Serving Up With Cynthia Shanmugalingam: Rambutan’s Founder Shares The Dish She Makes To Signal A Fresh Start

Say the words ‘rice party’ and you’ve got our attention. That’s how Cynthia Shanmugalingam, the British-Sri Lankan chef and founder of London restaurant Rambutan, marks the Sinhalese and Tamil New Year, which takes place on either 13 or 14 of April each year, depending on the sighting of the new moon.

“In Sri Lanka, it's the biggest day of the year and the first day of the Tamil month Chithirai,” she says. “Every community on the island rings in the new year and we all do it a little differently. But we all come together over the essentials: new clothes, silly games, too much sugar and most of all: rice.”

The official Fried Rice Party is taking place at her Borough Market restaurant tonight, a celebration featuring dishes from the Rambutan team alongside guest chefs including Nick Bramham of Quality Wines, Elliot Hashtroudi of Camille and Songsoo Kim of Super8. But Cynthia is celebrating at home in Sri Lanka with her family and a rice dish of her own: pongal.

“Pongal is a coconut milk and cardamom rice pudding that gets its name from the way the rice is boiled until the milk overflows, symbolising hope and prosperity for the coming year,” she says. “Across Sri Lanka, every community celebrates with rice – from Point Pedro to Dondra Head. And across the diaspora, from Wembley [London] to Wentworthville [Sydney], we’re still doing the exact same thing.”

In our latest episode of Serving Up With, she shares more about the traditions of new year in Sri Lanka and walks us through her spin on the ancient Tamil dish: “Brown butter. Toasted rice. Coconut milk. Lovi jam. Proof that Tamil food doesn’t live in a museum,” she says.

“Pongal is about starting again, with something simple and making it meaningful. Also, sugar. A lot of sugar.”  

Find her full recipe below.

Serves 4-6 

Ingredients 

1 cup brown rice

2 tablespoons grated jaggery or dark muscovado sugar

150g brown sugar

150g butter

1 pinch sea salt

300ml coconut milk

5 pods of cardamom

Water

250g lovi berries or any stone fruit

Small handful cashew nuts

Method

1. Take 1-2 tablespoons of the rice and toast on a medium heat until it smells nutty. Tip into a spice grinder and when cool, blitz into a powder. Set aside.

2. Pour most of the berries into a pan and just cover with water and 50g of the sugar. Bring to a boil, then simmer for 5-10 minutes, stirring now and then, until the fruit is as soft as you’d like it. Keep a few berries for the garnish. 

3. Pour the rice into a saucepan and rinse loosely under the tap. Drain well, then cover in 250ml water. Place over a medium-high heat, bring to a boil, then lower the heat to a simmer and cover with lid. Cook for 10–18 minutes depending on what kind of rice you’re cooking, until the water is fully absorbed. Remove from the heat and let it sit for about 10 minutes, covered. Gently fluff the rice grains with a fork. Set aside.

4. In a new pan, melt the butter on a medium heat, swirling or stirring with a whisk. When it's golden and smells nutty, turn off the heat and set aside.  

5. Back in the same pan, add the cooked rice, rice powder, coconut milk, sugar, jaggery or muscovado sugar, salt, cardamom and cook gently for 4-5 minutes. Switch off the heat and stir through the brown butter until the pongal shines.  

6. To plate, dish up the pongal into a bowl. Top with cashews, jam and reserved fruit.