Srilankan Food – Ultimate Must Try Dishes
What comes to your mind when you think of Srilankan food? “Too spicy”? I don’t blame you. However, the use of the term “too-spicy” itself creates a lot of confusion between if the food has too many chilies, or simply if it’s made with lots of spices like cinnamon, turmeric, cloves, cumin, etc. Well, the truth is, Srilankan food is nothing without all these spices, however just by adding these will not make a curry spicy (hot). Most of the meat curries are spicy (hot) because in addition to the usual spices they put a bit more of red chilies to have a punch. This makes the curry turn into red color. (so basically 99% of the time if the curry is red in color it means they have put a lot of red chilies) So simply ‘spicy’ in Sri Lankan context means “hot” (again, not referring to the temperature”).
Srilankan food is not always about spicy curries and rice. Through years of colonization and influence from various countries, Sri Lanka has a blend of interesting dishes in different flavors and colors in their cuisine.
Before we start with our list, let me tell you the base ingredients and the reasons why Srilankans use various types of spices. Sri Lanka is an island nation of which history dates back to 5th century BC. (more than 2000 years) Sri Lanka’s ancient civilizations were incredibly advanced and their life was very much connected with the ingredients of nature. Since ancient times Srilankans knew all the wondrous health benefits of these spices and is the main reason for the use of various spices in their cuisine other than to bring out flavors into food. The base ingredient is coconut milk(scraped coconut kernel extract) for all the curries. They use coconut oil for frying and sauteing. Freshly grated coconut kernel is used to make salads (‘sambol’ is the local term). Basically, in every house, they start cooking with a freshly cracked coconut. Yes, this is true and they believe the use of fresh ingredients is the secret for a delicious curry.
Here’s the list of ultimate must-try dishes in Sri Lanka
@thunapahadiaries
Rice & Curry
Rice and curry is the most colorful meal you’re going to have because it always differs from the curries you get or select. Usually, Srilankans eat rice and curry for lunch even though you can have it for dinner and breakfast as well. Breakfast curries are always very light compared to lunch and dinner and will not have more varieties.
Breakfast example – (Red rice / Dhal / Fish or Egg curry / Coconut Sambol)
For lunch, you can expect the unexpected, meaning Srilankans can turn almost all the vegetables and even some fruits into curries. The most famous is Dhal curry (lentil). Usually, dhal curry is not a spicy one on the menu. So ranging from types of lentils to carrot, beetroot, green beans, potato, Cauliflower, cucumber to some unheard tropical veggies like snake god, bitter god, lotus root and mango curry will be available depending on the season. All types of meat & seafood curries will be available too. So when it comes to meat and seafood, most of the time these curries will be very spicy or at least have a medium amount of spiciness. White rice blends with any of the curries while red rice blends with a few. Also, there’s a special type of aromatic rice called ‘Yellow Rice’. Made using white rice cooked in coconut milk instead of water and while turmeric brings out the yellow color, sauteed spices make the rice very aromatic.
Bonus – when serving your plate, avoid taking gravy from meat curries but only the pieces so in this case, you will not mess your meal with spicy corners. (thank me by sharing this post)
@srilankan_chic_holidays
Hoppers (Appa)
Hoppers are one of the iconic food in Sri Lanka made of rice or wheat flour and coconut milk. As tourists like to call it “Srilankan pancake”. Hoppers are cooked in a unique WOK type round pan to have a soft bottom and crispy thin edges. Mainly you get plain hoppers, egg hoppers, and pani appa(sweet hoppers). Sweet hoppers are not very common and usually available in the late afternoon as a snack. Plain hoppers & egg hoppers are served for breakfast and dinner with curries and a spicy paste called ‘lunu miris’ (made with onions, red chilies, and lime) Egg hoppers with prawn curry is a great combination to try.
Pol Roti (Coconut Roti)
Pol roti is a common breakfast you can find easily anywhere in Sri Lanka. A dough made with wheat flour or kurakkan flour (finger millet) freshly grated coconut, water, and salt. Small flattened dough balls are cooked on a hot griddle and served then and therewith curries and coconut sambol. Coconut sambol is a salad made with grated coconut, dried red chilies, onions, green chilies, dried fish crumbs, tomatoes, salt, and a splash of lime. You can also eat pol roti with butter and jam.
@kottulabs.lk
Kottu Roti
Kottu roti is the most famous street food in Sri Lanka. As the nightfall, you will start to hear music or rather a metal drum beat often at roadside restaurants. Well, that’s the sound of Kottu Roti. Kottu roti is originated in Sri Lanka & is a dinner meal that you can find in any corner of Sri Lanka and the dish is made in minutes. Kottu is made with shredded ‘Gothamba Roti’ stir-fried on a griddle with veggies, eggs, meat & served with some curry. You can order vegetarian, chicken, fish, beef, egg and the most famous is Chicken Cheese Kottu Roti. Kottu is a spicy meal but when ordering you can ask to make it mildly spicy. The other main thing about kottu is that even though you find it in every corner, most of the places will not serve tasty ones. So be sure to find a classic place to try kottu or else you will not get the authentic flavor.
@istubistukitchen
String Hoppers (Indi Appa)
String hoppers are made of rice or wheat flour batter, squeezed into noodles and steamed. Srilankans eat string hoppers for breakfast and dinner along with different types of curries and coconut sambol is a must.
Fried Rice
Fried rice is everywhere! The fastest lunch or dinner is having a bowl of fried rice. Although this is originated from Cantonese cuisine, Srilankans are experts and can’t beat em. Srilankans can make fried rice faster than any fast-food restaurant’s burger. Any restaurant would serve fried rice and you can order veg, chicken, egg, or seafood and they’ll serve you in minutes.
@istubistukitchen
Quick Bites / Short eats / Bakery
Quick bites are the best of Srilankan fast-food. Small bakeries are a common stop for any Srilankan for a grab and go bite. Ranging from different types of buns, pastries, fried spring rolls, patties, cutlets, pies, types of cakes and sweets etc..you name it, they have it. Most of the good bakeries are found in Colombo but the bakery ‘P&S’ is island-wide, so hop in and grab a bite whenever you feel hungry on the way while traveling.
@therookieepicure
Matured Jackfruit Curry / Kiri Koss
Jackfruit is the largest tree-grown fruit in the world, weighing about 10 – 15Kg’s. Before the jack fruit ripes, Srilankans make curries from the fruit in three different stages. When it’s very young they make a curry called ‘Polos’, cut into big pieces and cooked as spicy curry. In the second stage, they make a cooked salad called ‘Mallum’ (diced jackfruit cooked with grated coconut). In the third stage before the fruit ripe, comes to the tastiest dish ‘Kiri Koss’. The fruit cooked with aromatic spices and coconut milk is an unspicy curry that has a mashy texture.
@thestation.lk
Hot Butter Cuttlefish
Srilankans love their seafood. They make various types of curries and dishes out of seafood but this hot butter cuttlefish is out of the world. Usually, they eat this as finger food with drinks or especially ‘Arrack’ (Arrack is an alcoholic beverage similar to whiskey but made out of coconut sap or toddy). Battered deep-fried cuttlefish, stir-fried with onions, spring onions, capsicums, and chilies will surely take you to another world.
@thestation.lk
Srilankan Mud Crab Curry
Srilankan lagoon mud crabs are bulky and full of juicy meat. When it comes to making crab there’s no one to beat northern (Jaffna) Tamil people. Since not many travelers visit Jaffna you can try this Jaffna style mud crab curry at some restaurants in Colombo or Negombo. This spicy curry is great to have with roast paan (Roasted bread). Be prepared to be messy with these crabs!
@istubistukitchen
Devilled Chicken /Pork
Devilled chicken or pork made with deep-fried meat stir-fried with big chunks of onions, garlic, capsicum, tomatoes, and green chilies and dried red chilies. This is also very much a spicy finger bite for drinks but also can have it with egg fried rice.
@the_bellephant
Carrot Sambol (Carrot Salad)
Finely grated carrot mixed with chopped onions, tomatoes, green chilies, salt, pepper and a dash of lime will be a favorite for any salad lover. You can have this dish with rice and other curries.
@chefmaldesilva
Wambatu Moju (Eggplant Curry)
The unique taste of this dish has left most people speechless. Deep-fried eggplant slices then stir-fried with onions, green chilies, tomatoes, and spices is a delicious explosion. This curry is best with yellow rice and curry meal.
@ceylon_tastes
Mango Curry
A seasonal curry not to miss when traveling in Sri Lanka. Unripe mangoes are cooked with spices and coconut milk is a unique curry to experience. This curry has a very complex flavor ranging sweet to sour.
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Well now that your mouth is a bit spiced up with Srilankan curries let me sweeten you with a traditional Srilankan dessert.
@upaliscolombo
Curd with Treacle
Curd is made out of buffalo milk and a type of sour yogurt. You can also use this as sour cream but locals eat this as a dessert. Treacle is a type of sweet syrup made out of the palm sugar and similar to maple syrup. A combination of these two is a tasty soothing dessert.
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