Vegetable Curries Recipes

Wambatu Moju

Eggplant Moju

Wambatu moju, or eggplant moju, or brinjal moju, is fried eggplant tossed in a sweet, sour and spicy pickle of mustard, vinegar, chilli and sugar, with fried onion and green chilli. It's sticky, tangy and a little fiery. This Sri Lankan brinjal pickle shows up on festive tables and keeps for days, and the flavour only gets better.

Cadju Curry

Sri Lankan Cashew Curry

Sri Lankan cashew curry, known locally as kaju maluwa or cadju curry, is whole raw cashews simmered until soft and buttery in a mild, golden coconut gravy scented with curry leaves, pandan and cinnamon. Soft and almost custardy, lightly spiced and naturally vegan, it's a celebration favourite, often flecked with green peas for colour. A handful of nuts turns into something rich and mellow, and it's genuinely easy to make.

Ala Kiri Hodi

Sri Lankan Potato Curry

Sri Lankan potato curry, or ala kiri hodi, is soft potatoes simmered in a mild, golden coconut milk gravy with turmeric, green chilli, onion and curry leaves. Think of it as the island's gentle white curry, soothing instead of fiery, the one that cools down a plate of bolder dishes. It's naturally vegan and genuinely easy, and this creamy potato curry works beautifully with rice, bread, string hoppers and pittu.

Malu Miris Maluwa

Sri Lankan Malu Miris Curry

Sri Lankan malu miris curry is big, mild banana peppers sliced and simmered with onion, garlic, mustard, turmeric and coconut milk into a quick savoury curry. The name translates as 'fish chilli', but there is no fish here and the peppers are much gentler than they look. Some people call it banana pepper curry. Either way, it is a fast everyday vegetable dish that brings gentle heat and proper flavour to a plate of rice and curry.

Bonchi Thel Dala

Sri Lankan Green Bean Stir-Fry

Sri Lankan green bean stir-fry, or bonchi thel dala, is finely sliced green beans tempered fast with onion, garlic, curry leaves, mustard seeds and a little chilli so they stay crisp-tender and bright. It is the quick, everyday vegetable that rounds out a rice and curry, and it is naturally vegan, ready in minutes, and good for you. Also called tempered green beans, it is the kind of simple savoury side that quietly disappears off the plate.

Polos Ambula

Polos Curry

Polos curry is Sri Lanka's much-loved young jackfruit curry: firm, starchy chunks of green jackfruit slow-cooked in a dark roasted-spice coconut gravy with goraka, chilli and curry leaves until they are meltingly tender. Polos just means unripe or baby jackfruit in Sinhala, and that meaty, satisfying texture is why this naturally vegan curry has fans far beyond the island. You might also see it called polos ambula. It is rich, robust and properly craveable.

Kesel Muwa Baduma

Banana Blossom Stir-Fry

Kesel muwa baduma, or banana blossom stir-fry, takes the bit of the banana plant most kitchens bin and turns it into the best thing on the plate. You finely slice the banana blossom, soak it so it doesn't blacken, give it a quick boil, then temper it with onion, garlic, green chilli, curry leaves, mustard seed, turmeric and chilli. You end up with something dark, savoury, a little sweet and properly fragrant. 'Kesel muwa' (sometimes written 'kehel muwa') just means banana blossom. The dish is naturally vegan, with a spoonful of Maldive fish as the traditional savoury add if you fancy it.

Kiri Kos Maluwa

Sri Lankan Jackfruit Curry

Sri Lankan jackfruit curry, kiri kos maluwa, is pale mature jackfruit bulbs (kos madulu) simmered in a mild golden coconut-milk gravy with curry leaves, pandan and gentle spice. Polos curry uses very young green jackfruit cooked down dry and meaty; this kos curry uses firmer, more developed flesh and lets it sit in a creamy coconut maluwa until it goes soft, comforting and lightly sweet. Also known as kos curry or mature jackfruit curry, it is naturally vegan and a much-loved part of a Sri Lankan rice and curry.

Kos Mallung

Jackfruit Mallum

Kos mallum, known in English as jackfruit mallum, is a dry Sri Lankan side of tender jackfruit, finely shredded, tossed with fresh grated coconut, onion, green chilli, turmeric, curry leaves and popped mustard seeds. It cooks just until fragrant, then gets a squeeze of lime. English menus might call it a young jackfruit sambol, or simply shredded jackfruit with coconut. Mallum comes from mallung in Sinhala, a 'mix-up', a quickly tossed vegetable. And unlike kos curry, there's no gravy at all: it's dry, bright and naturally vegan.

Del Maluwa

Sri Lankan Breadfruit Curry

Sri Lankan breadfruit curry, or del maluwa, is chunks of starchy green breadfruit (del) simmered in a spiced coconut milk gravy until tender and creamy. It soaks up the sauce like a potato. Del just means breadfruit in Sinhala. The curry is naturally vegan, mild to medium in heat, rich with coconut, and hearty enough to anchor a plate of rice and curry. Often called del curry or del maluwa, it turns a humble backyard fruit into a curry that sits at the centre of the meal.

Maniyokka Curry

Manioc Coconut Curry

Manioc coconut curry, known in Sri Lanka as maniyokka curry, is chunks of manioc (cassava) simmered in a mild, spiced coconut milk gravy until tender and creamy. Manioc, also called cassava or maniyokka, is a starchy root that cooks much like a potato. It drinks up the coconut sauce and turns soft and starchy. This naturally vegan cassava curry is everyday home food: mild to medium in heat, rich with coconut, and hearty enough to anchor a plate of rice and curry. One thing sets it apart from a potato curry: manioc must be peeled thoroughly, have its central fibre removed, and be cooked all the way through before eating, never raw or undercooked.

Alu Kesel Moju

Ash Plantain Moju

Ash plantain moju, or alu kesel moju, is what you get when you give a plain green cooking banana the full pickle treatment. You fry ash plantain (alu kesel, the starchy green banana Sri Lankans cook as a vegetable) into crisp-edged golden batons, then fold them through a sticky, glossy glaze of onion, green chilli, mustard, vinegar, chilli and a little sugar. It is the same moju treatment that makes eggplant moju famous, just done with green banana, which holds its shape better. Naturally vegan (the Maldive fish is optional), and here is the thing about moju: it only gets better as it sits.

Wattakka Maluwa

Sri Lankan Pumpkin Curry

Wattakka maluwa is Sri Lankan pumpkin curry. Soft chunks of wattakka, or pumpkin, simmer in coconut milk, then get finished with a ground roasted paste of toasted coconut, mustard seed, raw rice and spices. That paste thickens the gravy and brings the nutty, creamy, lightly sweet flavour. The dish is naturally vegan and can go two ways: the authentic roasted-paste version, rich and complex, or a simpler, milder pumpkin curry with coconut milk. Either way it is everyday comfort food, gentle enough to please everyone yet distinctly Sri Lankan.

Sri Lankan Beetroot Curry

Sri Lankan beetroot curry, also called beet curry or coconut beetroot curry, is beetroot cut into matchsticks or cubes and simmered in coconut milk with onion, garlic, green chilli, curry leaves and warm spices. The beetroot bleeds a proper vivid magenta into the gravy, the coconut milk softens its earthy sweetness, and the chilli keeps it from turning too sweet. Quick, colourful and gently spiced, this beetroot curry is one of the easiest vegetable curries to make and a favourite splash of colour on the rice and curry plate.

Ma Karal Curry

Sri Lankan Long Beans Curry

If you ask for long beans curry in Sri Lanka, the name you'll hear is ma karal curry. It's yardlong beans cut into short lengths and simmered in fragrant coconut milk gravy with onion, garlic, green chilli, turmeric and curry leaves until just tender and bright. Soft, soupy and gently spiced. This everyday vegetable curry, sometimes called yardlong bean curry or green bean curry, is naturally vegan and anchors a Sri Lankan rice and curry plate.

Annasi Curry

Sri Lankan Pineapple Curry

Sri Lankan pineapple curry, known locally as annasi curry, is chunks of ripe pineapple simmered in coconut gravy with mustard, chilli, turmeric, cinnamon and curry leaves. It's sweet, sour and properly hot all at once, and it sounds unlikely until you taste it, then it's addictive. That bright, surprising note sits against rice and a row of milder curries, and it's the dish people always ask about first. It's naturally vegan and ready in well under an hour.

Murunga Curry

Sri Lankan Drumstick Curry

Sri Lankan drumstick curry, known locally as murunga curry, is the long green seed pods of the moringa tree cut into batons and simmered until tender in a coconut-milk gravy scented with onion, garlic, green chilli, turmeric and curry leaves. The fibrous skin stays on the plate while you scrape the soft, sweet inner flesh and seeds out with your teeth. It's earthy and gently bitter-sweet, plain everyday home cooking that's naturally vegan and ready in well under an hour.

Kos Ata Kalupol Maluwa

Jackfruit Seed Curry

Kos ata kalupol maluwa is a dark, deeply savoury village curry of jackfruit seeds, or kos ata, simmered until they go soft and chestnut-like in kalu pol. Kalu pol is a paste of coconut roasted until it is deep brown and almost black. With roasted curry powder, goraka or tamarind, and a handful of spices, the boiled seeds drink up a thick, smoky, intensely savoury gravy. Unlike kos curry, which uses the mature jackfruit flesh, or polos curry, made from the very young green fruit, this one celebrates the seeds alone. They were the part most kitchens once threw away, and now they make one of the most quietly prized curries on the island. It is naturally vegan, with Maldive fish an optional addition.

Dambala Curry

Sri Lankan Winged Bean Curry

Sri Lankan winged bean curry, or dambala curry as you'll hear it called, is the four-ridged winged bean sliced across into little star shapes and simmered in a light coconut gravy spiced with onion, garlic, green chilli, turmeric and curry leaves until just tender with a slight crunch. Nutty, fresh and a little grassy, this everyday curry, sometimes called four-angled bean curry, is vegan and those starry slices with their gentle bite set it apart from any other bean on a Sri Lankan rice and curry plate.

Wattakka Kola Mallum

Pumpkin Leaf Mallum

Pumpkin leaf mallum, known in Sinhala as wattakka kola mallum, is a dry Sri Lankan side of tender young pumpkin leaves and shoots. You shred them finely, toss them quickly over heat with freshly grated coconut, onion, green chilli, turmeric and a little mustard, then finish with a squeeze of lime. The leaves wilt to a vibrant green and the coconut clings loosely through them, so it tastes earthy, fresh and lightly nutty. If you've ever looked for a pumpkin leaves recipe Sri Lanka style, this is the everyday one. It uses the leaves of the plant, not the gourd, and it's naturally vegan. 'Mallum' (Sinhala mallung) simply means a shredded green tossed with coconut.

Kohila Ala Curry

Kohila Curry

Here's the thing about kohila curry. In Sri Lanka it goes by kohila ala curry. It's the crunchy edible rhizome of kohila, Lasia spinosa, a spiny marsh plant. You clean it, slice it, and simmer it in a spiced coconut gravy with onion, garlic, green chilli, turmeric, curry leaves and a little goraka or tamarind until it's tender but still has that pleasant bite. In English kohila is usually called lasia, after the botanical name Lasia spinosa. This rustic lasia curry is a traditional village vegetable, earthy and slightly tangy, and people rate it as a wholesome, fibre-rich dish. One thing to remember: like cassava, kohila is an aroid. You must clean it well and cook it thoroughly, never eat it raw.

Kithul Mal Maluwa

Kithul Flower Curry

Kithul mal maluwa is a village curry made from the young flower spike of the kithul palm, the same fishtail palm that gives us treacle and jaggery. The flower is boiled with goraka, pounded, then cooked down with a mustard and garlic temper, roasted chilli and curry powder, and thick coconut milk. One rule matters more than the rest: hot water only, never cold, at every single stage including the coconut milk squeeze. Cold water leaves the curry with a scratchy, itchy feeling in the mouth. No amount of spice fixes that afterwards.

Kithul Boda Maluwa

Kithul Boda Curry

Kithul boda is the pale inner pith from the trunk of the kithul palm. This is the old village way to cook it: no temper, no frying, nothing browned. The chopped pith goes into a clay pot with roasted fenugreek, pepper, turmeric, chilli, pandan, curry leaves, green chilli and onion. You cover it all with coconut milk, mix it by hand, and let it cook with a piece of tamarind until the milk reduces. The one thing to watch is the chopping. Get the pieces into water as you cut, or they darken and turn bitter before they ever hit the pot.

Kesel Bada Mallum

Kesel bada mallum is banana stem, chopped as small as you can manage, boiled with a pinch of turmeric until tender, then mixed through pounded coconut with shallots, garlic, green chilli, curry leaves, mustard, cumin and pepper. Two rules run the whole dish. Every piece goes straight into water as you cut it, or the stem browns and turns astringent. And salt goes in at the very end, never earlier, or the mallum turns wet instead of dry and light.

Bathala Curry

Sri Lankan Sweet Potato Curry

Here's the thing about Sri Lankan sweet potato curry, bathala curry: it's chunks of sweet potato (bathala) simmered until just tender in a spiced coconut milk gravy. Onion, garlic, green chilli, turmeric, curry leaves, pandan, mustard seed and a little roasted curry powder all go in. The sweet potato's natural sugars push against the salt, chilli and a touch of tang, so you get a curry that's gently sweet but firmly savoury. It's creamy, comforting, naturally vegan and genuinely beginner-friendly. This bathala maluwa is everyday rice-and-curry food, the kind that quietly wins people over.