Sri Lankan cuisine is a vibrant and diverse tapestry of flavors, reflecting the island’s rich cultural heritage and tropical bounty. The cuisine revolves around the key elements of rice, spices, coconut, vegetables, tropical fruits, lentils and legumes and of course the world-renowned Ceylon tea which is consumed in large amounts. Being an Island nation, Seafood also plays a pivotal role with many varieties of fish, prawns, crabs, squid, cuttlefish, oyster and lobster adding to the culinary experience.
The Sri Lankan Cuisine also has strong influences from South India, Indonesia and Dutch cuisine due to the years of Dutch colonization, which have over a periodadapted to have its own distinct flavours to suit the Sri Lankan pallet.
Sri Lankan food is for the brave and adventurous who are willing to savour the dominant and powerful flavours that awaken and tantalize your taste buds. However, visitors to the island are encouraged to be cautious, especially if you are not able to handle spices such as chili and pepper.
Rice – Different varieties of red and white rice
Bread: Top crust bread loaves, roti, buns, parathas,
Spices: Ceylon cinnamon, cardamom, cloves, black pepper, chillie powder , fennel, fenugreek, cumin , mustard , turmeric, coriander, and nutmeg
Herbs and seasonings: curry leaf, pandan leaf, lemon grass, coriander leaves, onions, ginger, garlic, tamarind, goraka, lime, salt
Lentils and legumes: chickpea, green gram, soyabean, cowpea
Vegetables: Beans, snake gourd, bitter gourd, luffa, winged bean, moringa, okra, ladies’ fingers, banana flower, pumpkin, beetroot, carrot, leeks, cooking melon, cabbage, cucumber, radish, drumsticks and many more.
Greens : Gotukola, moringa , spinach , kang kung, mukunuwenna,
Fish: Tuna, shark, mackerel, sprats, Maldives fish,
Meats: Chicken, mutton, beef, pork,
Oils: Coconut oil, vegetable oil, palm oil, ghee, mustard oil
Fruits: Bananas, papaya, pineapple, mangoes, guava, avocado, soursop, passion fruit, wood apple, mangosteen, rambutan, melons
Other: Coconut
Sri Lankan breakfast is a delightful and diverse blend of flavors and textures, reflecting the island’s rich culinary heritage and food culture.
Some of the more popular items are, Milk rice, hoppers, string hoppers, pani pol (Sri Lankan pancakes) chickpea, mung dhal, Coconut flat bread or roti, sweet potato and tapioca all served with accompaniments such as curry and sambal all eaten using your fingers to mix the food so that you can feel the texture and the temperature of the food. The health conscious would always include a bowl of Green porridge ( kola kenda) a smoothy like concoction prepared from the juice of green leaves cooked with rice , coconut milk and seasoned with salt. These food items are complemented with tropical fruits and washed down with a lovely cup of aromatic Ceylon Tea.
Milk rice is prepared by boiling rice ( red or white) with fresh coconut milk and seasoned with salt. Small amount of Sri Lankan cardamom can be added for taste and fragrance. When the consistency becomes glutinous and very soft it is left to set. The preparation is spread on a flat dish or banana leaf and cut into diamond shaped pieces.
Milk rice is served hot with Jaggery or with lunu miris, a traditional spicy chili sauce prepared with onions, garnished with salt, lime and Maldives fish and ground into a chunky paste using a mortar and pestle.
Milk rice is also prepared at all auspicious occasions.
It is an iconic food in Sri Lanka similar to a type of pancake, where the batter is made of rice flour and coconut milk, fermented with baking powder or toddy and a hint of sugar. The batter is poured int a small wok and swirled to ensure the edges are thin and crispy and the middle is thick and soft. It can also be prepared with an egg in the middle and referred to as an egg hopper.
The hoppers are served with lunu miris, curry and seeni sambol ( a caramelized onion preparation)
A popular noodle-like food made with a thick rice flour-based batter using a specially made mold to form small rounds of strings which are squeezed into trays and then steamed. It is believed to have originated in South India and adapted to Sri Lankan pallet with time.
It is served with coconut sambol (pol sambola) which is a must and a variety of different curries such as dhal ( lentil) potato , fish or chicken curry .Pol sambol, is a fresh coconut relish of finely grated coconut with chopped onions, chilie powder and garnished with lime, salt and a sprinkling of Maldives fish. A person could consume up to 10-15 string hoppers for a meal and it should ideally be eaten by mixing it all with the hand to bring out the best flavours and taste.
These are technically crepes made from a batter consisting of wheat flour, coconut milk, egg and turmeric to give it a classic yellow shade. The batter is poured onto a hot pan and cooked for less than a minute as it needs to be rolled up. Next the filling made of fresh grated coconut, jaggery (Palm sugar made from the Kitul tree sap) and spices such as cinnamon is added. The pancake is then filled with the coconut preparation and rolled into a neat little parcel.
It is best enjoyed with a cup of ginger flavoured tea.
Boiled sweet potatoes served with coconut or Pol-Sambol is a delicious breakfast idea . Similarly boiled tapioca which is appreciated for its nutritional value can also be enjoyed with a serving of Lunu Miris.
This is another popular breakfast which is also nutritious and wholesome. Chickpea boiled in a pressure cooker is then garnished with a preparation of onions, mustard seed, dried chille pieces , curry leaves sautéed in coconut oil. A similar dish can also be prepared with boiled Mung dhal which can also be eaten with grated coconut.
Pol Rotti is a flatbread prepared with flour (wheat or rice flour) mixed with grated coconut. Some preparations also include curry leaves, chopped onions etc to enhance the flavour. The thick dough is flattened and cut into round pieces and roasted on a flat pan . The rotis are usually served with lunu miris and curry .
Kola Kenda is a traditional herbal congee or gruel prepared with raw rice, coconut milk and the fresh juice of medicinal leafy greens which are boiled and seasoned with salt . The leaves that are usually included are gotukola, karapincha, welpenela, iramusu, hatawariya, polpala, or ranawara all of which have strong medicinal value. It is recorded that this concoction has been enjoyed by Sri Lankans for centuries especially the monks who used it as a restorative meal in the mornings after the long fast.
The herbal porridge is usually consumed with a piece of palm sugar to mitigate the bitterness.
Sri Lankan lunch is an important meal which includes a symphony of flavours, textures and colours that will tantalize your taste buds to the maximum.
The staple “Rice and Curry” is almost a must in most houses. During occasions there would be the Lamprise influenced by a Dutch preparation, fried rice influenced by the Chinese preparations with a definitive Sri Lankan spin and Biriyani influenced by the Muslim traders and served with several accompaniments.
Although consumed by some for all three meals in the day, it is predominantly eaten during lunch. Different varieties of rice are used along with a combination of vegetables, green leaves and a protein item comprising fish, chicken, beef, pork , mutton and occasionally prawns.
Side dishes such as , sambols, papadam , dried fish preparations, pickles and chutneys too are used to add falvour to the meal.
Some of the vegetable items, greens and common fish/meat preparations that are usually not eaten outside Sri Lanka include
This is a very common fruit found in most gardens in addition to the markets. Raw pieces of jackfruit are cooked using mustard seed oil and spices such as garlic, onion, curry leaves, lemongrass, curry powder, chillie and cinnamon. It is then cooked on a low heat for around an hour with coconut milk.
This Sri Lankan cuisine similar to the Arabic dish of Tabbouleh is a healthy green salad prepared by mixing the finely shredded green leaves with grated coconut, red onions, green chilli, and seasoning. It is called a sambol as it is a dish prepared using raw ingredients. This dish is usually eaten with steaming hot rice and other accompaniments.
Dhal is one of the curries that is consumed regularly not only with rice, but with many other forms of bread, string hoppers, roti etc. The red lentils boiled in water and subsequently in coconut milk is prepared into a flavoursome curry with dry red chilli , curry leaves, onion, spices such as turmeric , fenugreek, cumin seed, ginger and garlic sautéed in hot oil, and seasoned with salt. This flavorsome and creamy dhal curry will make your steamed rice taste heavenly.
This highly popular dish is usually made for occasions especially when serving yellow rice fried rice and similar dishes. It is prepared by cutting Brinjal in to wedges and deep-frying them to give crispy texture. It is then caramelized with sugar, vinegar, green chillies, red onions, and mustard seeds. Since generous portions of vinegar are used it is considered a pickle.
This world-famous Sri Lanaka crab curry is a dish that all visitors to the island should try.
Mud crabs are best for curry. Ingredients such as cumin seeds, grated coconut and pepper need to be roasted and ground to a smooth paste. Seasoning such as tamarind needs to be added to the paste along with coconut milk. Spices such as mustard, fenugreek, fennel seeds, ginger, garlic curry leaves chilli , ginger, curry powder , turmeric cooked for a few minutes need to be added along chopped sauteed tomatoes to the paste and cooked.
This gourmet mouthwatering dish will certainly be a highlight of your visit to Sri Lanka
Ambulthiyal, is a unique and saporous, must try Sri Lankan sour fish curry cooked using ingredients which turns the outer part of the fish into a black hue.
Ambul Thiyal is a traditional way of preserving fish without having to refrigerate or freeze. It is a versatile and easy to prepare dish usually cooked in a clay pot. It needs ingredients such as Goraka ( Garcinia Cambogia) and coarse black pepper which is a must , Ceylon cinnamon pieces, garlic ,curry leaves, cardamom to add flavour and aroma and salt.
Unique to Sri Lanka this curry cooked during special occasions is favoured by vegetarians and vegans. It is a mild creamy and crunchy dish of cashew nuts cooked in coconut milk with Sri Lankan spices such as turmeric, coriander, and curry leaves, ginger, garlic, and seasoning.
This is a popular preparation eaten with rice as well as bread, hoppers and string hoppers. Spices such as ginger and garlic, onions, curry powder. Cinnamon, chilli are fried in oil, coconut milk and tomato puree are added. Chicken pieces are then added to the thick gravy and stewed for a while.
Originating from a Dutch word that translates as ‘a packet of food’, this is a dish usually made by the Burgher community in Sri Lanka, descendants of the Dutch who colonized Sri Lanka for almost 150 years ( 1658 – 1796) . It consists of a boiled and fried egg, eggplant, frikkadels, mixed meats, ash plantain and sambol. Infused with cardamom, cloves, cinnamon the rice the mix is then wrapped in a banana leaf with the rest of the items and baked in the oven at a low temperature for several hours. The recipe has been modified over the years to suit the Sri Lankan pallet and also nonmeat eaters with versions of fish Lamprise and even vegetable lamprise.
Dinner in Sri Lanka is most often a heavy meal. The quintessential rice and curry is very popular in addition to items such as hoppers, string hopers , pittu , roti (pol roti ,godamba, roti) , dosa and paratha all eaten with one or two accompaniments.
The rhythmic clank of the kottu maker is a sign that the restaurant or street food stall serves this stir fry dish which is popular and the ultimate Sri Lankan street food which is difficult to resist. The dish includes pieces of roti (bread) cut into strips using two metal cleavers and stir fried with shredded vegetables, pieces of shredded meat such as chicken , mutton or fish, soy sauce, spices, ginger and garlic, on a flat iron skillet. The dish can be upgraded to a Cheese kottu or egg kottu by adding these ingredients.
Pittu originated in South India where it is referred to as Puttu and has a slight variation from the Sri Lankan preparation. The process involves mixing grated coconut with rice flour (red or white) and crumbled. The mixture is placed in a metal cylindrical mould and steamed for approximately 5 – 6 minutes. The finished product comes out in a tubular form ( with no hollow) and is served with accompaniments such meat or fish curries , sambols and coconut milk gravy.
This is a famous Chinese influenced dish prepared for special occasions and a go – to – dish ordered at restaurants. It is prepared using Basmati rice and vegetables, seasoning such as soy sauce , pieces of shredded chicken fried in a wok and garnished with spring onion leaves.
A dish from South India, ideal for vegans and vegetarians, the dosa is a thin, savoury crepe made from a fermented batter of ground black gram and rice. Dosas are served hot, often with coconut chutney and sambar (a dish prepared with about 7 different vegetables) A variation is the masala dosa which is prepared with a delicious potato preparation in the middle.
The king coconut native to Sri Lanka is orange in colour and is something that every visitor to the island must have. The water contained in the fruit is considered highly hydrating and a rich source of vitamin B, amino acids, and electrolytes. The liquid within the King coconuts has more magnesium and calcium than an orange, and more potassium than a banana.
The delicious Southeast Asian fruit with a hard shell and a strong aroma can be eaten by cracking the fruit and extracting the paste which is fairly sour. It is also popular in a juice form made by adding water, sugar and a dash of coconut milk (if preferred). According to Ayurveda it aids digestion, improves skin health, manages asthma symptoms, supports reproductive health, boosts the immune system, and helps manage diabetes due to its fiber, antioxidant, and immune-boosting properties.
Visitors should taste the wonderful falvours of the different Ceylon teas from the seven regions of Sri Lanka each blessed with a distinctive taste , aroma and appeal. From the lightest to strongest, full-bodied to mild mannered, a cup of Ceylon Tea is nothing but the finest. The teas are available in varieties such as Oolong, Black, Green and White. Apart from being rich in antioxidants, Ceylon tea is also linked to health benefits such as improved heart health, cognitive function and mental health and blood sugar control, as well as weight loss. Milk tea as well as ginger tea, cardamom tea and other flavoured teas are all popular and widely available choices.
Bibikkan is a delicious Sri Lankan sweet prepared during special occasions and festivals. This coconut cake is popular for its unique taste and texture. Bibikkan is made with grated coconut, jaggery (made from the sap of the Kitul palm ), butter, and a blend of aromatic spices such as cardamom and nutmeg.
The ingredients are mixed to form a thick batter, which is then baked until it becomes a golden-brown cake.
Curd thick, rich and creamy and similar to plain yoghurt is eaten with treacle ( Syrup made of kittul jaggery ) for dessert. The dish consists of a creamy curd made from buffalo milk, which is drizzled with sweet treacle. In India curd is usually eaten with rice. Curd is rich in calcium, vitamin B, potassium, and probiotics. Jaggery is an excellent natural cleanser for the body and is high in iron.
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