Lamprais is a Sri Lankan Dutch Burgher meal of rice, curries, and accompaniments wrapped in banana leaf and baked as one fragrant parcel.
The components are cooked separately, then enclosed together so the leaf lends aroma and the flavors settle into the rice.
Prepare the curry and sambol a day ahead to make wrapping the parcels much more manageable.
Serving Suggestions
Open the hot leaves at the table and serve with extra sambol or a crisp cucumber salad.
Recipe Notes
Chill assembled parcels for one day before baking, or refrigerate cooked components separately for three days.
Sri Lankan Lamprais
Sri Lankan Dutch Burgher banana-leaf parcels with stock-cooked rice, mixed-meat curry, frikadellers, eggplant, and seeni sambol.
Equipment
- Large saucepan
- Large Dutch oven
- Rimmed baking sheet
- Kitchen tongs
Ingredients
Stock Rice
- 2 cups short-grain rice rinsed
- 3 cups low-sodium beef or chicken stock
- 2 tbsp ghee
- 1 medium yellow onion finely chopped
- 1 stick cinnamon
- 4 pods green cardamom lightly crushed
- 4 whole cloves
- 1 tsp fine salt
Mixed-Meat Curry
- 8 oz boneless beef chuck cut into small pieces
- 8 oz boneless pork shoulder cut into small pieces
- 8 oz boneless chicken thigh cut into small pieces
- 2 tbsp neutral oil
- 1 medium yellow onion finely chopped
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 1 tbsp roasted Sri Lankan curry powder
- 1/2 tsp ground turmeric
- 1 cup coconut milk
- 1 tbsp tamarind concentrate
- 1 tsp fine salt
Eggplant and Sambol
- 1 lb eggplant cut into short wedges
- 3 tbsp neutral oil
- 2 large red onions thinly sliced
- 1 tbsp tamarind concentrate
- 1 tbsp brown sugar
- 1 tsp chili flakes
- 1/2 tsp fine salt
Frikadellers and Wrapping
- 12 oz ground beef
- 1/2 cup fresh breadcrumbs
- 1 large egg beaten
- 1/2 tsp ground black pepper
- 6 pieces banana leaf each about 14 inches square, softened
Instructions
Cook the Rice and Curry:
- Cook the onion in ghee for 5 minutes. Add cinnamon, cardamom, cloves, rice, stock, and salt. Cover and cook until the stock is absorbed and the rice is just tender. Discard whole spices.
- Brown the three meats in oil. Add onion, garlic, curry powder, and turmeric; cook 5 minutes. Add coconut milk, tamarind, and salt and simmer 35 to 45 minutes until thick and tender.
Make the Accompaniments:
- Brown eggplant in half the oil until tender. Separately cook red onions in remaining oil for 15 minutes, then add tamarind, sugar, chili, and salt and cook to a dark sticky sambol.
- Mix ground beef, breadcrumbs, egg, and pepper. Form six small irregular patties and pan-fry until cooked through.
Wrap and Bake:
- Pass banana leaves briefly over low heat or dip in hot water until flexible. Divide rice among the leaves and add curry, eggplant, sambol, and one frikadeller.
- Fold each leaf into a compact parcel and place seam-side down on a baking sheet. Bake at 350 F for 25 minutes so the leaf aroma perfumes the meal. Rest 5 minutes before opening.
Notes
- Traditional lamprais is a multi-component Dutch Burgher dish; preparing the curry and sambol a day ahead makes assembly easier.
- Refrigerate cooked components separately for three days, or chill assembled parcels and bake the next day.
Nutrition
Calories: 760kcalCarbohydrates: 78gProtein: 43gFat: 32gSaturated Fat: 11gCholesterol: 155mgSodium: 980mgFiber: 7gSugar: 11g