Cuisine of Sri Lanka
Encyclopedia
South Asia
South Asia, also known as Southern Asia, is the southern region of the Asian continent, which comprises the sub-Himalayan countries and, for some authorities , also includes the adjoining countries to the west and the east...
. Due to its proximity to South India
South India
South India is the area encompassing India's states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu as well as the union territories of Lakshadweep and Pondicherry, occupying 19.31% of India's area...
the cuisine of Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is a country off the southern coast of the Indian subcontinent. Known until 1972 as Ceylon , Sri Lanka is an island surrounded by the Indian Ocean, the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait, and lies in the vicinity of India and the...
shows some influence, yet is in many ways quite distinct. As a major trade hub, it draws influence from colonial powers that were involved in Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is a country off the southern coast of the Indian subcontinent. Known until 1972 as Ceylon , Sri Lanka is an island surrounded by the Indian Ocean, the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait, and lies in the vicinity of India and the...
and by foreign traders. Rice
Rice
Rice is the seed of the monocot plants Oryza sativa or Oryza glaberrima . As a cereal grain, it is the most important staple food for a large part of the world's human population, especially in East Asia, Southeast Asia, South Asia, the Middle East, and the West Indies...
, which is consumed daily, can be found at any occasion, while spicy curries
Curry
Curry is a generic description used throughout Western culture to describe a variety of dishes from Indian, Pakistani, Bangladeshi, Sri Lankan, Thai or other Southeast Asian cuisines...
are favorite dishes for dinner
Dinner
Dinner is usually the name of the main meal of the day. Depending upon culture, dinner may be the second, third or fourth meal of the day. Originally, though, it referred to the first meal of the day, eaten around noon, and is still occasionally used for a noontime meal, if it is a large or main...
and lunch.
Main dishes
The island nation's cuisine mainly consists of boiled or steamed rice served with curry. This usually consists of a "main curry" of fish, chicken
Chicken (food)
Chicken is the most common type of poultry in the world, and is prepared as food in a wide variety of ways, varying by region and culture.- History :...
, beef
Beef
Beef is the culinary name for meat from bovines, especially domestic cattle. Beef can be harvested from cows, bulls, heifers or steers. It is one of the principal meats used in the cuisine of the Middle East , Australia, Argentina, Brazil, Europe and the United States, and is also important in...
, pork
Pork
Pork is the culinary name for meat from the domestic pig , which is eaten in many countries. It is one of the most commonly consumed meats worldwide, with evidence of pig husbandry dating back to 5000 BC....
or mutton (typically goat), as well as several other curries made with vegetable, lentils and even fruit curries.
Side-dishes include pickles
Pickles
Pickles may refer to:* A pickled cucumber, the food most commonly referred to as a pickle in the U.S. and Canada* A pickled onion, the food most commonly referred to as a pickle in the UK* Other vegetables that have been pickled...
, chutneys and "sambols". The most famous of these is the coconut sambol
Pol Sambola (Coconut Sambol)
Pol Sambola is a traditional Sri Lankan dish made from coconut. it is probably the most popular dish in the country.-Ingredients:* Coconut* Red Onion* Ground Dry Red Chilly* Salt* Lemon* Pepper* Maldive Fish* Garlic...
, made of ground coconut mixed with chillies, dried Maldive fish
Maldive fish
Maldive fish is cured tuna fish traditionally produced in Maldives. It is a staple of the Maldivian cuisine, as well as of the Sri Lankan cuisine, and in the past it was one of the main exports from Maldives to Sri Lanka, where it is known as umbalakaḍa....
and lime juice. This is ground to a paste and eaten with rice, as it gives zest to the meal and is believed to increase appetite.
Another well-known rice dish is Kiribath
Kiribath
Kiribath is a traditional Sri Lankan dish made from rice. The word is a compound with a transparent meaning in the Sinhala language, where kiri means "milk" and bath means "rice". The dish is prepared by cooking rice with coconut milk, whence this name. In Tamil, the dish is called paacor...
, meaning "milk rice." In addition to sambols, Sri Lankans eat "mallung", chopped leaves mixed with grated coconut
Coconut
The coconut palm, Cocos nucifera, is a member of the family Arecaceae . It is the only accepted species in the genus Cocos. The term coconut can refer to the entire coconut palm, the seed, or the fruit, which is not a botanical nut. The spelling cocoanut is an old-fashioned form of the word...
and red onions. Coconut milk
Coconut milk
Coconut milk is the water that comes from the grated meat of a coconut. The colour and rich taste of the milk can be attributed to the high oil content. In many parts of the world, the term coconut milk is also used to refer to coconut water, the naturally occurring liquid found inside the hollow...
is found in most Sri Lankan dishes to give the cuisine its unique flavor.
Sri Lankan people use spices liberally in their dishes and typically do not follow an exact recipe: thus, every cook's curry will taste slightly different. Furthermore, people from different regions of the island (for instance, hill-country dwellers versus coastal dwellers) traditionally cook in different ways while people of different ethnic and religious groups tend to prepare dishes according to their customs. Although Sri Lankan food appears similar to south Indian cuisine in its use of chilli, cardamom, cumin, coriander and other spices, it has a distinctive taste, and uses ingredients like dried Maldive fish which are local to the area.
Sri Lankan food is generally equivalent in terms of spiciness to South India
South India
South India is the area encompassing India's states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu as well as the union territories of Lakshadweep and Pondicherry, occupying 19.31% of India's area...
n cuisine, yet many spicy Sri Lankan preparations are believed to be among the world's hottest in terms of chilli content. There is a liberal use of different varieties of scorching hot chillies such as amu miris, kochchi miris, and maalu miris (capsicum) among others. While native Sri Lankans are born into this cuisine and develop a healthy tolerance to spicy food, many visitors and tourists to the country often find the spiciness excessive. As a result, many local restaurants in developed and tourist areas offer special low-spice versions of local foods to cater to foreign palates, or have an alternative western menu for tourists. It is generally acceptable for tourists to request that the food is cooked with a lower chilli content to cater for the milder Western palate. The chili content in food cooked for public occasions is typically much less than home-cooked food.
Hoppers (appa)
Lunu miris
Lunumiris is purely made out of grinding dried chilli flacks with sea salt. Many people use this term loosely to the commonly known derivative of this so called Katta sambol...
, a mix of red onions and spices. Hoppers are made from a fermented batter of rice flour
Rice flour
Rice flour is a form of flour made from finely milled rice. It is distinct from rice starch, which is usually produced by steeping rice in lye....
, coconut milk and a dash of palm toddy, which lends a sour flavor and fermentation ability. If toddy is not available, yeast is often used. The batter is left to rise, then cooked in a hemispherical wok-like pan. There are many types of hoppers including egg hoppers, milk hoppers,string hoppers, and sweeter varieties like vandu appa and pani appa.
Lamprais
Lamprais is rice boiled in stock with a special curry, accompanied by "frikkadels" (frikadellerFrikadeller
Frikadeller are flat, pan-fried dumplings of minced meat, often likened to the Danish version of meatballs. They are a popular dish in Germany, where they are known as Frikadellen, Denmark, the Faroe Islands, Norway, Poland , Russia, Ukraine and the Netherlands...
meatballs), all of which is then wrapped in a banana leaf and baked—is a Dutch-influenced Sri Lankan dish.
Koola'ya
Koola'ya is a dish made of a variety of leftover curries, mixed together with rice and often served at Hindu temples, with chapati. It's also served in a ball form, or even mixed in a blender.Pittu
Pittu or mani pittu funnel cakePuttu
Puttu is a South Indian and Sri Lankan breakfast dish of steamed cylinders of ground rice layered with coconut. It is popular in the Indian states of Kerala and Tamil Nadu as well as in areas of Sri Lanka, where it is also known as pittu...
is a steamed mixture of rice and grated coconut that comes in a cylinder shape.
Roti
Roti in Sri Lanka may be the ParathaParatha
A paratha/parantha/parauntha is an Indian flat-bread that originated in the Indian subcontinent. Paratha is an amalgamation of the words parat and atta which literally means layers of cooked dough...
or the chapati
Chapati
Chapati or Chapatti or Chapathi is an unleavened flatbread from the Indian subcontinent. Versions of it are found in Turkmenistan and in East African countries Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania...
type of flatbread. One variant is the Pol (Coconut) Roti.
Sweets
A well-known sweet is "Kavun" or oil cakes, a cake made with rice flour and treacle and deep-fried to a golden brown. A variety of "Kavun", called "Moong Kavun" is made from green gram - a type of pulse - which is then ground to a paste and shaped like diamonds before frying. Other types of Kavuns are Athiraha, konda Kavun, Athirasa & Handi Kavun. Many sweets are served during the Sinhala and Tamil New Year with "kiribath". Slight variations of the types of food eaten & preparation methods is observed from province to province.Undu Walalu/Undu wal or Pani walalu- Another sweet originating from the central province( Mathale area). this is prepared using urad (undu) flour & kithul treacle.
Aluwa & Aggala- Made from flour & sugar/treacle.
Dodol- A pudding like dish made from coconut milk. Cooking method is difficult & takes time.
Weli Thalapa- Made from flour & treacle.
"Wattalapan" - a steamed pudding made with coconut milk, eggs
Egg (food)
Eggs are laid by females of many different species, including birds, reptiles, amphibians, and fish, and have probably been eaten by mankind for millennia. Bird and reptile eggs consist of a protective eggshell, albumen , and vitellus , contained within various thin membranes...
, and jaggery
Jaggery
Jaggery is a traditional unrefined non-centrifugal whole cane sugar consumed in Asia, Africa, Latin America, and the Caribbean. It is a concentrated product of cane juice without separation of the molasses and crystals, and can vary from golden brown to dark brown in color...
(a sort of solidified treacle extracted from the kitul palm) has become a staple Sri Lankan dessert, although first introduced by the Malays
Sri Lankan Malays
The Malays of Sri Lanka originated in Southeast Asia and today consist of about 50,000 people...
.
Bibikkan- A rich, cake like sweet made from grated coconut, coconut treacle & flour. Originas in the coastal areas.
Kokis- A savoury crispy biscuit like dish made from flour.
Short eats
"Short eats" refers to a variety of snacks that are bought and eaten by the dozen from Short Eat shops and restaurants. These are eaten on the go mainly for breakfast or during the evening tea time.Short eats include pastries, Chinese rolls and patties
Patties
A pattie is a fried mashed potato dish, originating in the north-east of England. It is thought to have been invented in Kingston upon Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire where patties are readily available....
. A popular Short Eat among Tamils is the Mutton Roll, which is tender pieces of mutton with potato and seasoned with spices. This can be very hot and is served all over the world, where the Sri Lankan Tamil population is vast.
Other Short Eats:
- VadaVadaVada ; also known as wada or vade or vadai , is a savoury fritter-type snack from South India.-Description:Vada can vary in shape and size, but are usually either doughnut- or disc-shaped and are about between 5 and 8 cm across. They are made from dal, lentil, gram flour or potato.Vada is a...
- Dhal (Parippu) Vade, Ulundu Vade, Isso(Prawn) vade - Chinese Rolls or Egg Rolls
- Patties & Pastries recipe- Filled with veges/meat or Fish
Vegetable/fish Roti-a flatbread with a filling rolled in to a triangular shape & baked.
Short Eats are thought to the equivalent of Starters, and served at parties or to guests when they visit a home. Fast food such as hot dogs and hamburgers has arrived in Sri Lanka, with the Globalization of McDonald's
McDonald's
McDonald's Corporation is the world's largest chain of hamburger fast food restaurants, serving around 64 million customers daily in 119 countries. Headquartered in the United States, the company began in 1940 as a barbecue restaurant operated by the eponymous Richard and Maurice McDonald; in 1948...
, KFC
KFC
KFC, founded and also known as Kentucky Fried Chicken, is a chain of fast food restaurants based in Louisville, Kentucky, in the United States. KFC has been a brand and operating segment, termed a concept of Yum! Brands since 1997 when that company was spun off from PepsiCo as Tricon Global...
and Pizza Hut Fast-Food Chains, but these are not usually considered to be short eats. Hot dogs and hamburgers have also been modified to fit local tastes.
Beverages
- A very popular drink is Faluda, a mixed cold drink with syrup, ice cream, jelly pieces and basilBasilBasil, or Sweet Basil, is a common name for the culinary herb Ocimum basilicum , of the family Lamiaceae , sometimes known as Saint Joseph's Wort in some English-speaking countries....
seeds. - Fruit juices are popular in Sri Lanka, especially passionfruit juice
- Toddy, is a mildly alcoholic drink made from palm tree sapSapSap may refer to:* Plant sap, the fluid transported in xylem cells or phloem sieve tube elements of a plant* Sap , a village in the Dunajská Streda District of Slovakia...
. - Arrack is considered the de-facto distilled national drink by many.