking, mixed curry from Sinhalese village kitchens, and the technique of banana-leaf parcel baking from local Tamil practice. A proper lamprais is judged by whether all four side components — chicken curry, frikkadel, eggplant pahi and seeni sambol — appear in correct proportion, and the unopened banana leaf is the seal of authenticity. Today the dish is prepared by only a handful of remaining Colombo Burgher bakeries on weekends and is regarded as one of South Asia's great endangered recipes.