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Latest Posts

September 9, 2023

How to make a Sri Lankan gotu kola sambol

gotu kola sambol

July 13, 2023

An authentic Sri Lankan recipe for cauliflower mallung

Authentic recipe for cauliflower mallung

June 13, 2023

How to make this no-bake mango cheesecake, with white chocolate

Mango_Cheesecake-01030

June 2, 2023

A review of Rambutan, the award-winning Sri Lankan cookbook

Sri Lankan roasted pumpkin curry

May 16, 2023

Go get your palate rattled at Rambutan, London’s newest Sri Lankan restaurant

Rambutan_May2023_newsletter-2327

I’ve written about Shonda Rhimes and her book ‘A Year of Yes’. ⁣
I read the book ago and it’s message still resonates with me.

Shonda was known for saying no to things. Her family and friends stopped inviting her to do things because they knew she wouldn’t go.

This was a wake-up call - what had she missed? When she dug deep, she realised it was more about confronting her fears.
Shonda vowed to say yes to things that scared her. And say yes to more of the right things.

The result was life-changing.

When an opportunity came my way, I pushed past the self-doubt, fear and imposter syndrome and grabbed the opportunity with a big fat YES!

I’ve collaborated with Hi!! Magazine (@hi_online_lk). It's Sri Lanka's glossy luxury lifestyle magazine for the island community and the diaspora. It celebrates Sri Lankan culture, fashion, travel and food. It's an honour to be in their pages!

Over the summer I headed into the kitchen where I was in full recipe creation mode: researching and developing new recipes, cooking, testing, re-testing, writing and photographing these delicious dishes.

Some dishes are more traditional with a twist on an authentic recipe - think slow-cooked jaggery beef rib. Others are more traditional. My jackfruit biryani is a vegan crowd-pleaser. It's a great recipe for a gathering of friends that will please those that eat meat and those that don't. And some, are more fusion-style recipes such as jaggery meringues.

I hope you are excited and I have whetted your appetite.

Join my mailing list and the recipes drop into your inbox. DM me or drop a comment - I'll send you the link.

#srilankanrecipes #londonfoodphotographer #recipedeveloper #foodcontentcreator #londonfoodstylist

Supper clubs are a thing, a scene, a food movement

Supper clubs are a thing, a scene, a food movement. Supper clubs are where you find great people cooking great food.

I got to know Sohini, host of the @smokeandlime supper clubs.

We initially met for dinner at a small Peruvian restaurant in the Elephant & Castle, in a nondescript building, where the Formica tables wore paper tablecloths, a giant TV blasted South American football and they served the best ceviche you’ll find South of the Thames.

At the end of May, I ventured down Walworth Road to experience one of Sohini’s supper clubs.

Smoke and Lime is cosy. Eight of us gathered around Sohini’s dining table where we were treated to a feast of home-cooked Bengali cuisine.

Sohini’s has pioneered a no-waste kitchen. She uses every scrap of every ingredient in her cooking. Cauliflower leaves are transformed into cauliflower pate. She’s a genius at turning local ingredients into delicacies - you have to try her rhubarb pickle.

The two stand-out dishes were the whole deep-fried sea bass and dhal with shaved fennel.

The star of the evening was the puchkas. Flavour bombs, mouthfuls of intense joy. I first tasted these in Darjeeling Express, small round pastry shells filled with spiced chickpeas and potatoes, dipped into a tamarind chaat sauce. Hot, sour, sweet flavours burst in your mouth as you gobble your puchka whole.

Now I have experienced the Smoke and Lime supper club, I’m ready to try more.

What are your favourite supper clubs?

#londonfoodphotographer #supperclublondon #srilankanfoodphotographer #londonfoodwriter #foodwriter #londonfoodie #foodstories

The Alphonso mango season is nearing its end. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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I got so excited about Alphonso mango season, that I ran out and bought myself a box of 12 mangoes. Way too much to eat in one sitting. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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This year I have been busy making fresh mango lassis, which my husband and children slurped to the bottom of the glass.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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The no-bake mango and white chocolate cheesecake was a big hit with friends and family. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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And finally with the last of the mangoes I made this Alphonso mango sorbet. The it's the perfect summer dessert.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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This super easy to make sorbet is a recipe doesn't require an ice cream. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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This is one of the best way to get your mangoes to last the season and beyond. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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Even though the heat has cooled off this refreshing sorbet is the perfect summer treat. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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The recipe is in my bio - hop to it and treat yourself with this mango sorbet! 🥭⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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#mangosorbet #mangoseason #summerdesserts #londonfoodphotographer #srilankanfoodphotographer #recipecreator

It was about a year ago I made my way to meet Glen

It was about a year ago I made my way to meet Glen and take photographs of this soon-to-be new pub/restaurant on the North London scene.

Glen and his business partner Prince had just taken up residence in this pub a ten-minute walk from Highbury & Islington tube, a stone's throw from the Caledonian Road overground.

I kind of knew the area. Back in the late 90s, this is where I hung when Upper Street was a thing, the epitome of cool, and Brit-pop rode the waves.

The freshly painted pub with its elegant minimal decor was being prepped to throw open its doors to the public.

This was the @tamilperince

But a year ago, nobody knew how this pub would fare.

Dishes were being fine-tuned, the staff were given their pep talk, and excitement, apprehension and trepidation were palpable.

The Tamil Prince serves good, solid South Indian fare. Prince, the talented chef is from Tamil Nadu. No one does a roti throw-down quite like Prince. Put this into a London pub and you're on to a winner.

Out of the tiny kitchen comes a small menu of hefty portions.

Giant prawns asking to be peeled, teeth sunk into juicy flesh and consumed with satisfaction. Pulled beef pressed down onto a crispy dosa is begging you to pull it apart with your fingers and share it with friends.

The menu, a year on, is tried and tested and continues to delight those making their way to N1 to chomp on lollipop chicken and scoop up their dal makhani with the crispiest, flakiest of rotis.

The Tamil Prince opened to roaring success, critics piled in tried the food and left with their full bellies returning home to tap out glowing reviews.

The Tamil Prince is about, bundling up to N1 for a curry in a London boozer with your mates. You can't get more London than that.

Congratulations on your first year and it was a privilege to see this all happen! #londonfoodphotographer #restaurantphotographer #commericalphotography #londonfoodie

Over the last year, I have been testing this no-ba

Over the last year, I have been testing this no-bake mango cheesecake. After many tries, I have a recipe that’s easy to make and works. And to top that, it’s a show-stopper cheesecake.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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This recipe contains white chocolate and double cream, therefore you can call it as a white chocolate mango dessert, a treat, a decadent treat! ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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This no-bake cheesecake takes a little organisation, but there’s no gelatin and no baking. What’s not to love! ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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It’s a case of pouring the contents from pots into a bowl and mixing, popping in the fridge to set and there you have it a deliciously easy, creamy cheesecake.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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A decidedly wicked cheesecake that’s ready to eat.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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I have used Sri Lankan-inspired flavours to create this no-bake mango cheesecake recipe. The mango and lime are a winning combination and so very Sri Lankan. The lime cuts through the almost too-sweet Alphonso mango.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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And cardamom, a feature of so many Sri Lankan recipes, is made for white chocolate. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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The flavours are simply special and together, I hope, will be one of the best mango cheesecake recipes you can find!⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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Enjoy! ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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Jump to my bio to grab the recipe! ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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#mangocheesecake #whitechocolatecheesecake #cheesecakerecipe #nobakecake #londonfoodphotographer #londonfoodstylist #foodphotographerandstyling #nobakecheesecake #recipecreator #srilankancuisine #srilankanfoodblogger #srilankanfoodphotographer

What’s the difference between taste and flavour?

What’s the difference between taste and flavour? Is there a difference? Or is it just one and the same? This was the topic of this week's newsletter.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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They are different. And come together when we eat. It’s the two senses of smell and taste that give us that pleasure when we eat a divine meal with the memories that linger thereafter. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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Last week, last Tuesday, I tuned into a talk hosted by the @booklarder. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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@cynthia.uma interviewed @nikisegnit author of the Flavour Thesaurus. I bought a copy of the first volume of the Flavour Thesaurus when I started writing about food and creating recipes.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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It’s a book that yields so many flavour combinations, many of you may not have thought about. The book is part history of food, gastronomy, stories, science and recipes - if you are a food geek like me, it’s invaluable.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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The first volume was published in 2010, it covered 99 flavours and 481 combined flavour pairings. The second volume of the Flavour Thesaurus has been published it covers 92 mostly plant-based flavours, from Kale to Cashew, Pomegranate to Pistachio.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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I’ve been playing with Sri Lankan flavours and one I’ve become hooked on is curry leaf cooked in butter with a touch of chilli. It’s a winning combination. I’ve been trying to recreate a chicken liver dish, which involves marinating the chicken livers in curry leaf butter, chilli and yoghurt - the taste and flavour are out of this world. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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At the moment, the recipe isn’t working. My poor husband has had to eat my mistakes (four times and counting). I’m tweaking the recipe, I’m determined to make it work. And when it does, it’s dropping to my newsletter community first. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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To join my newsletter community go to my bio & sign up. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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#londonfoodphotographer #recipecreator #foodwriter #srilankanfoodphotographer #srilankancuisine

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About Me

Ranji Thangiah

Food writer, recipe creator and photographer

I'm Ranji! I am a food photographer, recipe creator, lover of Sri Lankan food which I want to share with you.

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