(Gova Mallung)

Growing up in Sri Lanka in the 1960’s & 1970’s we rarely ate raw greens. Lettuce was uncommon – at least partly because (at the time) uncooked greens were considered a health risk for food-borne diseases such as salmonella, listeria and cyclospora. When lettuce was served my mom would first get it soaked and washed in an anti-bacterial dip!

Food-borne pathogens can still be a problem, even in the US, as evidenced by several recent food poisoning outbreaks. However that doesn’t mean Sri Lankans don’t eat greens – they probably eat more greens than westerners do.

Sri Lankans eat leafy greens as a mallung. As far as I can tell the mallung is a uniquely Sri Lankan dish that can be made with many different leafy greens – but not lettuce. Cooked lettuce is a dish I urge you to avoid – it is nauseatingly bad. In Sri Lanka however there are so many other varieties of leafy greens that it is difficult to decide what to use.

I must not have liked mallung when I was younger. When I’d return to Sri Lanka on vacation my mother would make it a point to get large dishes of mallung prepared and she would then entreat me to eat it all “because it is good for you.” When I did she would look surprised and ask how come I ate it all. You just cannot win with mothers.

The fact is, I love mallung. Especially when it is made with gotukola or kankung or kathurumurunga, mukunuwenna, cabbage, kale, watercress, curly leaf parsley or even passionfruit leaves to name a few. Just don’t use any kind of lettuce!

Here is a recipe for a Sri Lankan cabbage (gova) mallung. It is very simple to make and it is healthy – there is no added fat other than the little bit of oil associated with the coconut. Because it is cooked there is little danger of getting a food-borne disease. And best of all – it is very tasty.

I could (and do) eat straight mallung with some boiled/steamed rice and nothing else. In general it would be served together with several other vegetable dishes such as a potato curry, parippu, and an aubergine (eggplant) moju.

However you eat it, it is guaranteed to please!

Sri Lankan Cabbage Mallung

(Gova Mallung)

A uniquely Sri Lankan “salad” that can be made with a huge variety of leafy greens. In this instance the recipe uses cabbage. Healthy as there is no added oil, but it tastes devine. Let me know if you try the recipe and like the result!

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Servings: 8

Course: Side Dish

Cuisine: Sri Lankan

Ingredients Method

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x?

• 8 – 10 oz Thinly shredded cabbage (angel hair) available packaged, or slice your own
• 1 Medium onion Sliced thin
• 1 tsp Turmeric powder
• 1 tsp Black mustard seed
• ½ – 1 tsp Black pepper powder
• 2 inch stick Ceylon cinnamon Do not use Cassia cinnamon
• ½ cup Shredded coconut (fresh or dessicated)
• ½ – 1 tsp Salt to taste
• 1 tsp Maldive fish flakes or dried tiny shrimp optional
• ½ tsp Red chile flakes optional

Method

 

1. Put all ingredients except the dessicated coconut, salt, and optional items (maldive fish flakes, chillie flakes) in a frying pan and heat on medium-high heat, stirring regularly.
2. When the cabbage and onions start to brown and stick to the pan, reduce the heat to medium.
3. Add the coconut, optional items if using, and salt to taste while stirring to incorporate the coconut and optional items, if used, into the cabbage mixture.
4. After 3 – 4 minutes (or earlier if the mixture starts to brown excessively) remove from heat, add more salt if required. Serve with rice.

Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!