Lamprais: The Dutch-Sri Lankan Dish Wrapped in a Banana Leaf

The history and makeup of lamprais, why it is rare in Toronto, and what to order at Blessed Kitchen instead.

Lamprais is a dish with a story: a Sri Lankan meal shaped by Dutch settlers, wrapped in a banana leaf and baked. One thing to say up front: Blessed Kitchen does not make lamprais. This is a guide to the dish, plus what to try from our kitchen instead.

What is in it

A classic lamprais parcel has rice cooked in meat stock, a mixed meat curry, frikkadels (Dutch-style meatballs), a fish cutlet, seeni sambol, blachan (a prawn paste), an ash plantain or eggplant curry and a boiled egg, all wrapped in banana leaf and baked.

The history

The Dutch East India Company controlled coastal Sri Lanka in the 1600s and 1700s, and the Burgher community that grew out of that period blended Dutch and Sri Lankan cooking. Lamprais is the best-known result. The name is usually traced to the Dutch "lomprijst", meaning a packet of rice.

Why you rarely see it

Each parcel needs five or six components cooked separately, then assembled and wrapped by hand. That is a full day of work. Many traditional versions also use pork, so halal lamprais is rarer still.

What to order at Blessed Kitchen instead

  • Ghee rice combos ($15 to $30 per person, 20 minimum): rice with up to ten curries and sambols, finished with kithul watalappan.
  • Biriyani ($12), Northern Sri Lankan style.
  • Paalandi Half Chicken ($40) for the table, and vattalappam ($15) to finish.

How to order

Everything we cook is zabihah halal.

The components, one by one

  • The rice: short-grain rice cooked in a rich meat stock with whole spices, so it has flavour before anything touches it.
  • The curry: traditionally a mixed-meat curry, cooked long and dry enough not to soak the parcel.
  • Frikkadels: small crumbed and fried meatballs, a Dutch legacy, seasoned with Sri Lankan spice.
  • Wambatu moju: eggplant fried and then cooked in a sweet-sour pickle. If you have eaten our eggplant mojo, you know this flavour.
  • Seeni sambol: onions cooked slowly until sweet and dark.
  • Blachan: a fermented shrimp paste relish. Strong and salty, used sparingly.

Why the banana leaf matters

The leaf is not just packaging. It is wilted over a flame so it folds without tearing, then the parcel is baked. Steam builds up inside, the curries soak into the rice, and the leaf gives off a grassy, slightly smoky smell. Opening the parcel is part of the meal.

The Burgher table today

Lamprais is still tied to the Dutch Burgher community, and it is often made in large batches for church events, fundraisers and family gatherings. Many households freeze parcels and bake them later.

Build a similar plate from our menu

We do not make lamprais. If you are after the same mix of rich rice, curry, sweet-sour eggplant and sambol, this gets close:

  • Ghee Rice Combo (Beef), $23: spiced ghee rice, beef kurma, fried chicken, mango curry, potato milk curry, kaliya, masi sambol and acharu.
  • Saffron Ghee Rice Combo, $29 per person (20 minimum): includes eggplant mojo and dhal curry, the closest thing to the lamprais side dishes.
  • Coconut Roti, $12: with beef curry and dhal curry, for a smaller lunch.

Lamprais questions

Will you make lamprais to order?

No. It is not something we cook, even for catering.

Is lamprais halal?

Not by default. Traditional recipes often include pork, so check with whoever is making it.

How to eat a lamprais parcel

Open the leaf at the table and eat straight from it, the way you would a rice and curry plate. Take a little rice with each mouthful, add some curry, then a frikkadel, a bit of moju or sambol. The sweet, sour and salty sides are there to cut through the rich rice, so do not leave them for the end.

Is lamprais spicy?

Usually medium. The heat comes from the curry and the sambol, and the stock rice softens it.

Can I reheat a parcel?

Yes. Lamprais is usually reheated in the oven, still wrapped, so the leaf keeps the steam inside.