Olu Rice with Sesame Seed Curry and Dried Fish Fry

Click below to watch the recipe video on my YouTube channel in Sinhala 👇

Olu Rice with Sesame Seed Curry and Dried Fish Fry

If you enjoyed the video, please give it a thumbs up, leave a comment, and share with your friends and family 🥰

See Photos ❯

Olu Rice is a rare variety of Rice in Sri Lanka and is sold in small quantities in herbal shops. It is extracted from the Water Lily flower seeds therefore it is called Water Lily Rice in English. In this recipe, we're making 2 side dishes to go with the Olu Rice which is the Sesame Seed Curry (called Thala Curry) and a dried Fish fry.

This type of set menu with the Olu Rice, Sesame Curry, and dried Fish fry is quite popular in Anuradhapura region of Sri Lanka. Olu Rice is considered very nutritious and it is good to prevent or reduce diabetes and kidney stones. Our ancestors would do eat this Rice for breakfast to get strength for the labor intensive tasks they would be doing for the day.

Since Olu Rice is hard to find and sold in small quantities, we will mix it with another rice variety when cooking it. In this recipe, we used Madathawalu Rice but you can use any rice variety. If you have enough Olu Rice, you can just use that too without mixing it with another variety.

For the Sesame Seeds Curry, we added a diced Tomato for a bit of tanginess. If you don't like the acidity of Tomatoes, you can add a Tamarind Seed instead. This Sesame Curry looks similar to a dry Dhal Curry.

For the dried Fish fry, we're using Katta Karawala but you can use any type of dried fish. This type of dried Fish fry is called a Katta Karawala Baduma in Sri Lanka and it is quite popular. Traditionally, people would add chilies like Nai Miris or Kochi but you can skip or adjust it according to your spice tolerance.

If you like these type of unique traditional Sri Lankan Foods, you might be interested in trying my tasty Kidu Rice Set Menu with Kaliya Curry and Dohoi with Spicy Fish Curry recipes.

Total Time: 60 minutes

Ingredients

  • 100g of Olu Rice (Water Lily Rice)
  • 200g of Madathawalu Rice (or any Rice variety)

Sesame Seed Curry

  • 100g of Sesame Seeds
  • Handful of grated Coconut
  • Toasted Fenugreek Seeds
  • Turmeric Powder
  • 1 tsp of Pepper
  • 1 tsp of Raw Curry Powder
  • 2 sliced Green Chilies
  • Chopped Onions
  • Curry Leaves
  • Small amount of Chili Powder
  • 2 crushed Garlic Cloves
  • Mustard Seeds
  • Diced Tomato or Tamarind Seed
  • Salt

Dried Fish Fry

  • 150g of dried Fish (we used Katta Karawala)
  • 4 Nai Miris
  • 1 tsp of Chili Powder
  • 4 sliced Onions
  • Curry Leaves
  • 1 tbsp of Chili Flakes
  • Turmeric Powder
  • Salt

Instructions

  1. Soak 100g of Olu Rice overnight.
  2. After soaking, wash the Olu Rice 3 to 4 times to remove any impurities like stones.
  3. Add the Olu Rice into a Rice Cooker with some Water.
  4. Add 200g of Madathawalu Rice (you can use any variety of rice for this step).
  5. Cook the rice in the Rice Cooker.

Sesame Seed Curry

  1. Soak 100g of Sesame Seeds for 3 hours.
  2. Drain the Water and add the Sesame Seeds into a blender.
  3. Add a handful of grated Coconut.
  4. Add a small amount of Water.
  5. Blend into a thick paste.
  6. Add the paste into a bowl.
  7. Add some Water into the blender to stir any leftover residue.
  8. Pour the water into the bowl.
  9. Add 1 more cup of Water into the bowl.
  10. Mix together.
  11. Now add some toasted Fenugreek Seeds.
  12. Add some Turmeric Powder.
  13. Add 1 tsp of Pepper.
  14. Add 1 tsp of Raw Curry Powder.
  15. Add 2 sliced Green Chilies.
  16. Add a chopped Onion.
  17. Add some Curry Leaves.
  18. Add a small amount of Chili Powder.
  19. Add Salt to taste.
  20. Set this mixture aside for now while we make a tempered mixture.
  21. Heat some Oil in a saucepan over medium heat.
  22. Add some chopped Onions.
  23. Add 2 crushed Garlic Cloves.
  24. Add some Curry Leaves.
  25. Lightly fry these ingredients together while stirring frequently.
  26. While frying, add some Mustard Seeds and stir.
  27. After lightly frying, pour the mixture we made earlier.
  28. Add a small amount Water to the bowl that contained the Sesame mixture to collect any leftover residue and pour that into the saucepan.
  29. Mix thoroughly.
  30. When the Sesame Seed Curry is almost done cooking, add a diced Tomato or a Tamarind Seed.
  31. Keep cook until the Sesame Seed Curry is thickened.

Dried Fish Fry

  1. Wash 150g of dried Fish (we're using Katta Karawala).
  2. If you haven't yet, cut the dried Fish into small pieces.
  3. Heat some Oil in a saucepan over medium heat.
  4. Add the dried Fish.
  5. Add 4 Nai Miris after cutting them into halves.
  6. Add 1 tsp of Chili Powder.
  7. Stir everything together thoroughly.
  8. Add 4 sliced Onions.
  9. Add some Curry Leaves.
  10. Add 1 tbsp of Chili Flakes.
  11. Add some Turmeric Powder.
  12. Add Salt to taste.
  13. Turn the heat down to low.
  14. Cook until the Onions are caramelized while stirring frequently.

Photos

Olu Rice With Sesame Curry And Dried Fish Fry Eating Olu Rice With Sesame Seed Curry And Dried Fish Fry Fried Fish Olu Rice With Sesame Curry And Dried Fish Fry Serving Olu Rice Sesame Curry

More Recipes & Posts