Baduma - Cashew and Sprats Crunch

The baduma! Also known as a "rice puller" because it is the marvelously crispy and crunchy crown jewel on a plate. It is actually also a fantastic beer/drinking snack or bar snack (or "bite" in the Sri Lankan vernacular) and honestly it's the easiest recipe in the world. My mother used to make a fantastic version of this with deep fried katurumurunga with cashews and I couldn't get enough of it!

These last forever in the fridge if you fry everything off thoroughly and use a sterilised jar. There are many versions of this dish with different components; mine contain the holy trifecta of crunch -- cashews, sprats (anchovies) and onion. In place of the anchovies/sprats you can also use other types of dried fish such as karawala (you will need to soak it, wash, cut it into small pieces and dry it out prior to frying). If you want to make this vegan you can leave out the sprats altogether. There is a list of alternatives below as well.

Recipe notes:

The sprats: If you buy dried spats or anchovies, you cannot use them as they are because they will dry out far too much. You need to wash them thoroughly with warm water (I had to wash mine about 6 times) until the water is relatively clear, and then place them on paper towel to dry for about an hour. This ensures that the anchovies don't burn when you fry them.

The oil: In terms of the amount of oil used, there's no secret that's everything in this is deep fried. The point is that this is an accompaniment. It is a main dish, and this shouldn't be treated as such, or served as such. So for those of you who are very conscious about the amount of oil, I hope that you understand that this shouldn't be consumed in one sitting.

The pan: If you are not used to shallow or deep frying, I would recommend to use a wide, heavy bottomed pan instead of a small saucepan. This mitigates the chances of the oil overflowing from the sides and causing a fire, and will also ensure that the oil has more surface area to heat up quicker -- thus meaning that you can maintain the temperature of the oil easier.

And now, away we go!

Ingredients

• 150g-200g red onion or shallots, sliced finely

• 100g of sprats/ dried anchovies (heads removed, cleaned thoroughly in hot water)

• 50g-60g cashews

• 3-4 sprigs curry leaves

• 4 tsp of good quality chilie paste

• 3 tbs chilie flakes

• 3 tsp sugar

• 1/2 tsp salt

• 300-400ml oil for frying

Optional additions:

• Sultanas

• Potato julienned finely

• Dried shrimp (koonisso)

• Ginger julienned finely

• Finely sliced garlic (be careful not to burn)

Method

Prep all the ingredients you are using so that you are ready to start frying. Heat up the oil on a medium flame afterwards

Start with frying the cashews. Do not fry the sprats or the onion because this will impart the flavour into the oil. Drain the cashews and leave aside.

Follow this by frying the onions and then the sprats. Fry the onions in batches in a medium flame. Keep an eye on the onions so that they do not burn but turn a lovely dark brown. I personally prefer the onions a bit darker than most people would like it, but this is your personal preference.

Leave behind about 70-100ml of oil in the pan and bring the pan back up to a medium heat if you've turned it off.

Add in the curry leaves and let them blister and turn the heat down of the pan as low as it can go the moment the colour begins to change. As this happens, add in the chilie powder, chilie paste and sugar. Fry this off for about 2 minutes.

Add in the cashews, onions and sprats. Mix everything in really well and turn the heat off completely and the pan off the hot stove stop to prevent burning.

Once this has completely cooled down, pop into a clean, completely dry jar. If you have sterilised the jar properly and fried all the ingredients thoroughly, this can last for over a year! You can served this as a side with your favourite rice and curry meal, you can sprinkle this on top of yellow or ghee rice or you can eat it on it's own as drinks snack!