I’m here with a Sri Lankan traditional recipe which is more than hundred years old. It’s a bowl of natural goodness made with fresh herbs. This recipe is passed on to several generations. It is a nutritional drink with high medical value, And it's very easy to make.

Ancient Sri Lankans used to have a Kola kanda empty stomach in the morning before having any solid food. It’s a great way to avoid eating gluten products and start having something healthy. It is a natural remedy for several diseases. According to our ancestors it is believed that it provides long life, good health, beauty, insight, intellect and energy.

If you visit Sri Lanka, Kola Kanda is a must have! You will be able to taste this traditional green porridge, wherever you go in Sri Lanka. You can find this herbal gruel in Hela Bojun Hala which serves all Sri Lankan traditional food at very low price.

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Today I'm using a special herb, which is used in most Sri Lankan dishes. That is Karapincha - Curry Leaves.

Karapincha is a valuable gift from nature, It helps to lower cholesterol, Improves blood circulation, improves hair growth, Good for flame etc.

In my home we have these special herbs grown in our garden. Because we drink Kola kanda more often.

Nowadays we have easy methods to prepare any meal instantly. But on early days they did not have mixers or grinders. They used grinding stone to squeeze out the juice from the herbs. We have got many easy methods now but we prefer to eat junk food more. I think the time has come to think about what we eat.

Let’s take a step in our life to eat healthy and get used to natural flavours of food without getting addicted to artificial flavours.

Here are some leaves which you can make Kola Kande, You can use all if available.

• Karapincha – Murraya koenigi
• Polpala – Avera lantana
• Gotukola – Centalla asiatica
• Ranawara – Cassia auriculata
• Welpenela – Cordiospermum halicacabum
• Iramusu – Hemidesmus indicus
• Hatawariya – Asparagus racemosus

Today I have used Polpala (Avera lantana) & Karapincha (Murraya koenigi)

Ingredients

Cleaned & washed leaves chopped into small Pieces
Thick Coconut Milk - 2 Cups
Mushy Rice (Add little more water than usual to make it extra soft and mushy)
2 Medium Onions chopped into small Pieces
5-6 Cloves of Garlic
Small piece of Ginger
Salt as per your taste

Preparation

Step 1: Wash the leaves thoroughly and cut it into small pieces

Step 2: Add 1 and half cups of water to the blender jar along with leaves and blend. Squeeze out the extract to a seperate bowl

Step 3: Add thick milk along with cooked rice into the jar and blend until it looks like porridge

Step 4: Add Ginger + Garlic + Onions into the mortar to crush the pieces by the pestle, You can use the mixer to make it as a paste. But I like lillte chunks of garlic, ginger and onions in my Kola kenda so I used a mortar to crush it.

Step 5: Add crushed Ginger + Garlic + Onions to the rice and coconut mixture. Boil the mixture in medium heat

Step 6: Stir well until it boils

Step 7: Add in the extract of leaves

Step 8: Stir again and bring it to boil

All Done!

You are ready to serve Kola Kanda along with a Piece of Kithul Jaggery

Enjoy.....