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How do our food experts cook and eat? This week, food blogger Dilini of @mama_di_cooks takes our Q&A!

What’s your story with food?

Sri Lankan food was what I grew up with and it has always been what I love most. I was exposed to different food techniques and cultures by having parents coming from the upcountry and down south. After creating my own home here in Boston, I wanted to continue that influence in my own way and that’s how the Mama Di Cooks journey began!

The most valuable lesson you’ve learnt in your time spent cooking?

Take your time. Cooking is an art. A passion. Immerse yourself in the ingredients, techniques, and authenticity of the food. Respect what you create in the kitchen!

The pandemic is what really pushed you into cooking. What’s the dish that started it all?

Yes, the pandemic is what got me into this space in the first place! The first thing I made was a loaf of bread. I didn’t have a stand mixer or a bread loaf pan. I had the small tin foil pans in which I made three tiny loaves of bread. And that was such a big deal for me as I have never made bread ever in my life! I knew this was going to be a thing then.

Your favourite childhood meal? 

My mom’s pol sambola and white rice. Pol sambola has always been my go-to for any occasion. My mom makes a mean pol sambol that to date I am trying to replicate but have not been 100% successful. If you ask my friends, they will vouch for it too! My breakfast rice packet was quite the ordeal.

If food was a love language, what would be a dish that says it all?

Curried lobster on a bed of mashed potatoes, followed by a sweet chocolate doughnut.

It’s your last day on earth, where are you?

Me, my husband two kids are back home with our family. Eating my amma’s pol Sambola, Dhal curry and Mackeral Pepper fry. Also sipping my mother-in-law's Narang juice. 

When you moved abroad, what was a food culture shock?

Portion size!! And also, where did the salt and the chillie go? I could never finish a meal and would always ask for some extra salt and chillie flakes on the side.

Easiest meal to impress someone? 

Sri Lankan rice and curry all the way. Yellow Rice, Potato Baduma, Eggplant Moju, Chicken curry, Dhal Tempered, Cashew curry, Spicy Chicken curry.

You love your banana leaf-wrapped packets of rice – what’s so great about it?

The aroma of a Sri Lankan rice packet wrapped in a banana leaf is unparalleled to anything I know!! I always let the curries and the rice cool down before I pack them. The banana leaf also infuses that natural aroma into the food and really elevates the flavours. Always use an oven to reheat your frozen rice packets and try a tiny bit of oil on the banana leaf before you warm it up.

Your most adventurous dining experience? 

My husband and I went to a café in Montreal, Canada called Café Noir. It was a dine in the dark experience. When I say dark, I mean it was pitch dark. This experience was both amazing and surreal. It was fascinating how all our other senses were immediately heightened. One of the best meals I have ever had.

Your favourite odd food pairing?

White Rice, Pol Sambola and a generous dollop of butter. That butter really makes a huge difference. You should try it!

Your proudest food invention?

Broccoli Malluma. Broccoli is always not a crowd favourite among the veggies. However, you can make a malluma out of it with shredded coconut and some fresh ground cumin - it’s a super delightful addition to your rice and curry fixes.

A dish you’d love to relive for the first time?

Hot Pot! I was not a fan the first time I tried it. I was also very new to the country and was not used to cooking my own food at a restaurant. Then I grew into the flavours and now it’s one of my favourite things to indulge in. I now make everything at home from scratch!! Hot Pot nights are exciting. 

If you are put on the spot to prepare a dish – savoury or sweet? 

Savoury all the way! I make a mean Parippuwadey with a Coconut chutney

Your favourite recipe that has been passed down to you from family?

Fish Ambul Thiyal. Although a speciality from down South it’s a known secret that my mom who is from Kandy makes a mean Ambulthiyal. Her recipe is simple and delicious and I follow it to the dot!

A dish with a fond memory? 

Lamprais! This is a pure Sri Lankan delicacy and labour of love when it comes to food. The first time I made everything from scratch and opened that aromatic goodness wrapped in banana leaf it was absolute bliss! I only wish I had all my loved ones close by to share the food.

Your fail-safe recipe? 

Fish cutlets. Over the last few years, I have mastered a perfect crusty, peppery tuna cutlet.

When you are not cooking, what’s your favourite go-to restaurant?

Wood Hills Table in Concord, Massachusetts. Wood-grilled Broccoli, Lobster bisque and a bucatini Bolognese are my top picks. If I am not full you will also see me eating a Mocha dome for dessert!