How do our food experts cook and eat? This week, food blogger Shermila of Shermila’s Kitchen takes our Q&A!

What got you into cooking?
My mother was not a great cook and she did not enjoy cooking either so it was important to me that I made good flavourful food for my kids. After I moved to a small village in Sweden making food at home became one of my priorities. We did not have Indian or Sri Lankan shops or restaurants in the village and if you needed to enjoy some spicy flavourful food you had to cook it yourself! My first memory in the kitchen was helping my grandmother to scrape the coconut and clean the onions and green leaves like Mukunuenna. Cooking for real began only after I moved to this small village in Sweden.

What’s a spice you can’t do without?
Chillie powder! I use it in every possible dish. My entire family loves spicy food.

What was your favourite childhood meal?
My grandmother used to make dhal curry, mukunuenna mallung and beef curry for lunch. I used to love that. My parents did not approve of me eating beef as they are strong Buddhists but since I grew up at my grandparents’ home, my grandmother just let me eat it. I used to love to eat the remaining beef curry from the clay pot with roast paan for dinner.  My grandparents always left the remaining curry and the pot for me.

What dish would you eat but never cook?
Lake fish. I love to eat it but I would never cook it myself.

Your favourite odd food pairing?
Nutella Pizza with fruit toppings.

If you could dis-invent a food, what would it be?
Processed meat but unfortunately, my son loves sausages.

What’s the most daring dish you’ve ever made?
Tomahawk Steak which is an amazing cut of meat which actually is a large ribeye steak. It is very important to control the temperature when making this dish.The Tomahawk steak is a marvel to look at and it is a special kind of steak. It is absolutely delicious and sophisticated. This is upscale meat and a perfectly made tom steak truly is a sight to behold. It is indeed a delightfully delicious dish and it is my son’s absolute favourite. 

What’s a dish you won’t ever try?
Beef tongue stew. I don’t think I would try that ever with all due respect for  everyone who loves it.

What are your favourite leftovers?
Left over rice and curry!

Easiest meal to impress someone?
Malabar chicken Biriyani with mint sambal and Raita.

What’s a dish you’d love to relive for the first time?
Thick Meat Soup at the Olde Hansa restaurant in Estonia… The ambiance and how thick and flavourful the soup was. This is a lifetime experience. The entertaining ambience of the dark wood, the ancient live music and the candlelight. The honey beer was delicious. The courses are made of many dishes and perfectly cooked. This would be a delight for anyone who is interested in medieval history and every winter I make sure the family visits this place; an experience much appreciated by all members of the family.

If you had Rs. 500, what meal would you make with it?
Dry fish tempered, dhal curry and coconut sambol with samba rice.

Your proudest food invention?
Prawn cutlets. They are my absolute favourite.

What’s the trick to mastering  Sri Lankan food?
The right spices, used in the right quantity,  for the right food,  in the right way.

It’s your last day on earth, where are you and what are you eating?
I would like to be at my home with my family and eat wheat flour string hoppers, dhal curry, sprats tempered and coconut sambol.

What’s the most exotic food you’ve eaten?
I have tried Honey Beer and Bear meat from Olde Hansa. This is an internationally renowned medieval experience restaurant located in the heart of the Old Town of Tallinn, in Estonia. They have fire cooked Bear meat that is marinated with quite rare spices and saffron. This dish is made in the honour of the brave King Waldemar II, of Denmark. This authentic medieval experiences created through a combination of dishes cooked according to 700-year-old recipes and a must if you ever visit Estonia. My family loves to dine in this restaurant.