Kola Kanda (Herbal Porridge) from Sri Lanka

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Kola Kanda, or herbal porridge is one of the best healthy porridge from Sri Lanka that you must definitely try if you visit Sri Lanka one day. Kola kanda is full of nutrients and full of flavors.
Kola kanda is a traditional Sri Lankan food. It is a kind of gruel (herbal soup or porridge) prepared with raw rice, coconut milk and the liquid with fresh juice of medicinally valued leaves. It is very popular among health conscious SriLankans as wholesome morning meal and remedy for some diseases.
In ancient Sri Lanka it was the special food taken in empty stomach at breakfast, before solid foods taken .
Although you can cook Kola Kanda or herbal porridge by using only one variety of green leaves, you can even cook it by adding more different leaves to the mix, giving a blend of flavors .All these edible leaves are easily found in Sri Lankan home gardens.
Apart from the many health benefits of kola kanda, it brings a great cooling effect for the body. In Sri Lanka Kola kanda is well known as a healthy herbal porridge which is good to cool the body. Among Srilankans it is like a tradition to cook this herbal porridge whenever there is a need for cooling the body or whenever there is any allergy situation.
The leaves suitable for kolakanda…
Below are some of the popular herbal leaves that you can add for your kola kanda or herbal porridge. You can add all or some of the leaves from this list.
Gotukola – Centalla asiatica
Karapincha – Murraya koenigii
Welpenela – Cordiospermum halicacabum
Iramusu – Hemidesmus indicus
Hatawariya – Asparagus racemosus
Polpala – Avera lantana
Karapincha – Murraya koenigi
Ranawara – Cassia auriculata
How to make Kolakanda -First you have to select the type of leaves you wish to use and clean and wash them. Boil rice (you can use about 1-2 cups) and transfer this into a large container.
Pour fresh coconut milk from scraped coconut into the rice.Add salt to your liking. Blend the leaves (about two handfuls) and a one cup of water in a food processor or blender. Add the blended leaf mixture into the container with the rice, salt and coconut milk. Some people add Garlic and ginger to enhance the flavor. Then bring the mixture to a boil for about 5 minutes. Now the porridge is ready to serve.

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