AT THE GEDERA TABLE #7: We turned the complexity of Sri Lankan spice blends into easy cooking kits.
When you’re at the grocery store browsing through the aisle of taco seasonings and barbecue spice blends, you’re probably not thinking too deeply about how they’re made. You just grind some spices and put them together, right?
Sri Lankan cooking requires very specific ratios, proportions and forms of spices to create the flavours we know and love. Taking age-old family recipes and the intuition of generations of Sri Lankan women home cooks and turning them into perfectly portioned and easy cooking kits was such a good challenge!
When we set out to create Gedera & Co., my Ammi and I spent about 2 years testing recipes. We made them over and over to get the right amount of turmeric and dried garcinia and Ceylon cinnamon, etc. We had to make substitutions when needed to get the best possible mix of spices. Now, there are 10 to 15 spices and aromatics in some of our Home Cooking Kits, wow!
The tricky part is that, depending on the recipe, some of the spices have to be roasted and some of them have to be added in unroasted. Some of them have to be ground to a fine powder, and some of them don’t. That’s what makes, let’s say, a Beef Curry different than a Chicken Curry — which spices stand out.
I can only imagine a Sri Lankan mum explaining the intricacies of a recipe to her adult child on the phone, miles away from home. It makes me laugh because there are so many steps in between and layers of knowledge we cannot see!
Like any cultural cuisines, Sri Lankan spice mixes and recipes vary from family to family. So, we’re super proud that you're getting my family’s heirloom flavours in every bite.
Not only that, many spice blends you can find at the grocery store can contain a significant amount of filler ingredients. If you check the ingredients list, you'll see things like salt and flour that are added to create more volume.
We're proud to use only quality spices for our cooking kits — no fillers, preservatives, or nasties! Just goodness, making it the most delicious home cooking kit in a box, on the market!
I hope we can appreciate the harmony of Sri Lankan flavours in each bite and the magic that these spice ratios create.
Cheers,
Jayani S.