Sign language

Simulcast of network BBC Two in high definition.

BBC Two HD

Recipes That Made Me

Documentaries

Factual: Food & Drink

Restaurateur Nisha Katona travels the UK hunting down recipes from the Indian subcontinent

Restaurateur Nisha Katona travels the UK hunting down recipes from the Indian subcontinent.

Series 1

Recipes That Made Me: Sri Lanka

BBC One

BBC Two England

England

BBC Two Scotland

BBC Two Northern Ireland

Until 03/01/2009 BBC Two Wales (analogue) was known simply as BBC Two Wales. BBC Two Wales (digital) was BBC 2W. From 03/01/2009 BBC Two Wales schedules on both analogue and digital became identical

BBC Two Wales

Simulcast of network BBC One in high definition. From 03/11/2010

BBC One HD

BBC One London

London

BBC One Scotland

Scotland

Simulcast of BBC One Scotland in high definition. From 14/01/2013

BBC One Scotland HD

BBC One Yorks & Lincs

The BBC East region started on 1st May 1959 as part of the BBC Television Service, before becoming BBC One East.

BBC One East

The BBC South West region started on 20th April 1961 as part of the BBC Television Service, before becoming BBC One South West.

BBC One South West

The BBC South region started on 5th January 1961 as part of the BBC Television Service, before becoming BBC One South.

BBC One South

BBC One Cambridgeshire

BBC One Channel Islands

BBC One Oxfordshire

BBC One region covering Derbyshire, Leicestershire and Nottinghamshire.

BBC One East Midlands

BBC One West Midlands

Formerly part of a wider BBC One South East region that included London and part of the South region. Separated from BBC One London 2001-09-03 following reorganisation of the South East region.

BBC One South East

BBC One North West

The BBC West region started on 1st September 1957 as part of the BBC Television Service, before becoming BBC One West.

BBC One West

BBC One Yorkshire

The BBC North East & Cumbria region started in 1959 (tbc) as part of the BBC Television Service, before becoming BBC One North East & Cumbria.

BBC One North East & Cumbria

BBC Northern Ireland region started on 19th April 1955 as part of the BBC Television Service, before becoming BBC One Northern Ireland.

BBC One Northern Ireland

Simulcast of BBC One Northern Ireland in high definition. From 24/10/2012

BBC One Northern Ireland HD

Simulcast of BBC Two Northern Ireland in high definition

BBC Two Northern Ireland HD

Simulcast of BBC Two Wales in high definition

BBC Two Wales HD

Nisha Katona

Sally Wingate

Narinder Minhas

Ed St Giles

Catherine Donohoe

Laura Kennedy

Ben Parsons

Dan Preston-Bear

Graeme Hayes

Adam Wood

Nicole Fairfield

Steve Brown

Paul Melrose

Sugar Films Limited

Julia Morgantti Minchillo

Glyn Harrison

Anoop Singh Kung

Recipes That Made Me: Series 1: Episode 2: Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka

Episode 2

Episode 2: Sri Lanka

BBC Two - Recipes That Made Me, Series 1, Sri Lanka

Nisha Katona travels to London to discover authentic family recipes from Sri Lanka.

Nisha Katona discovers family recipes passed down through generations from across the Indian subcontinent. Nisha visits a lakeside cafe in London's Victoria Park.

In this series, restaurateur Nisha Katona travels around the UK meeting passionate home cooks to discover family recipes passed down through generations from across the Indian subcontinent.

In this episode, Nisha is in London to discover more about food from the tropical island of Sri Lanka. The cuisine is rising in popularity, especially in the capital city. She starts her exploration in an unlikely setting: a lakeside cafe in London's Victoria Park. Here there is a group of Sri Lankan guys cooking in the kitchen who have started introducing their authentic recipes from home. They serve incredible Sri Lankan breakfasts with a kind of noodle called a string hopper that is right at the heart of their cuisine. In the kitchen, Nisha meets Thivian, who shows her how they make these unique string hoppers, as well as rustling up one of their legendary coconut rotis (a kind of flatbread) for her to try.

Keen to explore how Sri Lankans use the wide variety of vegetables that grow on the island, Nisha heads to a Sri Lankan grocers to meet food blogger Shakya and her mum Dulcie. They talk to her about some of the unusual ingredients they like to use in their cooking, including pandan leaves, which add flavour to their curries, and gotu kola, a green leafy plant a bit like flat leaf parsley. Dulcie teaches Nisha how to make a classic Sri Lankan dish called devilled prawns - known for its fiery flavours - whilst daughter Shakya shows her how gotu kola can be used in a fresh Sri Lankan accompaniment called a sambol.

The growing interest in Sri Lankan food means that it is starting to be found in street markets in London and is proving very popular. Nisha visits the world food market in St Katharine's Dock to try a much-loved Sri Lankan street food dish called Kothu Roti. This unique dish that seems to have everything thrown at it - veg, eggs and a meat or fish curry - all chopped up on a hot plate and served to hungry customers. British Sri Lankan newsreader George Alagiah invites Nisha to a Sri Lankan lunch at his family home. His family continue to cook the recipes passed down by his Sri Lankan mother, many of which they have written down. Nisha joins George, his sister Mari and his wife Fran in the kitchen to learn some of their family recipes. Together they make George's mother's recipe for roasted curry powder, the basis of Sri Lankan meat curries, which they turn into a delicious chicken and coconut curry. George's wife Fran, who had no family connection to Sri Lanka until she married George, tells Nisha how her mother-in-law made sure she knew how to make Sri Lankan dishes for her husband-to-be! She shares a classic coconut and cabbage side dish with Nisha, taught to her by her mother-in-law.

Nisha ends her time learning about Sri Lankan food at a Tamil harvest festival, known as Thai Pongal. Here she meets Vithya and her mum, who are keeping the tradition alive right in the centre of London. There is some beautiful folk dancing, bonfires and a delicious traditional rice pudding dish cooked on an open fire at the heart of this ceremony. For Nisha, it sums up the respect Sri Lankans have for their food - they know how to make the most of the ingredients that grow in abundance on the island - and can turn them into simple sensational dishes. This is definitely a cuisine worth learning about and cooking at home!

Recipes That Made Me: Series 1

BBC Two

Knowledge, drama, comedy and the arts for a broad adult audience.

BBC Two is a lively channel of depth and substance, carrying a range of knowledge-building programming complemented by great drama, comedy and arts.

Accessibility links

Programme Index

Recipes That Made Me

Series 1

Episode 2: Sri Lanka

Contributors

Genres

Formats

Brand

Series

BBC Two HD

About BBC Two