An opened banana-leaf packet of Sri Lankan lamprais with yellow rice, meat curry, eggplant and seeni sambol
Prep1 hr 20 min
Cook1 hr 30 min
Serves4 servings (4 packets)
CuisineSri Lankan

Lamprais: Sri Lankan Rice and Curry Baked in a Banana Leaf

Lamprais, a Dutch Burgher dish from Sri Lanka: rice cooked in meat stock, a three-meat curry, eggplant, seeni sambol and frikkadels wrapped in banana leaf and baked. Covers substitutes, regional variations, wrapping, storage, reheating and how to fix mistakes.

Total: 2 hr 50 minLevel: Advanced

Cooking flow

Cooking steps

STEP 11 / 6

Simmer the three meats and make the stock for the rice

15 min prep + 45–50 min on low heat

Beef, pork, chicken and aromatics simmering in spiced stock
Simmer the three meats to make the stock that underpins both the rice and the curry
  • Cut the beef chuck, pork shoulder and chicken thighs into 2 cm cubes, and put 150 g onion, 20 g garlic, 20 g ginger, 35 g ghee or butter and the whole spices in a pot.
  • Over medium heat, sauté the spices and aromatics for 2–3 minutes, then stir the meat for about 5 minutes until the surface turns opaque.
  • Add 900 ml water, the curry leaves, pandan leaf, bruised lemongrass and 5 g salt. Bring to a boil, then simmer on low heat for 45–50 minutes.
  • When a bamboo skewer slides into the beef and pork without resistance and the liquid has reduced slightly, lift out the meat. If it's still tough, add boiling water and extend the low simmer by 10–15 minutes.
  • Strain through a fine-mesh sieve and measure out 520 ml of warm stock for the rice. You're done when the meat is tender and the stock has no burnt bitterness.
STEP 22 / 6

Cook the rice in the meat stock and let the grains rest

30 min soaking + 15–18 min cooking + 10 min steaming

Rice absorbing the meat stock in a pot with cinnamon and cardamom
Let the rice absorb the meat stock and steam it with a slight bite left in the center
  • Rinse 320 g basmati or long-grain rice, soak for 30 minutes and drain.
  • Warm 20 g ghee or butter with the cinnamon, cardamom and cloves in a pot over medium-low heat for 1 minute. Add the rice and stir for 2 minutes, until the grains look lightly glossy with fat.
  • Add 520 ml warm meat stock and 4 g salt. Once it boils, reduce to low, cover and cook for 15–18 minutes.
  • When no liquid is visible and the center of the grains still has a slight bite, turn off the heat, and steam with the lid on for 10 minutes.
  • If the grains are still hard in the center, add 2–3 tbsp hot stock, cover and rest for 5 minutes. It's done when the grains are separate and not sticky.
STEP 33 / 6

Thicken the meat curry, and finish the eggplant and bananas separately

15 min curry + 20 min eggplant + 15 min bananas

Meat curry, tamarind eggplant and fried cooking bananas finished in separate dishes
Before wrapping, bring the curry and sides, each with a different moisture level, to the right consistency separately
  • Add 20 g roasted curry powder, the turmeric, chili powder, remaining spices and 150 ml strained cooking liquid to the meat. Bring to a boil over medium heat, then simmer on low for 10–15 minutes.
  • Stop when a line drawn across the bottom of the pot with a wooden spoon stays for 2 seconds and the sauce clings to the meat. If it's loose, lift out the meat and reduce over medium heat for 3–5 minutes.
  • Cut 300 g eggplant into 1.5 cm wide pieces and fry in oil over medium heat for 5–7 minutes until browned. Add 20 g tamarind, 15 ml vinegar, 18 g dark sugar, the mustard seeds, 3 g salt and 50 ml hot water, and simmer on low for 5 minutes.
  • Cut 400 g green cooking bananas into 1.5 cm thick slices and fry in oil over medium heat for 5 minutes. Add a little curry powder, turmeric, salt and 50 ml water, cover, and cook on low for 5–7 minutes until a skewer goes through.
  • Don't let the eggplant liquid and the banana juices run onto the same plate; keep them apart until wrapping.
STEP 44 / 6

Make the seeni sambol and frikkadels

20 min seeni sambol + 15 min meatballs

Amber seeni sambol and spiced frikkadels finished separately
Finish the sweet-spicy onions and the meatballs before they go into the leaf parcels
  • For the seeni sambol, use 250 g red onions, 8 g dried red chilies, 10 g ginger, 10 g garlic, 20 g brown sugar, 10 g Maldive fish, 15 ml lime juice and 2 g salt.
  • Fry the onions in oil over medium-low heat for 15–18 minutes, until they turn from translucent to light amber and a line drawn with a spatula doesn't close up easily.
  • Add the chilies, ginger, garlic, Maldive fish and sugar and cook on low for 3 minutes. Turn off the heat and stir in the lime juice. Don't let it scorch and turn bitter.
  • Mix 200 g ground beef, the egg, 25 g breadcrumbs, 50 g onion, 5 g garlic, the cinnamon, fennel, black pepper and 3 g salt, and shape into 8 ovals about 3 cm across.
  • Fry the meatballs in oil over medium heat, rolling them, for 8–10 minutes, until browned all over and no pink remains in the center when you cut one open. If the mixture holds together evenly and isn't too sticky, it's easy to shape.
STEP 55 / 6

Warm the leaves and fill 4 packets evenly

15–20 min

Placing rice, meat curry, eggplant, seeni sambol and meatballs in the center of a warmed banana leaf
Leave a margin on all four sides and arrange the components without piling them on top of one another
  • Wash the banana leaves, pat them dry, and pass them over a low open flame or above boiling water for a few seconds at a time, until they turn pliable and glossy. Don't scorch holes in them.
  • In the center of each leaf, place about 180 g rice. Around it, arrange about 120 g meat curry, about 60 g eggplant, about 50 g banana, about 25 g seeni sambol, 2 frikkadels, 1 tsp blachan and, if using, 1/2 egg.
  • Don't put the wet curry near the edges of the leaf, and don't spread it too far over the rice in the center. Leave at least 5 cm of margin on all four sides.
  • Fold the long sides of the leaf to the center, then tuck the short sides underneath to make a rectangle. Place the seam side down, and double up any torn leaves.
  • The packet is done when the leaf is pliable and untorn, nothing spills from the edges, and the seam is closed.
STEP 66 / 6

Bake the packets at 180°C and rest before opening

10 min preheating + 20–25 min baking + 8 min resting

Banana-leaf packets seam side down on a baking sheet, baking
Bake the packets at 180°C and judge doneness by the color of the leaf edges and the heat at the center
  • Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F) and place the packets seam side down on a baking sheet.
  • Bake at 180°C for 20–25 minutes. Success looks like leaf edges turned deep olive, packets hot all the way to the center, and no liquid leaking onto the sheet.
  • Don't extend the baking time and over-scorch the leaves. If the rice comes out dry, next time adjust with the curry's cooking liquid, a teaspoon at a time, before wrapping.
  • After baking, rest for 8 minutes. When opening the leaf, keep your face away to avoid steam burns.
  • It's done when the leaf smells fragrant, the packet is warm to the center and the rice isn't sticky.
  • Take the packets off the sheet when each holds a rectangle of about 15 cm, the corners haven't opened, and only the leaf edges have darkened.
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Ingredients

Ingredients

1 / 4

Meat curry and meat stock

Ingredient Amount Substitutes & notes
Beef chuck 200 g 2 cm (3/4 in) cubes. A lean stewing cut. If using more pork instead, keep the total at 600 g
Pork shoulder 200 g 2 cm cubes. To avoid pork, use chicken instead, though this moves away from the three-meat version
Boneless chicken thighs 200 g 2 cm cubes. Remove the skin if you like
Water 900 ml For the meat stock (about 3 3/4 cups). If it reduces too much, add boiling water
Onion 150 g Thinly sliced. Red onion works too
Garlic 20 g Finely chopped
Ginger 20 g Finely chopped
Ghee or unsalted butter 35 g Butter, as Daily FT describes, is the base. Ghee gives a stronger aroma
Cinnamon 5 g 1 stick, broken
Cardamom 4 pods Lightly crush the pods
Cloves 4 Don't let them burn
Cumin seeds 4 g Whole. If ground, start with 2 g
Black peppercorns 3 g Coarsely crushed
Coriander seeds 8 g Coarsely crushed
Fennel seeds 3 g Optional, but the sweet aroma will be lighter
Turmeric 3 g Ground
Chili powder 2 g Halve for less heat
Roasted curry powder 20 g + a little 20 g for the meat curry, a little for the bananas. Sri Lankan roasted curry powder; if unavailable, dry-toast regular curry powder
Curry leaves 8 Frozen are fine. Omit if unavailable
Pandan leaf 10 cm Brings the aroma closer to the original, but optional
Lemongrass 1 stalk Bruise the base before using
Salt 8 g Roughly 5 g for the stock and 3 g for the curry
2 / 4

Rice cooked in stock

Ingredient Amount Substitutes & notes
Basmati or other long-grain rice 320 g Rinse, soak 30 minutes and drain. For Japanese short-grain rice, start with 450 ml liquid and adjust
Reserved meat stock 520 ml Bring to a boil before using. If short, top up with unsalted hot water
Ghee or unsalted butter 20 g For toasting the rice
Cinnamon 3 g 1/2 stick
Cardamom 3 pods Crush the pods
Cloves 2 For the rice
Pandan leaf 5 cm Can be omitted if you used it in the stock
Salt 4 g Reduce depending on how salty the stock is
3 / 4

Eggplant, cooking bananas and seeni sambol

Ingredient Amount Substitutes & notes
Eggplant 300 g Cut into 1.5 cm wide batons. Less watery eggplants are easier to handle
Green cooking bananas 400 g 2. If unavailable, use 350 g of waxy potatoes; the texture will differ
Tamarind paste 20 g If you have goraka, use 10 g instead and adjust for sourness
Rice vinegar 15 ml For the sweet-sour eggplant. Lemon juice also works
Brown sugar or dark muscovado sugar 38 g 18 g for the eggplant, 20 g for the seeni sambol
Red onions 250 g Thinly sliced, for the seeni sambol
Dried red chilies 8 g Remove some seeds for less heat
Maldive fish flakes 10 g 8 g of katsuobushi (dried bonito flakes) can stand in, but the seafood aroma changes
Lime juice 15 ml For the seeni sambol. Lemon juice also works
Ginger and garlic 10 g each For the seeni sambol, finely chopped
Mustard seeds 2 g For the eggplant. Optional
Vegetable oil 50 ml For frying the eggplant, bananas and seeni sambol. Don't use too much
Salt 7 g Roughly 3 g eggplant, 2 g bananas, 2 g seeni sambol
4 / 4

Frikkadels, blachan and wrapping

Ingredient Amount Substitutes & notes
Ground beef 200 g Ground pork also works. For the meatballs
Egg 1 Binder for the meatballs. To avoid egg, use 1 tbsp water and more breadcrumbs
Breadcrumbs 25 g Rice-flour breadcrumbs avoid wheat
Onion 50 g Finely chopped, for the meatballs
Garlic 5 g Finely chopped, for the meatballs
Cinnamon, fennel, black pepper 1 g each For the meatballs, finely crushed
Salt 3 g For the meatballs
Dried shrimp paste or blachan 10 g Omit if allergic to shrimp. Katsuobushi alone won't give the same flavor
Banana leaves 4 sheets, 30 cm square + spares Wash and pat dry. If unavailable, use parchment paper plus foil
Eggs (optional) 2 Hard-boil and halve; 1/2 egg per packet
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On Sunday mornings around Colombo, banana-leaf parcels pile up at shop counters. According to a Daily FT feature on where to buy them, some shops take orders on Sunday morning and sell out before noon. Read that not as the story of any single shop but as a scene from the food culture of the place. You warm the closed parcel and open the leaf on your plate. Under the rising steam you find rice cooked in meat stock and an array of side dishes. What makes lamprais interesting is that the rice and the sides are cooked separately. Expect a lot of pots; the reward is the satisfaction of bringing everything together in one parcel at the end.

Lamprais parcels on the table, one opened to show the rice and sides
Inside the opened leaf: rice, curry and sides packed into one parcel

Open the leaf, and separate dishes become one plate

Lamprais is not just a mixed rice dish. The Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau describes it as rice and accompaniments baked in a plantain leaf and calls it part of the Dutch heritage. The composition recorded by Explore Sri Lanka is more specific: rice cooked in meat stock combined with several accompaniments, such as meat curry, meatballs, ash plantain, seeni sambol and blachan.

If you stir everything into the rice, every bite tastes the same. Because the curry, the eggplant and the rice are each finished on their own before wrapping, the differences in texture and aroma survive into each mouthful. Then the final heating inside the leaf gently ties the components together.

Even in English sources alone, the name is spelled lamprais, lumprice or lump rice. Its origin can't be pinned to a single Dutch word either. Explore Sri Lanka also gives an explanation in which two other wrapped rice dishes, Indonesian lempur and Sinhala buth-mula, overlapped. Looking at the varied spellings and the overlapping wrapped dishes, it seems truer to the dish not to declare a single origin.

Did you know?

The name differs from source to source: lamprais, lumprice, lump rice. The lempur and buth-mula story is just one explanation given by Explore Sri Lanka, and not every family tells it the same way. What all the accounts share is that this is a rice dish wrapped in leaves so it can be carried. This recipe, too, is built around that wrapped structure.

A parcel preserved in Colombo's Burgher culture

Rice, three meats, red onions, banana leaves and spices in separate bowls
Lamprais, where several cultures and ingredients come together in one wrapped dish

Explore Sri Lanka links the dish to Burgher women cooks around Colombo. The Spicery explains that the Burghers are descendants of Dutch traders and local Sinhalese women. So calling lamprais "Dutch food" outright is not accurate. It is closer to the truth to see it as knowledge from different food cultures, about rice, meat, spices and handling leaves, overlapping within Burgher food culture around Colombo, so that different dishes became one parcel.

It's only natural that the contents change from shop to shop and home to home. Daily FT records shops that use chicken instead of mixed meats, shops that leave out the egg or the blachan, and shops whose parcels differ in size. The classic-leaning components listed by Explore Sri Lanka are rice in meat stock, a beef, pork and chicken curry, meatballs, ash plantain, seeni sambol and blachan. This recipe follows that line, with the three meats as one example. The egg is optional, and the seafood-based blachan can be swapped. With the egg and blachan as optional branches and parcels that vary from shop to shop, think of this as one home-kitchen design.

Did you know?

Daily FT's account of Sunday-morning orders and a limited number of parcels doesn't apply to every household. Still, reading The Spicery's description of Burgher cooking, you can see what it meant to gather labor-intensive rice and sides into a single parcel. It sits somewhere between everyday meals and food for celebrations and gatherings.


Ingredients (serves 4, makes 4 packets)

Beef, pork, chicken, rice, whole spices, tamarind, eggplant, cooking bananas, red onions and banana leaves for lamprais
For lamprais, prepare the ingredients for each component separately first

These amounts make 4 servings, or 4 packets. You need 320 g of rice and, for the meat curry, three meats: 200 g each of beef, pork and chicken. The meat is simmered in 900 ml of water; about 520 ml of that stock goes to the rice and the rest is used to adjust the curry's consistency. This meat stock is the backbone shared by the rice and the curry. Buy extra banana leaves for wrapping, and see the tables below, split by role, for the original ingredients and their substitutes.

Tip

You don't need to gather every original ingredient. Tamarind gives the sweet-sour eggplant a rounded, fruity sourness and is the main substitute here if you don't have goraka. Banana leaves carry aroma and hold the parcel, but parchment paper and foil keep in the steam if you can't find them. Maldive fish and blachan are seafood-based, and substitutes won't reproduce their flavor exactly; here it's fine to prioritize what you can get. If you're making this just once, you could buy only tamarind and use the substitutes in the table for the rest.

Using tamarind paste in the eggplant adds a fruity note to the sourness that vinegar or lemon alone don't give, and changes how it balances against the sweetness. If you plan to use it in other South Asian dishes, it's worth buying. If you're making this only once, are happy shifting the sourness with lemon juice and vinegar, or already have it at home, you can skip it.

Allergy notes

Blachan and Maldive fish contain shrimp and fish. If you have an allergy, leave them out and check the ingredient labels of any substitutes too. The frikkadels use egg and breadcrumbs, so switch to rice-flour breadcrumbs to avoid wheat. Without the seafood, the dish keeps its structure but loses the savory depth and aroma of the sea. If you use the same knife and cutting board, wash them before cutting other ingredients. This recipe doesn't guarantee suitability for any specific elimination diet.

Method: finish the stock, rice and sides separately

A pot of three meats, rice cooked in stock, and small dishes of eggplant and seeni sambol
Finish each component separately, then pack them into banana leaves at the end

The process is long, so it helps to keep the order in mind: meat and stock, rice, curry and sides, frikkadels, warming the leaves and wrapping, and finally baking at 180°C (350°F). There are three key points: strain the stock, keep the rice grains separate, and reduce the cooking liquid before wrapping. Don't mix the rice and sides together in the liquid, and adjust the consistency of the wetter components before wrapping.

Tip

If, just before wrapping, liquid keeps running off a spoonful of curry, lift out the meat and reduce the sauce. If a packet's seam won't stay closed, double the leaf or switch to parchment paper and foil. Baking at 180°C for 20–25 minutes isn't just reheating; it's the time for the aromas of each component to merge inside the leaf. But if you packed the components cold, always check that the packet is hot all the way to the center.

Tools for crushing spices

Whole spices for the stock and rice release more aroma when coarsely crushed. A small spice grinder makes it easy to crush small amounts to an even size, which helps if you'll do this often. A mortar and pestle or a chef's knife work too, so there's no need to buy one for a single attempt.

If something goes wrong, go back to the components before wrapping

A counter with lamprais curry, rice, eggplant and seeni sambol back in separate dishes for adjusting
Before wrapping, you can still fix the moisture and saltiness component by component

Trying to fix things after wrapping rarely works. The shortcut is to go back to the component that caused the problem. The rule is fix moisture before wrapping: if the curry is watery, lift out the meat, reduce the sauce over medium heat for 3–5 minutes, and return the meat. If you reduce it after it's in the leaf, the rice turns mushy.

If the rice is hard, revive it with hot stock. Before wrapping, add 2–3 tbsp hot stock, cover and steam for 5 minutes. Avoid adding water all at once. If the meat is tough, add unsalted boiling water or stock and extend the low simmer by 10–15 minutes until it's tender.

If the seeni sambol burns, don't stir in the burnt part. Leave the scorched bottom alone and move only the top portion to another dish. Trying to cover bitterness with sugar usually doesn't work.

If the leaf tears

Warm stiff leaves for a few more seconds, but don't hold them over the flame until they blacken. Rewrap small tears with another leaf and put the seam underneath. For large tears, wrap the inside with parchment paper and the outside with foil before baking. You lose the leaf aroma, but the rice and sides stay intact.

If it's too salty

Blachan, Maldive fish and the meat stock: when the salt from all three stacks up, a packet becomes too salty, so be careful not to pile them on together. If the curry gets salty, add unsalted stock a little at a time and increase the eggplant or rice to spread the saltiness across the packet. Covering salt with lemon or vinegar only adds sourness that clashes with the roles of the seeni sambol and eggplant.

What to change, and what to keep, in a home kitchen

Banana leaves, parchment and foil, tamarind, katsuobushi and dried shrimp compared as substitutes
Even when availability comes first, separate the flavor backbone you keep from the aromas that change

Even without every original ingredient, you can keep the skeleton of lamprais, but it's worth knowing what changes. Banana leaves preserve the aroma: they both hold the parcel and scent it. Parchment paper and foil keep the steam and shape but can't reproduce the leaf aroma. Swapping Maldive fish for katsuobushi brings similar savoriness, but the aroma goes in a different direction. Blachan can be approximated with dried shrimp paste as a seafood substitute close in fermented aroma. If allergies or ingredient labels are a concern, leave it out. Green cooking bananas can be replaced with waxy potatoes, but potatoes change the texture, and the sweetness and fibrous bite are different.

Using only chicken instead of three meats

You can replace the 200 g each of beef, pork and chicken with 600 g chicken thighs. The body of the stock and the texture of the three meats will change, though, so you'll be making a different home version rather than this classic-leaning one. Chicken falls apart easily if overcooked, so when making the stock you can add the chicken in the second half.

Leaving out blachan and seafood

Without blachan and Maldive fish, you still have the rice, meat curry, eggplant, seeni sambol, meatballs and leaf parcel. Swapping in katsuobushi or dried shrimp isn't an exact reproduction but a way to fill in savory depth. If you need to avoid seafood entirely, also check the ingredient and production-line labels on any substitute.

Open the leaf and mix the sides into the rice a little at a time

Opened lamprais at the table, showing yellow rice, meat curry, eggplant and meatballs
Open the closed packet and combine the rice with the sides a little at a time as you eat

After baking, don't forget to rest for 8 minutes. Then open the leaf on your plate, and you'll see the rice, meat curry, eggplant, banana, seeni sambol and meatballs each in their place. It would be a shame to eat it one component at a time. Put a little curry on the rice and add a spoonful of the sweet-sour eggplant or the spicy onions, and you get the pleasure of recombining the flavors with each bite. Don't let the leaf aroma take over; try to pick out the richness of the meat stock, the sourness, the sweet heat and the savory seafood notes within each mouthful.

Frequently asked questions

A closed lamprais packet, an opened one and substitute ingredients in small dishes
Lamprais questions about ingredients and wrapping, answered component by component

Can I make it without banana leaves?

Yes. Wrap the packets in parchment paper and secure the outside with foil to keep the steam and shape. The banana-leaf aroma can't be reproduced, so think of it as a stand-in that lets you make the same structure at home. Avoid wrapping directly in foil alone, so the food doesn't touch the metal.

Can I use just one kind of meat?

Daily FT mentions a shop that uses only chicken, so swapping in 600 g chicken is a legitimate variation. Compared with the three-meat version, though, the body of the stock and the texture will change. Making do with fewer ingredients doesn't make it "the same as the original."

Can katsuobushi replace Maldive fish?

8 g of katsuobushi can fill in the seafood savoriness. Its aroma, saltiness and cut are different, though, so it's not the same as blachan or Maldive fish themselves. If you have a fish allergy, avoid katsuobushi too. There's no need to force extra savoriness.

Can I eat it the next day?

After cooking, transfer both the components and the finished packets to shallow containers and cool them quickly. Store in the refrigerator, and to eat, place the packets on a baking sheet so the leaves don't tear and reheat until hot to the center. Don't eat anything left at room temperature for a long time or anything that smells or looks off. Storage time depends on how your kitchen cools and refrigerates food, so this article can't promise a set number of days.

Where should I cut back to make it less spicy?

First halve the dried red chilies and the chili powder. Keep the cinnamon, cardamom, cumin and black pepper. Reduce the chilies in the seeni sambol too, leaning on the sweet heat of the onions and sugar, so no one needs to add spice at the table. Even with less heat, the sourness, the savory seafood notes and the leaf aroma remain as separate elements.

Ambul thiyal, kukul mas curry and hoppers next to lamprais
From sourness to meat curry to rice staples, the Sri Lankan table spreads out

Three dishes to read about after lamprais:

  • Ambul thiyal (in Japanese): taste the sourness of goraka or tamarind in a dish of fish simmered down.
  • Kukul mas curry: make a Sri Lankan chicken curry on its own and dig deeper into meat-curry spices.
  • Hoppers (in Japanese): move on to a breakfast of rice and coconut, a different shape of meal from a wrapped dish.

Sources

Whole spices, tamarind, red onions and banana leaves arranged by dish
The ingredients and sources behind the structure of lamprais