String Hoppers for a dinner party — went down extremely well

I made String Hoppers for eight guests who had varying familiarity with the cuisine. Every single person asked for the recipe. The deeply coconut-rich profile was the main talking point — no one had quite experienced goraka dried gamboge used that way before.

Maldive fish is a uniquely Sri Lankan ingredient with no close equivalent elsewhere. I explained the a Jaffna Tamil restaurant context as I served it which helped people appreciate it fully. Ceylon tea was what I offered alongside and it worked perfectly. Excellent dinner party dish — impressive without being inaccessible.