Kiribath - Coconut Milk Rice Cakes

Happy Sinhalese and Hindu NEWYEAR greeting to all my friends and family.! :)! Today every Srilankan celebrate this day with a new begining..however one old traditional recipie still remains the same.. The Coconut Milk Rice or Kiribath. Kiribath makes it's way into every important event or auspicious moment in a Lankan's life.

This dish is normally eaten for breakfast with a spicy chilli sambal called Katta Sambal,the reddish blob on the diamond in the photos or the mild version of it with onions and green chillies called Lunu Miris.
The addition of Pandan/Screwpine leaf locally called as Rampe is what makes this dish stand out with it's unique flowery aroma and flavor.
It is made with new rice (although I had to used boiled rice this instance as it was not available here) in a new clay pot to symbolize new beginnings and prosperity.

Ingredients:
-1 cups of white rice,washed and soaked for 30 minutes
-3 1/2 cups of water
-salt to taste
-Pandan/ScrewPine leaf (optional)
-3 cardomom pods/2 cloves/2 cinnamon sticks
-1 cup coconut milk

For the Onion chilli sambal
- 8-9 shallots,cleaned and sliced
- 1 green chilli sliced
- 1 tsp red chilli flakes
- lime juice
salt to taste

Place the rice,water,salt and the spices in a pot and cook in medium flame until the rice becomes mushy.
Add the coconut milk,give it a stir and adjust the seasonings.
Let it simmer until all the liquid has evaporated and the rice becomes a one big mass.
Press the cooked rice onto a plate and let it cool.Then slice it into diamonds.

For the sambal,mix all the ingredients. Add lime juice and salt to your taste.

Happy new year! Enjoy!