Dump. Stir. Cook. An alluring simplicity that, not surprisingly, is a universal language for cooks.

No matter how much we over-­romanticize the cooking of other cultures—something we in food media can be exceptionally good at—I find it comforting that wherever you are in the world, home cooks not only love ease, they are exceptionally good at crafting deliciously simple ways to produce wonderfully flavorful food. No fuss needed, thank you so much.

It’s a lesson that was driven home when I was in the kitchen of Shasikala Samuel and her mother, K.S. Luxmi, in Colombo, Sri Lanka. Much of the country’s cooking is built on a base of coconut milk and intricate curry powders, some of which are deeply toasted for richness, while others are left raw. I expected the cooking to reflect this complexity.

Samuel and her mother set me straight. They were preparing kukul mas maluwa, which we will loosely translate as dump-and-stir chicken and coconut curry. “It’s something my grandmother would make,” Samuel explained. “Just put everything at once into the pot. When the chicken is done, add coconut cream and lime juice. Then it’s done.”

It was. And it was amazing. Bright and creamy with just hints of heat and tons of layered flavor from the curry spices. And that was its brilliance. And perhaps the overall brilliance of this style of Sri Lankan cooking.

Samuel and her mother focused their effort less on the overall cooking technique—after all, dump and stir requires not a lot—and instead gave their energy to that curry power. They started with whole spices, and only whole spices.

Coriander seeds. Cumin seeds. Fennel seeds. Cloves. Cinnamon sticks. Cardamom pods. Curry leaves. Pandan leaves. Coconut flakes. All of it ground to a fine powder, then toasted until dark and rich and wildly aromatic.

The difference was tremendous. And so smart. By keeping the overall cooking ridiculously simple, Samuel and her mother were able to put their energy where it made the most difference—the seasonings.

A lesson in smart simplicity that truly can change the way we cook.

J.M. Hirsch

J.M. Hirsch is a James Beard Award-winning food and travel writer and editorial director of Christopher Kimball's Milk Street. He is the former national food editor for The Associated Press and has written six books, including “Freezer Door Cocktails: 75 Cocktails That Are Ready When You Are.”