Kola Kanda (කොළ කැඳ (Kola kanda))

Overview

Kola kanda is a green herbal rice soup from Sri Lanka, eaten for breakfast. Red or raw rice is boiled with a little garlic until very soft. Fresh green leaves, most often gotu kola, are pounded or blended with water, and their juice is strained into the pot together with thick coconut milk. The soup is heated gently, without boiling hard, so it stays bright green, and it is seasoned only with salt. Other leaves such as curry leaves, polpala or hatawariya may be used, each believed to help with a different complaint. It is served hot with a piece of jaggery to balance the slight bitterness.

History

Ancient Sri Lankan chronicles such as the Dipavamsa and the Mahavamsa link the custom of eating kola kanda with Buddhist culture. Buddhist monks, who eat no solid food after midday, have long taken it in the early morning as a nourishing first meal. Today it is sold in small cups at roadside stalls and in markets, and many families drink it for good health and to stay cool.

Main ingredients

Red rice, gotu kola, coconut milk, garlic, salt, jaggery. The soup is built on leaf juice and coconut milk and is usually served hot. Diet: vegan; usually gluten-free.

Explore: Rice soups · Coconut soups

Recipe

4Serves

45 min15 prep · 30 cook

~220kcal / serving

EasyDifficulty

Method

1. 1
   25 min

   Boil the rice with the garlic in 1 l water for 25 minutes, until very soft and broken.

2. 2

   Blend the leaves with 200 ml water and strain the green juice.

3. 3

   Stir the coconut milk into the rice and warm through.

4. 4
   2 min

   Add the leaf juice and heat gently for 2 minutes without boiling, then add salt.

5. 5

   Serve hot with a piece of jaggery.

6. ✓

   Serve. About 45 min from start to bowl.

Sources

• Kola kanda (Wikipedia)

Description, history and recipe written by SoupWiki and checked against the sources above. Calories and times are rough estimates.