Variety is the spice of life

Sri Lankan cuisine came under the spotlight over the weekend with the Palace Hotel in Adliya providing a showcase for the culinary skills of expat housewives.

The event was organised by the Sri Lanka Club's Ladies Wing - the Gamay Siriyawa - and designed to recreate the atmosphere of a typical Sri Lankan

village, right down to the last detail.

The festival also aimed to highlight the nation's culture and traditions and GulfWeekly's feature writer Charlie Holding volunteered to find out more and put his taste-buds to the test.

AS I entered the hall, I was overwhelmed with the vast array of exotic smells and bright colours as well as the meticulous attention to detail.

Festival organiser Sudharshani Ranasuriya, 52, showed me around and told me a little bit about why this event was so important to the Sri Lankan community living in the kingdom.

"The festival is partly geared towards people who have never been to Sri Lanka; it's a good way for them to see our culture and traditions. Everything here is handmade, all the food is home-prepared and it's unique because we are selling it in a marketplace environment.

"Since the war finished, people have started to realise it is safe to visit Sri Lanka and we have had many more tourists from the Middle East."

This sentiment was echoed by the Sri Lankan Cousul General, P.B. Higgoda, 51, who took great pride in attending the festival and saw it as a way to promote his country. He said: "There are only around 12,000 Sri Lankans in Bahrain so we wanted to gather the community for this event to give them a taste of home and also to give other people, especially Bahrainis, the chance to experience our culture.

"Around 9,000 Bahrainis have visited Sri Lanka this year and hopefully, this event will help to increase that number once they see what we have to offer."

Mr Higgoda added that he was very proud of the festival and hoped that visitors would be able to take away a sense of what the Sri Lankan community has to offer.

He said: What makes Sri Lankan culture so special is our sense of unity and strong relationships.

"We're very close and share everything. For example, in a typical village, if there is a death in your family the whole village shares your grief."

As I strolled around the village-like scene I took the opportunity to talk to some of the housewives plying their handmade goods and delicious-looking delicacies.

One thing that really struck me was how eager and willing everyone was to tell me about their culture and help me to understand their traditional way of life.

One stall I visited belonged to Desiree Rodrigues, 42, from East Riffa, who was showcasing her cooking prowess. Her stall featured handmade chocolates, cupcakes and chutney sandwiches among other savoury items.

Mrs Rodrigues invited me to try some of her home-cooked delights and assured me that she had 'toned down' the amount of spice because she knew that some people may not be able to handle the heat of Sri Lankan food.

However, as I took the first bite, despite the delicious taste, the spice really hit me and my face turned bright red. If that was the toned down, non-spicy version, I think the food she makes for her husband Kelvin, 45, probably would have set my tongue on fire!

"On a scale of one to 10, 10 being the same amount of spice I use at home, that was only a five," she grinned.

Mrs Rodrigues told me that she decided to take part in the festival for the fun of it and clearly, watching the look on my face as I tried to swallow her savoury special, she was having a great time. She said: "This festival is a great way for people who have never been to Sri Lanka to get an idea of the type of food we eat and to try authentic home-cooking. It's both traditional and modern and I think that's why most people like it."

After a few cups of authentic Sri Lankan tea, I found my way to a stall that was offering wood apple juice. I had never heard of a wood apple and was intrigued to say the least. It turns out that this fruit is indigenous to Sri Lanka and is quite the delicacy, so as I took my first sip, I felt all the eyes in the village fixed on me. It has a unique taste which is a combination of sweet and sour, with distinct, nutty undertones.

During my tour I walked past the stage and was amazed by the traditional Sri Lankan dancers who put on an energetic show for the audience. Dressed in bright orange, they twisted and twirled around the stage, as the 'village chief' looked on.

Mrs Ranasuriya told me that the chief was an integral part of older Sri Lankan villages and had the power to punish or reward people.

During the festival the chief wondered around the village (in character at all times) and interacted with the visitors and participants.

After a brief stop for yet another wood apple juice I met Kamanie Samaramayaae, 44, from Hoora, who was selling a range of intricate hand-stitched embroidery pieces.

"It actually takes me about a week to make a design and stitch it," she said. "This festival is a great way for me to show people my talent. This is my hobby and my joy and I love sharing it with people.

"I stared sewing at school when I was around 12-years-old and I enjoyed it so much, I never really stopped."

Just as I was about to leave the festival, I came across one of the friendliest people I have ever met. Jayanthi Perera, 53, from Awali, has lived in Bahrain for 30 years and for the past five years she has been making traditional Sri Lankan food to order for the kingdom's Sri Lankan expats.

"I love to cook and it gives me great joy to provide something that reminds people of home," she said. "Sri Lankan food is special because it is great all-year-round and has just the right amount of spice!"

When I asked her why she decided to showcase her skills at the festival her response was simple. "They asked me to come," she said.