Rice cooked in stock, with a mixed-meat curry, frikkadels, prawn blachan, aubergine pickle and egg, wrapped in banana leaf and baked.
What makes it lamprais
Rice cooked in stock with ghee and whole spices.
A curry of mixed meats — traditionally chicken, beef and pork.
Frikkadels, blachan, brinjal moju and egg alongside.
Wrapped in banana leaf and baked, so the leaf scents it all.
Where it comes from
Lamprais belongs to the Burghers, Sri Lankans descended from Dutch and other European settlers, and the name is usually said to come from the Dutch for 'lump rice'. It's a whole meal in one parcel, and a Sunday lunch or celebration dish — often bought from Burgher cooks who make them to order.
The parcel holds many parts, each made separately: rice cooked in rich stock with whole spices, a curry of several meats, frikkadels (Dutch-style meatballs), blachan (a prawn sambol), brinjal moju (sweet-sour aubergine pickle) and a boiled egg.