Sri Lanka - Idappan, Pol Sambol, and Kiri Hodi

Background
Sri Lanka is located off the southeast coast of India and as a result its food is frequently misclassified as a subset of Indian Cuisine. I found a great resource for the cuisine, recipes, and history of the island in The Food of Sri Lanka. Rice and curries are foundations of the diet, with fish and chicken as the predominant proteins. Sinhalese (low country) and Kandy Sinhalese (upcountry) are the two major categories. Sinhalese uses more seafood and most meals are rice and curry. The regional “black” curry is made by roasting the spices to a brown color before cooking them. Kandian cuisine uses ingredients such as jackfruit, breadfruit, and turmeric flowers. They also tend to eat more deer and wild birds.
The Portuguese came looking for spices in order to bypass the Arab monopoly. They were displaced by the Dutch who eventually gave way to the English. Sri Lankans incorporated and changed many of aspects of those cuisines.
Information on breakfast quickly lead us to two types of hoppers (appa). Appa are three dimensional crepes made with a rice flour batter. The batter is poured into a specialized pan with a rounded bottom and steep sides similar to a very small wok. The result is nest shaped pancake and perfect for fillings. Eggs are frequently cook in the bottom and the end product looks quite cool. Appa pans are very specialized and we could not find a good substitute. We decided to move onto string hoppers (idappan).
Idappan are noodles made from rice flour dough, forced through a vermicelli press. The noodles are steamed on special trays (hopper mats) and served with a variety of toppings. Our first attempt involved a spaghetti pasta cutter. This worked very poorly, and cleaning the rice dough from the machine was annoying. We then tried a cookie press with a Christmas tree attachment that worked pretty well and the effect was probably similar to that of a traditional press. Before you attempt these at home you will need a similar device. We used parchment paper to substitute for the specialized stand. The amount of water to use while making the dough varies greatly from recipe to recipe. The important thing is to get a non-sticky, malleable dough in the end.
Toppings for idappan are pol sambol and kiri hodi. Sambol are fragrant side dishes made of a basic ingredient and then spiced up. Pol sambol is made with coconuts, lime, and dried chili. Kiri hodi is made of chicken stock, coconut milk, and a lot of spices, including “Maldive fish” which is dried, leathery tuna. It is not quite bento flakes and most internet resources say to substitute dried prawns.
This week's novel ingredients are fenugreek and curry leaves. Fenugreek is a legume that grows well in semi-arid environments, it is used as a spice. Curry leaves are a fundamental spices to South Asian cuisine. The plant is in the same family as oranges and lemons. The fresh leaves have a strong peppery smell and are used predominantly for their aromatic qualities.

Kiri Hodi

• 1 tbsp fenugreek seeds
• 2 cups chicken stock
• 1 red onion, finely chopped
• 2 sprigs of curry leaves
• 3 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
• 1 inch cinnamon stick
• 4 cardamom pods, crushed
• 2 green chile, deseeded and sliced thin
• 1 tsp turmeric powder
• 2 tsp powdered Maldive fish
• 2 cups coconut milk
• lemon juice and salt to taste

1. Soak fenugreek in chicken stock 30 minutes.
2. Add all the rest of the ingredients except the coconut milk and lemon juice.
3. Bring to a boil and simmer until the onions are soft.
4. Add the coconut milk and simmer for 5 minutes.
5. Add lemon juice and salt to taste.

Pol Sambol

• 1 tsp chopped dried chili
• 1 tbsp finely chopped onion.
• 1 tsp pepper
• 1 tsp Maldive fish (optional)
• 2 cups grated coconut
• 3 tbsp lime juice
• Salt to taste

1. Grind together chili, onion, pepper, and Maldive fish.
2. Add coconut, lime juice and mix well.
3. It is recommended that this be made fresh.

Idappan (indi appa)

• 3 cups (500g) rice floor
• 1½ tsp salt
• boiling water

1. Toast the rice flour in a very low oven or sauce pan.
2. Sieve it into a bowl.
3. Add salt and slowly mix in just enough hot water to make a soft dough that is not sticky.
4. Add the dough into your pressing device and press the dough out onto the parchment paper.
5. Steam the noodles for 10 minutes.
6. Serve hot with pol sambol and kiri hodi.

Results and Discussion
This breakfast required the most specialized equipment so far and we did a good job improvising. The cookie press was not ideal for pressing out the dough as the grip was poor. I would not do this again without a more mechanized device. The recipe also makes a lot of dough and I would make less in the future. Since you are making the dough to a consistency, it can be easily reduced.
The pol sambol has simple, classic flavors. The lime and coconut go great together, and the heat from the chilis is a nice addition. The texture of the coconut flakes is an interesting contrast when eaten with the soft noodle.
Kiri hodi smells great as you cook it. The dried prawns do have a slightly fishy smell, but they don't overpower the other ingredients. It is a great blend of spices and gives the noodles lots of flavor. We found ourselves with lots of leftover broth, which we later cooked some rice in and got something almost like biryani-risotto, very tasty.
I do want to find a pan that will let me cook appa; they look really cool and I still want to make them.