Sri Lankan Cuisine

 Sri Lankan Cuisine

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

• Herbs: 

Pandan leaf, Curry leaf, Goraka (Garcinia morella), Lemongrass, Tamarind, Garlic, Ginger, Lime, Pepper,

• Fish: 

Maldives fish, dried fish, mackerel, tuna, shark, sprats, fermented preserved fish.

• Grains: 

white rice (some common varieties are Samba, Kekulu, and Suwandel), red rice (some common varieties are Kekulu, Pachchaperumal, Kaluheenati, and Madathawalu), olu haal (water lily seed) Kurakkan (Finger Millet), Meneri (Foxtail Millet), Green Gram, Black Gram (Undu), Cowpea, Sesame (Thala),

• Meats: 

chicken, beef, pork, mutton,

• Oils: 

coconut oil, sesame oil, ghee, mustard oil,

• Spices: 

cinnamon, black pepper, fennel, cardamom, cloves, fenugreek, nutmeg, mace, cumin, coriander, turmeric,                          Related  Article  : Sri Lankan Spices

• Vegetables

Ash Plantains, Ambarella, Beans, Brinjals, Beetroot, Bitter Gourd, Bell Pepper, Basil Leaves, Batanaa(Bottle Gourd), Beans, Bread Fruit, Broccoli, Big Onion, Carrot, Cabbage, Cucumber, Cauliflower, Curry Leave, Capsicum, Cabbage Leaves, Chow Chow, Dambala (Winged Bean), Fresh Kathurumurunga Leaves, Fresh Mint Leaves, Fresh Kohila leaves, Green Chillies, Gotukola Fresh, Garlic, Ginger, Jack Fruit, Kohila, Kiriala, Kankun Fresh, Kekiri, Knol Khol, Leeks, Ladies Fingers, Lemon Grass, Lotus Yam, Lime, Mukunuwanna fresh, Mushroom, Manioc, Moringa Drumsticks, Niwithiya (spinach leaves), Onion Leaves, Pumpkin, Parsley, Plantain Flower, Potatoes, Raddish, Ribbed Groud, Red Onion, Sweet Potatoe, Snake Gourd, Salad Leaves, Tomatoes, Thumba Karwila, Thalana Batu (egg plant), Tibbatu(wild eggplant),

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.

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 (Milk Rice)

Kiribath (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.

• Hoppers

Hoppers 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 either be 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.

• Kottu

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

• String hoppers

String hoppers 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.

• Lamprais

A Dutch Burgher-influenced dish, lamprais is rice boiled in stock accompanied by frikkadels (frikadeller meatballs), a mixed-meat curry, blachan, aubergine curry, and seeni sambol. All of this is then wrapped in a banana leaf and baked in an oven. Lamprais is ideal for special occasions with large gatherings considering its richness and the time it takes to prepare. Lamprais is cooked twice; first the rice and the entrees are cooked separately and later what is already cooked is wrapped in a banana leaf and baked in an oven.

• Jaffna Fish Curry

Jaffna Fish Curry is a seafood broth from Jaffna containing crab, fish, cuttlefish, prawns, and crayfish. It also contains long beans, jak seeds, manioc, spinach, and tamarind. The dish is thickened with palmyra root flour.

• 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, It doesn’t need yeast or any kind of a leavening agent. Another variant is spicy roti, in which chopped onions and green chilies are used when making the dough.

• Sambal

Sambals 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. 

• Mallung

Mallung is a condiment or side dish, comprising chopped greens which are lightly cooked and mixed with grated coconut and red onions. 

• Achcharu (pickle)

also known as Sri Lankan  pickle or maley pickle simply as dish that originated from the local  and Malay community and is now widely popular among all ethnic groups in the country.It is a selection of vegetables in a pickled sauce and blends sweet, sour and spicy flavours.

•  Sri Lankan Chinese

Chinese restaurants have been staple dining-out options for many Sri Lankans, especially in Colombo, since the 1940s. Over time, the cuisine was adapted to suit the local palate, and Sri Lankan Chinese food was born. Several dishes and condiments - such as Hot butter cuttlefish and Chinese Chili paste - have become firm local favorites and are commonly found in most restaurants and supermarkets.

• Babath

Babath or offal consists of the stomach of cattle or goats. It is cooked as a curry or deep fried and eaten with rice or more famously with Pittu. Its origins are associated with the Sri Lankan Malay community but it is very common among the Moors community as well. The preparation of babath also consists of Kodal or the intestines of the animal.

• Nasi goreng

Nasi goreng are popular street food dishes in the country, a result of cultural influences from Indonesia and the country's local Malay community.

• Ambulthiyal | Blackened sour fish

A traditional dish featuring fish marinated in a tangy, spicy paste made from garcinia and a blend of spices, then simmered until dry.

• Bamboo Biriyani

Bamboo biryani is a dish where spiced rice, vegetables, and/or meat are slow-cooked inside a hollow bamboo stalk, imparting an earthy, smoky flavor and aroma. The dish combines traditional biryani elements with the unique cooking method, which originated with tribal communities and has become a unique culinary experience found in places like India and Sri Lanka.

• Roast Paan (Roast Bread)

Roast paan, also known as “Thati paan” in Sinhalese, is a Sri Lankan bread.

Popular for its crust, extra crispy texture and flat shape, this type of bread is made by local bakeries. roast paan mainly uses to serve with curries for breakfast or dinner. 

Related  Article  : "Sri Lankan Cuisine" chapter 2      "Sri Lankan Cuisine" chapter 3

                                        : "Sri Lankan Cuisine" chapter 4