Travellers are attracted to Sri Lanka for its unsurpassed natural beauty and for boasting a rich culture that will have you excited to learn everything about it. When travelling to Sri Lanka, you also get to discover the exquisite local cuisine. Almost every dish revolves around rice and curry, cooked perfectly with coconut oil or coconut milk. Sri Lankan food is a mix of Indian, Portuguese, Dutch, and English cuisines, always with a local twist of delicious spices. Here are our top favourite dishes all the way from the Pearl of the Indian Ocean.
Kukul Mas Curry (Chicken Curry)
Chicken curry is a local dish that speaks volumes about the Sri Lankan cuisine. There are many variations to this dish all around the country. The most common one is made with spices like fennel seeds, cardamom, cloves, and cinnamon sticks. The spices are left soaking in hot oil and the chicken is then added along with more spices including chili powder, curry powder, turmeric, pandan leaves, lemongrass, and finally curry leaves. It doesn’t end there. The delicious base of the curry gravy owes its lovely taste to coconut milk. Sometimes, tomatoes are added for extra flavour. You have to try it with hot rice and
the excellent roti bread.
Ambul Thiyal (Sour Fish Curry)
As one would expect, seafood plays a very important role in the Sri Lankan cuisine. With so many shapes and forms for fish curry throughout the island, Ambul Thiyal is the most popular one. It consists of dried fish curry with a bit of a sour taste that comes from garoka, a small local fruit, and a range of spices including black pepper, cinnamon, turmeric, garlic, and curry leaves. This special delicacy is best enjoyed with rice.
Parippu (Dhal Curry)
Another famous type of curry sauce that will for sure satisfy those taste buds is Sri Lanka’s Dhal Curry. Found in all local restaurants, fresh ingredients like onions, tomatoes, and green chillies are sautéed and mixed with several spices like cumin seeds, turmeric, fenugreek, and mustard seeds. As usual, coconut milk is added to the mix for that special flavour and creamy texture you will get used to during your trip. The sauce is usually served with either chicken or beef along with rice ofcourse and is perfect for dipping using a fresh roti.
Kiribath (Milk Rice)
Milk rice is a signature local dish for festivities and special occasions. The rice is cooked with thick creamy coconut milk and in most restaurants is served with onion sambola or luna miris, a mix of onions and spices. Sometimes, it serves as a breakfast dish or a tasty dessert when the rice is cooked with bananas. We recommend you try this dish even if you’re not a fan of rice. You won’t regret it.
Lamprais
The Sri Lankan cuisine is highly influenced by the Dutch community and a perfect example of that is the Lamprais. The name of the dish is a combination of two Dutch words for “lamb” and “rice.” Lamprais is usually a perfect mix of meat, rice, and sambol chilli sauce all wrapped up nicely in a banana leaf which is then steamed. The rice itself is cooked with meat stock or a combination of different kinds of meat and flavoured with cardamom, clove, and cinnamon. Any meat-lover will truly appreciate this dish.
By Amal Ahmed
