Sri Lankan cuisine is known for its particular combinations of herbs, spices, fish, vegetables, rices, and fruits. The cuisine is highly centered around many varieties of rice, as well as coconut which is a ubiquitous plant throughout the country. Seafood also plays a significant role in the cuisine, be it fresh fish or preserved fish. As a country that was a hub in the historic oceanic silk road, contact with foreign traders brought new food items and cultural influences in addition to the local traditions of the country's ethnic groups, all of which have helped shape Sri Lankan cuisine. Influences from Indian (particularly South Indian), Indonesian and Dutch cuisines are most evident with Sri Lankan cuisine sharing close ties to other neighbouring South and Southeast Asian cuisines.









Sri Lanka is historically famous for its cinnamon. The 'true cinnamon' tree, or Cinnamomum verum, used to be botanically named Cinnamomum zeylanicum to reflect its Sri Lankan origins. This is a widely utilized spice in Sri Lanka, and has a more delicate, sweet taste in comparison to Cinnamomum cassia, which is more common in some other Southeast Asian cuisines. Contrasting the local cuisine with those of neighbouring regions, Sri Lankan cuisine is characterized by unique spice blends with heavy use of Sri Lankan cinnamon and black pepper, as well as by the use of ingredients such as Maldives fish, goraka (Garcinia cambogia), pandan leaf, lemongrass, and jaggery made from kithul palm syrup. Sri Lanka is also a consumer of many varieties of red rice, some of which are considered heirloom rices in the country. Tea is also an important beverage throughout the country, and Sri Lanka is known for producing some of the world's finest tea.

In areas located on the island's coasts seafood is a standard feature of the local dishes. Tamil cuisine, especially in Jaffna, shares many similarities with South Indian cuisine. Kandyan Sinhalese cooking is based on local ingredients, including hill vegetables and fruits


Common ingredients

Spices: cinnamon, black pepper, fennel, cardamom, cloves, fenugreek, nutmeg, mace, cumin, coriander, turmeric


Herbs: pandan leaf (rampe), curry leaf (karapincha), coriander leaf, shallot, goraka, lemongrass, tamarind, garlic, ginger, lime, cayenne pepper, tabasco pepper


Fish: Maldives fish, dried fish, mackerel, tuna, shark, sprats, fermented preserved fish


Grains: white rice (some common varieties are: Samba, Kekulu, Suwandel), red rice (some common varieties are: Kekulu, Pachchaperumal, Kaluheenati, Madathawalu), finger millet, hog millet, olu haal (water lily seed)


Oils: coconut oil, sesame oil, cow ghee, buffalo ghee, mustard oil


Sweetners: kithul jaggery, coconut jaggery, palmyrah jaggery


Vegetables and greens: gotukola, green papaya, snake beans, bitter melon, snake gourd, luffa, pumpkin, winged bean


Meats: chicken, beef, pork, mutton


Yams, roots and tubers: lotus root, purple yam, tapioca, kohila (Lasia spinosa), Arrowleaf elephant's ear


Other: Coconut milk and grated coconut are ubiquitous in the cuisine, and are freshly prepared almost every day in most households. Maldives fish is heavily used in vegetable dishes to add an umami flavour.


Fruits: bananas, mangoes, pineapple, soursop, guava, avocado, orange



Dishes

Rice and curry

The central feature of Sri Lankan cuisine is boiled or steamed rice, served with a curry of fish or meat, along with other curries made with vegetables, lentils, or fruits.


Dishes are accompanied by pickled fruits or vegetables, chutneys, and sambols. Coconut sambol is especially common, a paste of ground coconut mixed with chili peppers, dried Maldives fish, and lime juice.


Kiribath

Kiribath or paal soru (lit. 'milk rice') is rice cooked in salted coconut milk until the grains turn soft and porridge-like. Generally eaten for breakfast, kiribath is also prepared on special occasions such as birthdays, New Years' and religious festivals. It is usually served with lunu miris, a relish made with red onions and chillies. There is also a method of cooking kiribath with mung beans. During Aluth Avurudu/Puthandu, the Sinhalese/Tamil New Year, kiribath is served with sweets such as kavum, kokis, mung kavum, od iba, and others.


Kottu

Kottu is a spicy stir-fry of shredded roti bread with vegetables. Optional ingredients include eggs, meat, or cheese. It was invented in Batticaloa and literally means 'chopped roti' in Tamil.


Hoppers

Hoppers (appa in Sinhala) are based on a fermented batter, usually made of rice flour and coconut milk with spices. The dish is pan-fried or steamed. The fermenting agent is palm toddy or yeast. Hopper variants can be either spicy (such as egg hoppers, milk hoppers, and string hoppers), or sweet (such as vandu appa and pani appa).Spicy hoppers are often accompanied by lunu miris, a mix of red onions and spices.


String hoppers

String hoppers (idiyappa in Sinhala) are made from a hot-water dough of rice meal or wheat flour. The dough is pressed out in circlets from a string mold onto small wicker mats, and then steamed. This dish is typically not eaten plain and is often paired with a curry, such as Kiri hodi.

Pittu

Pittu are cylinders of steamed or roasted rice flour mixed with grated coconut.



Roti

Godamba roti is a simpler Sri Lankan flatbread usually made from wheat flour.

Most popular roti is Pol roti, where shredded coconut is mixed into the dough. Another variant is spicy roti, in which chopped onions and green chilies are used when making the dough.


Sambal

Sambals (Sambol in Sinhala) are enjoyed with many dishes including curry dishes and string hoppers. Seeni sambol, Pol sambol, Lunumiris, Gotukola sambal and Vaalai kai sambal are common sambols found in the country.



Have a nice tour