Dee says she is grateful and proud to be the first Sri Lankan female contestant on MasterChef Australia and hopes to continue showcasing Sri Lankan cuisine through masterclasses all over the world. — Photos: DEE WILLIAMS
ON a sunny Monday morning in Kuala Lumpur, Dhayanie Williams, better known as Dee, is huddled around a pan brimming with spices. Around her, a small group of eager beavers from all over the Klang Valley watch in fascination as she gently toasts the spices until a heady aroma fills the air.
The participants are gathered at Artisan's Playground in KL for a masterclass organised by the Cinnamon Group (which owns eateries like Aliyaa, Nadodi and Kikubari, to name a few). The event (which was a collaboration with Aliyaa's head chef Siva Suppaiya) was designed to give enthusiastic home cooks an idea of how to nail Sri Lankan dishes at home.
“You have to be very careful when you roast it over the fire, because if you cook it too much, your whole curry will have a bitter taste,” says Dee to her enraptured audience.
Dee is an accomplished home cook who grew up in Sri Lanka and learnt how to cook under the watchful eye of her mother and grandmother.
In many ways, Dee’s fascination with spices dates back to her childhood in Sri Lanka, where she would often watch her mother and grandmother whip up all sorts of delicious dishes, from coconut sambol to crab curry.
“When I was little, I ate predominantly home-cooked food made by my mother and grandma. I would watch them make different dishes, like how they would ground the coconut sambol with an old-fashioned grinding stone. Those are the kind of labour-intense jobs that as you grow up in the household, they will give you that kind of tasks to do to see how good you are,” she says.
In 2007, Dee moved to Australia to pursue a degree in hotel management. That was also the year that MasterChef Australia first started airing and Dee says she was determined to get on the show and highlight the cuisine of her heritage.
“In terms of getting into MasterChef Australia, you have to have a permanent residency (PR) and there are certain criteria that you need to fulfil. So I had to wait until I got PR to apply for it. But it was one of those things that I wanted to compete in, because the multiculturalism that the show brings out is totally different from all the other MasterChefs in the world,” she says.
Dee spent the next few years practicing and making sure her cooking was up to snuff, so that she would stand a good chance of getting on the show.
“I was practising at home and my husband used to taste the food and give me scores,” she says, laughing.
When she was finally eligible to apply in 2018, she did but was gutted when she didn’t make the cut. Dee says she was so heart-broken that she cried non-stop and didn’t want to do anything for a week. At her husband’s insistence, she tried out a second time in 2019 and this time, made it onto the 11th season of the show.
“The second time was good and I got through to the second round and then I got through to the top 40. After that, the judges pick the top 24 so we had to cook another round and that is when I made the crab curry that I am now associated with.
After MasterChef Australia, Dee travelled all over Sri Lanka learning and picking up different recipes throughout the country.
“It was playing in my mind the day before that I should make crabs – it felt like a call. And the next day, we had 75 minutes to cook a dish and I saw crabs, so I was really happy. Before anyone else could grab it, I just grabbed it!” she says.
Dee’s crab curry is a spice-riddled, lightly fiery course that is also rich and intoxicatingly good. The crabs mop up all the lavish flavours of the curry and provide a lovely aquatic finish to the dish.
But Dee says her iconic crab curry isn’t actually totally traditional as she improvised and used what she had to make the dish.
“So this crab curry is something totally different, there are some Sri Lankan flavours to it but it’s not an authentic way of doing it, because in MasterChef, you have to substitute and use the ingredients available. But crabs are easily available in Sri Lanka, so that’s where I wanted to represent the country’s bold flavours,” she says.
Although Dee didn’t end up winning MasterChef Australia, she says just getting on the show has been a dream come true for her, especially as she was officially the first female Sri Lankan contestant on the reality series, something that gives her plenty of reason to be proud.
“I was really honoured to get that apron because I was dreaming about it for 10 years and just to get it was really amazing,” she says.
After her win, Dee spent some time travelling around Sri Lanka collecting recipes from home cooks all over the country, a move that fortified her knowledge base about her home cuisine. Now she makes and sells spice mixes under her brand Dee-Licious and also conducts cooking classes all over the world, in a bid to truly highlight the food of Sri Lanka.
“I think going into the MasterChef community, it has given me the confidence to go out and spread the word and showcase the flavours of Sri Lanka,” she says.
SRI LANKAN CRAB CURRY
Spice mix (dry ingredients)
1-2 cloves
3 cardamom pods
1 cm cinnamon stick
2 tsp coriander seeds
2 tsp cumin powder
1 tsp black peppercorns
1 tsp chilli flakes
3 to 4 dried red chillies
Fresh ingredients
1 sprig curry leaves
1 cm ginger
3 garlic cloves
2 Asian shallots
1 fresh chilli
1 sprig coriander leaves
1 tsp rock salt
4 to 5 tsp vegetable oil
1/4 cup water
Toast the dried spices in a heavy-based frying pan over medium heat until fragrant, or 5 to 8 minutes. Tip into a small bowl to cool slightly.
Clean and wash all the fresh ingredients and dice roughly. Add to the food processor or blender. Then add the toasted spice mix, salt, oil and water along with the fresh ingredients and blend for a smooth paste-like consistency.
For the curry
2 blue swimmer crabs
3 to 4 tsp vegetable oil
1 big Asian shallot, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 cm ginger, finely chopped
1 pandan leaf, cut into 2 cm pieces
1 sprig curry leaves
300ml coconut milk
2-3 tbsp dark palm sugar
1 tbsp chilli powder
Salt and pepper to taste
1/3 cup water
1 lime, juiced
Use the palm of your hand to push down on the crabs. Get your fingers between the gap where the body meets the shells and pull upwards. Pulling quite hard, separate the crab body from the shell. Keep the shells for presentation. Pull away and discard the feathery gills, then wash. Cut the crab into four, if the claws and legs are big, twist them off from the body and gently crack them with a cleaver.
Heat the wok for 10 minutes. Add vegetable oil to the wok, then add shallots, garlic, ginger, pandan leaves, curry leaves and fry for 5 to 10 minutes, or until golden brown.
Add the curry paste and cook for 15 minutes. Close the wok with the lid during the cooking process. Add coconut milk, 100ml at a time, then dark palm sugar, chilli powder and salt and pepper to taste. Cook for another 15 minutes. Keep tasting and adjusting the flavours accordingly.
Once the sauce starts to thicken, add the crabs and cook for 20 to 25 minutes. Keep stirring. If it’s too thick, add 1/3 cup of water. Once ready, add the lime juice and stir.
