Lamprais ( en, Lumprice, pron), commonly incorrectly written as “Lumprice”, “Lampraise” or “Lumprais” is a
Sri Lankan dish that was introduced by the country's
Dutch Burgher population. Lamprais is an Anglicised derivative of the Dutch word ''lomprijst'', which loosely translated means a packet or lump of rice, and it is also believed the dish has roots in the Indonesia dish
Lemper
''Lemper'' is an Indonesian savoury snack made of glutinous rice filled with seasoned shredded chicken, fish ''abon'' (meat floss) or serundeng. The specific ''lemper'' filled with seasoned shredded chicken is called ''lemper ayam'' (lit: chic ...
.
History
From 1658 until 1796, the coast of Sri Lanka was under
Dutch
Dutch commonly refers to:
* Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands
* Dutch people ()
* Dutch language ()
Dutch may also refer to:
Places
* Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States
* Pennsylvania Dutch Country
People E ...
rule. The
Dutch Burghers
The Dutch Burghers are an ethnic group in Sri Lanka, of mixed Dutch, Portuguese Burghers and Sri Lankan descent. However, they are a different community when compared with Portuguese Burghers. Originally an entirely Protestant community, many Burg ...
(an ethnic group of mixed Dutch,
Portuguese Burghers
The Portuguese Burghers are an ethnic group in Sri Lanka, of mixed Portuguese and Sri Lankan descent. They are largely Roman Catholic and some still speak the Sri Lanka Indo-Portuguese language, a creole based on Portuguese mixed with Sinhalese. ...
and Sri Lankan descent) came up with this delicacy. The dish itself is not a native dish to the Netherlands but is based on the
Javanese meal,
Lemper
''Lemper'' is an Indonesian savoury snack made of glutinous rice filled with seasoned shredded chicken, fish ''abon'' (meat floss) or serundeng. The specific ''lemper'' filled with seasoned shredded chicken is called ''lemper ayam'' (lit: chic ...
. Lemper is a snack consisting of shredded seasoned meat,
glutinous rice
Glutinous rice (''Oryza sativa var. glutinosa''; also called sticky rice, sweet rice or waxy rice) is a type of rice grown mainly in Southeast and East Asia, and the northeastern regions of South Asia, which has opaque grains, very low amylose ...
wrapped in a banana leaf. The Dutch in
Dutch Ceylon
Dutch Ceylon ( Sinhala: Tamil: ) was a governorate established in present-day Sri Lanka by the Dutch East India Company. Although the Dutch managed to capture most of the coastal areas in Sri Lanka, they were never able to control the Kandyan ...
are likely to have adapted this dish from the
Dutch East Indies
The Dutch East Indies, also known as the Netherlands East Indies ( nl, Nederlands(ch)-Indië; ), was a Dutch colony consisting of what is now Indonesia. It was formed from the nationalised trading posts of the Dutch East India Company, which ...
in the early 16th Century.
One of the first literary mentions of Lamprais was in Hilda Deutrom's ''Ceylon Daily News Cookery Book'', published in 1929.
Composition
![Lamprais (Sri Lankan cuisine)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/43/Lamprais_%28Sri_Lankan_cuisine%29.jpg)
It consists of two special
curries
A curry is a dish with a sauce seasoned with spices, mainly associated with South Asian cuisine. In southern India, leaves from the curry tree may be included.
There are many varieties of curry. The choice of spices for each dish in tradit ...
(a three meat curry, often including beef, pork and chicken - and ash
plantain
Plantain may refer to:
Plants and fruits
* Cooking banana, banana cultivars in the genus ''Musa'' whose fruits are generally used in cooking
** True plantains, a group of cultivars of the genus ''Musa''
* ''Plantaginaceae'', a family of flowerin ...
with
aubergine
Eggplant ( US, Canada), aubergine ( UK, Ireland) or brinjal (Indian subcontinent, Singapore, Malaysia, South Africa) is a plant species in the nightshade family Solanaceae. ''Solanum melongena'' is grown worldwide for its edible fruit.
Mos ...
),
seeni sambol
Seeni sambol ( si, සීනි සම්බෝල ), also known as Sini sambol or Sawi sambol, is a traditional Sri Lankan condiment. It is a caramelised onion chutney or relish, with flavours which are spicy, sweet and aromatic. It is served as ...
,
belacan
Shrimp paste or prawn sauce is a fermented condiment commonly used in Southeast Asian and Southern Chinese cuisines. It is primarily made from finely crushed shrimp or krill mixed with salt, and then fermented for several weeks. They are eit ...
,
frikadeller
A frikadelle (plural frikadellen) is a rounded, flat-bottomed, pan-fried meatball of minced meat, often likened to the German version of meatballs. The origin of the dish is unknown. The term is German but the dish is associated with German, ...
meatballs and
rice
Rice is the seed of the grass species ''Oryza sativa'' (Asian rice) or less commonly ''Oryza glaberrima
''Oryza glaberrima'', commonly known as African rice, is one of the two domesticated rice species. It was first domesticated and grown i ...
boiled in stock, all of which is wrapped in
banana leaves
The banana leaf is the leaf of the banana plant, which may produce up to 40 leaves in a growing cycle. The leaves have a wide range of applications because they are large, flexible, waterproof and decorative. They are used for cooking, wrapping ...
and baked in an oven.
The rice is made by frying raw short grain rice with onions and spices in butter or ghee and then cooking it in a meat stock. A hard boiled egg which has been deep-fried is also a common, but non-traditional, addition.
The traditional recipe always contains three meat items however modern versions can include just a single meat, such as fish or chicken or as a vegetarian version.
See also
*
Lemper
''Lemper'' is an Indonesian savoury snack made of glutinous rice filled with seasoned shredded chicken, fish ''abon'' (meat floss) or serundeng. The specific ''lemper'' filled with seasoned shredded chicken is called ''lemper ayam'' (lit: chic ...
References
Rice dishes
Sri Lankan rice dishes
Dutch Ceylon
Sri Lankan lamb dishes
Sri Lankan egg dishes
{{SriLanka-cuisine-stub