Dried Fish & Prawns

Dried fish, karawala in Sinhala and karuvadu in Tamil, is fish that has been salted and dried in the sun, a way of keeping the catch that goes back generations along the coasts of Sri Lanka and South India. Much of what we stock is already fried and ready to eat: seer fish (thora), sailfish (thalapath), queen fish, herring, sprats and katta, the small dried fish often fried with chilli. Dried prawns, or kunissa, are tiny shelled prawns with an intense savoury flavour.

Fried dried fish is eaten as it is, as a crunchy, salty side with rice, parippu and a green mallum. It can also be tossed with fried onion, green chilli and curry leaves into a quick temperado, or simmered in a spicy tomato and onion gravy for a dried fish curry. Fried sprats with onions and chilli are a pub snack in Colombo and a lunchbox favourite at home. Dried prawns go into pol sambol, prawn sambol, fried rice and stir-fried vegetables, where a small handful seasons the whole dish.

Soak dried prawns in warm water for ten minutes before cooking to soften them and draw out some salt. Store everything in a well sealed jar, away from other foods, as the smell travels. See the wider fish category, including tinned fish and Maldive fish, and for the table add coconut sambol and Sri Lankan rice.