Eleusine coracana (Korakcan) is an annual plant widely grown as a cereal in the arid areas
of Africa and Asia. Earliest records of its cultivation in India show that it was cultivated in
the Hallur region of Karnataka in the later Iron Age. It is commonly known as finger millet or Kurakkan.
In Sri Lanka, finger millet is called kurakkan කුරක්කන් and is made into kurakkan roti - an earthy
brown thick roti with coconut and thallapa - a thick dough made of ragi by boiling it with water and some salt until like a dough ball. It is then eaten with a very spicy meat curry and is usually
swallowed in small balls, rather than chewing. It is also eaten as a soup (kurrakan kenda) and as a sweet called 'Halape'.
Cinnamon is the dried bark of the perennial tree of C.zeylanicum of the Lauraceae family. True cinnamon is native to Sri Lanka. Cinnamon is originally grown wild in central hill country of Sri Lanka. The history of cinnamon dates back to about 2800 B.C where it can be found referenced as ”kwai” in Chinese writings. Cinnamon is even mentioned in the Bible when Moses used it as an ingredient for his anointing oil in ancient Rome. It was burned in Roman funerals perhaps partly as a way forward to off the odor of dead bodies. Emperor Nero is said to have burned a years’ worth of the dry supply of cinnamon at the funeral of his wife Poppaea Sabina. Ancient Egyptians used it in embalming mummies because of pleasant odors and its preservative qualities.