Culinary Bliss of Aluth Avurudhu – By Dishan Joseph
Source : dailynews
Our heritage plays a fundamental role in shaping our cultural identity. It reflects the collective experiences, beliefs, and values of a community or nation. By preserving our heritage, we preserve the unique characteristics that define who we are as individuals and as a society. It is a month of joyful aspirations.
To many of us Aluth Avurudhu is synonymous with the succulent sweets made by both the Sinhalese and Tamil communities as we celebrate a Sri Lankan festival.The lives that we all live wouldn’t be possible without the very important concept that is cultural heritage because it is who we are. We are all products of the people who came before us, and having that connection to our ancestors is only possible because they passed things down to us.
In our Sri Lankan culture laced with heritage, food is treated with the highest gratitude, respect, and generosity, expressed by sharing and offering to fellow humans, as well as the divine powers. Sri Lankans love to share food with their neighbors, family, and friends; house visits are always accompanied with bundles of food items.
Tempting goodies
With a focus on organic cuisine and a healthy lifestyle, one is subject to a feeling of temporary guilt when indulging in these tempting goodies. Living in crowded cities supplemented by a busy work oriented lifestyle do our women have the time and mastery of cooking skills to keep this tradition alive? Are the long hours of making these sweets appreciated, or will they be replaced with “fusion sweets” in the future?Indigenous and traditional foods of Sri Lanka inherit a long history and unique traditions continued from several thousands of years.
Sri Lankan food tradition is strongly inter-wound with the nutritional, health-related, and therapeutic reasoning of the food ingredients and the methods of preparation.
The kondekavum is the alluring queen who reigns high above the other sweets on the plate. Her “konde” has a class of its own! She is always soft to the touch, and mother used to warn me not to succumb to her charms! The kalu dodol is the grand duke of Sinhala sweets. The dark brown exterior gives way to a warm consistency.
I used to be puzzled about the Aasmi- somewhat similar to a hybrid string hopper with a touch of red syrup.The halape was a favourite of my late father, we used to eat this at sunset drinking a glass of ginger infused tea. We yielded to the others as well: athiraha and mungkavum- nutritious sweets. The kokkis was a class of its own. Today, it is sold in packets with a chili and salt dusting, giving it a savoury classification. The kiri bath (milk rice) dazzles us in various shapes and types of grain- red rice, samba and the opulent basmati rice.
Sweets made by Tamil families include laddu, jelibi, paithampaniyaram, sugar coated sippi and murruku. Finding clean banana leaves to place on plates is another challenge for the denizens of the city. I did come across some ceramic plates that were wisely made in green to reflect a banana leaf.The New Year is not about eating sweets. It is a continuous reunion and fellowship of all communities. We must change the customary label of Sinhala and Tamil New Year to incorporate all communities and celebrate this time as a Sri Lankan festival. It is a time not to be divided on avenues of religion. It is a time to strengthen our national identity as one people.
Timeless traditions
The food associated with Aluth Avurudhu, is being subject to change. Of course, change is important as we make progress. Yet, it is sad to see that these timeless traditions, in a culinary sense are being replaced in Colombo and perhaps other major cities. The primary reason given is that working women don’t have time to sit and make sweets- this is true
The second reason is a practical one, people living in high rise apartment complexes can’t be pounding and deep frying as the neighbours would be disturbed and the prolonged cooking can present a fire hazard. This is reality and there is no option.While some housewives have got into the practice of buying Avurudhu sweets from various outlets selling ‘commercially made’ sweets, some are trying to ‘Google’ and find traditional recipes and make them at home, with their children. A few prudent ones have even ventured into altering cooking patterns creating Avurudhu fusion food. Some ingredients are a bit expensive- a common element in any celebration.
I must mention a Buddhist family residing at Wellawatte, where traditional food has been upheld for decades. The Gunawardene family has been living at Hampden Lane for more than 100 years. Today their three sisters – Rohini, Pathmini and Malkanthi continue to make Sri Lankan food in its authentic essence. I have been blessed to know this family for the past four decades. Every year our family has been invited for lunch during Aluth Avurudhu.
The three ladies prepare some of the best rice and curry and Sinhalese sweets, reflecting recipes passed down for more than a century. I always look forward to this amazing fellowship.
Many of us at the end of these blissful days will return to office and faithfully drink green tea and enlist in a weekend aerobics class! The real essence of the Avurudhu sweets is not in the eating, it is the joyous fellowship where the sweets are brought to life by hand.This is an extension of family time, with cousins and relatives.
We build bridges of love by sharing the plates of sweets with the neighbours.We must uphold the heritage filled recipes of our nation; some things in life cannot be compromised.Preserving our heritage is crucial for maintaining a sense of identity, fostering cultural diversity, and ensuring the continuity of our traditions and values.
It is through the preservation of our heritage that we can connect with our past, understand our present, and shape our future.
