Spinach with Dhal

To make this dish Mary used a type of spinach called elaigova, which she picked fresh from her garden. The leaves were quite thick and looked like elephant ears. While I was in Sri Lanka, I ate so many extravagant dishes that I often craved something simple like this. Whenever I asked my hosts for paruppu (dhal) and pol roti with nothing else, they found it bizarre, as it’s considered ‘workers’ food’ and too simple a dish to be served on its own to a guest — but I loved it.