The Sinhala and Tamil new year season – which is fondly referred to by Sri Lankans as Auwurudu – is a time where the hearth of the house steals the limelight with an impressive pageantry of traditional sweetmeats – made one after the other – in preparation to celebrate the dawn of the new year. Of this array of delicacies is Kevum – a luscious treat that holds a place of royalty among traditional awurudu confections.
The beloved kevum is always in high demand. So much so that the Sri Lankan equivalent to the phrase “selling like hot cakes” is “unu kewum wage wikinenawa.” Why the Sri Lankan folk replaced hot cakes with ‘unu kewum’ (hot kewum) is a question that is easy to answer. It is simply because this traditional sweetmeat made of rice flour, kittul jaggery or palmyrah palm treacle – is among the most popular traditional treats that are exclusively made during new year or to celebrate an auspicious or celebratory occasion.
Konda kevum is the most popular celebrity among its plethora of variations; and is thus named as it emulates the ladies’ hair bun. The batter of this sweetmeat is made by mixing rice flour (overnight soaked rice ground into a powder), jaggery or treacle and seasoned with salt. Then scoop-fulls of thick batter are poured and deep fried in a round bottomed pan.
For traditional Sri Lankan master chefs, making kevum is a craft perfected with years of practice. The trick is to make sure that it is evenly cooked and the shape is just right. Making kevum is as much a treat to watch as it is to eat. As the batter begins to fry into a thick lump in sizzling hot oil, the master chef pokes it in the middle with a thin coconut stick and sprays spoonfuls of hot oil on it, with the frying strainer; all the while holding the stick and gently moving it in circular motions. This rhythmic dance that continues close to two minutes turns the lump of batter into a plump kevum with an adorable knot on top.
Kewum in History and Folklore
Enjoying its fair share of the limelight, kevum has made its way into Sri Lankan folklore and historical chronicles. In ‘Kusa Jathakaya’ (of the 550 jathaka stories in Buddhism depicting the past lives of The Buddha), it is mentioned that King Kusa had a kevum shaped face (depicting that he had a displeasing appearance) as a result of a karma he had committed on a previous birth by taking kevum was served to a Bikku from his alms bowl. Kevum is also mentioned in historical Sri Lankan texts such as Pujawaliya, Saddarma Rathnawaliya and Ummagga Jathakaya.
It is believed that King Dutugemunu – the hero of Mahavamsa who ruled the Anuradhapura kingdom – had prepared months in advance to a battle and had them left exposed to air so fungi would grow on them. This fungi’s penicillin-like properties would prevent soldiers’ battle wounds from festering when applied after mixing with a poultice.
Robert Knox, in his famous book – A Historical Relation of Ceylon – refers to kevum as “a fritter made up of rice flour and jaggery. They make up in little lumps… fry them in coconut oil… and the king ordered these Caown to be sent to them as a royal treat.”
The historical text Dathuwansaya brings to light 18 varieties of kevum including ‘konda kevum, mung kevum, Narang kevum, thala kevum, undu kevum, uputu kevum, diya kevum, kudu kevum, garauppu kevum, pana kevum, ulundu kevum and hendi kevum.’
Historical narratives also mention that kevum’s roots may go back even prior to the introduction of Buddhism in Sri Lanka, when people used to pay homage to gods by making various offerings. Given that the basic ingredients of this sweet are those that were natively abundant throughout the history of our civilization.
Health Benifits
Since this traditional sweetmeat is prepared with ingredients such as rice flour and kithul treacle, it contains a variety of nutrients such as carbohydrates, proteins, fat and energy. Moreover, when stored in an air tight and dry container, this sweet treat can be preserved for a few months.
The sight of kevum on an awurudu spread is always a delight, and you don’t necessarily need to wait for awurudu to enjoy this delicacy as it is now made available in many stores that offer traditional Sri Lankan sweets. Whether you are young or old, her majesty the lady bun is sure to delight your taste buds with her luscious lumps and bursts of flavour and aroma.
