Name: Lamprais
Prep time: 1 h
Cook time: 1 h 30 min
Total time: 2 h 30 min
Yield: 6 servings
Cuisine: Sri Lankan
Ingredients: 300 g basmati rice; 450 ml beef stock; 3 g cinnamon stick; 2 g green cardamom pods; 1 g cloves; 3 g pandan leaf; 1 tsp salt; 2 tbsp vegetable oil; 1 onion, about 150 g, finely chopped; 400 g beef chuck, cut into 2 cm cubes; 2 tbsp Sri Lankan roasted curry powder; 1 stalk lemongrass, bruised; 1 sprig curry leaves; 200 ml water; ½ tsp salt; 250 g minced beef; 3 tbsp breadcrumbs; 1 egg; 1 tsp ground cumin; ½ tsp salt; 2 tbsp vegetable oil; 3 eggs, boiled and halved; 4 banana leaves, softened over a flame, or baking paper and foil

Lamprais

A Sri Lankan parcel of stock-cooked rice, spiced meat curry, meatballs, aubergine and a boiled egg, wrapped in banana leaf and baked.

2 hr 30 min total Serves 6 servings Hard

The Case for Lamprais

Nobody makes lamprais in a hurry, and nobody expects to. It is a Sunday dish, assembled from several parts, and the pleasure is in making the parcels and opening them. Rice cooked in stock, a dry beef curry, small meatballs, a spicy aubergine pickle and a boiled egg, all folded into a banana leaf and baked until the leaf perfumes everything inside.

The rice is the foundation. Cook it in beef stock with a cinnamon stick, cardamom, cloves and a pandan leaf, in a measured amount of liquid, so the grains swell, separate and take on a savoury flavour. It must not be wet. Let the rice cool for 10 minutes before wrapping. Hot rice steams the leaf and makes the parcel soggy.

The curry is a dry one: beef with roasted curry powder, cinnamon, lemongrass and curry leaves, cooked until the sauce clings. The meatballs, called frikkadels, are mixed from minced beef, breadcrumbs and spices, and shallow-fried until brown.

Wilt the banana leaves over a flame so they bend without cracking, lay out the parts, fold into a neat parcel, and bake at 180°C / 355°F for 20 minutes. If banana leaves are not available, baking paper and foil work.

What to Put on the Table With Lamprais

Aubergine moju
Seeni sambol
Pol sambol
Lime pickle

Sides from the same cuisine on this site: Sri Lankan Pol Roti.

How to Make Lamprais

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Cook the rice with the stock, cinnamon, cardamom, cloves, pandan and salt in a covered pan for 15 minutes. Rest for 10 minutes and fluff.
For the curry, heat the oil and cook the onion for 5 minutes. Add the beef, curry powder, lemongrass and curry leaves and cook for 5 minutes. Add the water and salt, cover and simmer for 40 minutes until tender and almost dry.
Mix the minced beef, breadcrumbs, egg, cumin and salt and shape into 12 small balls. Fry in the oil for 8 minutes, turning, until browned.
Heat the oven to 180°C / 355°F (160°C / 320°F fan). Divide the rice, curry, frikkadels and egg halves between 6 pieces of banana leaf, fold into parcels and secure.
Bake the parcels on a tray for 20 minutes.

Related guide: Choosing rice.

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Notes From the Method

Cool the rice before wrapping.

Pass the banana leaf over a flame until soft.

Serve with a sambol or pickle.

Leftovers

Keeps in the fridge for 2 days. Reheat in a hot oven in the parcel.

Nutrition per Serving

Per serving, calculated from the ingredient list with USDA FoodData Central figures (SR Legacy). A calculation, not a laboratory analysis: brands, cuts and how you measure change the real numbers. How the figures are worked out.

566Calories

32gProtein

51gCarbs

26gFat

3gFibre

3gSugar

1020mgSodium

High-Protein No Added Sugar

Lamprais

What to Put on the Table With Lamprais

How to Make Lamprais

Notes From the Method

Leftovers

Nutrition per Serving

Your notes on this recipe

Cooked this? Keep a note for next time

What to Put on the Table With Lamprais

How to Make Lamprais

Notes From the Method

Leftovers

Nutrition per Serving

Your notes on this recipe

Cooked this? Keep a note for next time

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