Indulge in comfortingly delicious home-cooked food from The Travelling Food Tuk by Yashasvi Kannangara!

It’s been just a little over two weeks since Yashasvi Kannangara opened her very own food delivery service, a venture she does solely by herself from cutting and chopping the freshest of ingredients in her kitchen every morning, then cooking and preparing her dishes, packing them in foil containers and delivering them to eager customers, awaiting a mouthwateringly delicious and filling lunch.

She’s passionate about baking and cooking for family and friends, and her story is quite simple. She didn’t start cooking until she’d actually left school and started to live by herself on a tight budget, which meant she couldn’t eat out all the time because it was expensive. So, she started to cook little dishes at home everyday, and soon she started experimenting with ingredients. “I used to read up on recipes and then change things here and there, because some of these recipes you find online are made for European palates, and are just not spicy enough for Sri Lankans,” she explains.

From colourful salads (she loves presentation, and ensures the dining table at home is well laid out, even if it’s just dinner for two!) to rice and pasta dishes, or wholewheat sandwiches with yummy fillings, Yashasvi currently does weekday lunch orders, in addition to baking comforting cakes and desserts for separate orders. Portions are huge, and if you’re not a big eater, a rice pack for lunch is enough for two.

Not delving into the usual rice and curry, an example would be steamed basmati rice, Thai green curry prawns, homemade chillie paste, bok choy and cabbage and a fried egg. Just this Monday, she whipped up healthy and filling salads for lunch orders, which consisted of two baked chicken thighs or fish slices seasoned in a five spice, ginger, garlic, treacle and tomato marinade served with a salad comprising iceberg lettuce, salad cucumber, roasted peanuts, carrot and pear slices accompanied by a sweet and tangy lemon mustard and yoghurt dressing.

Even though she tweaks a lot of recipes, she always goes back to Sri Lankan spices and ingredients. Yashasvi claims she has no culinary background whatsoever and is definitely a self-taught whiz in the kitchen. “It would be great if I can make this my livelihood. My passion in life is cooking and it adds so much to who I am. Food is meant to be shared, and this is exactly what I love to do. I want people to enjoy the food I prepare and it makes me incredibly happy when people ask for seconds at home,” she says.

The menu changes daily, and Yashasvi posts menu updates on the Facebook page, so be sure to check out what you’d like to eat for lunch the next day by texting your order, name, address and telephone number to 0772223765. Delivery is free to any location in Colombo 3, 7, Borella, Rajagiriya and Ethul Kotte.

By Sarah Kellapatha
Pics courtesy Yashasvi Kannangara