Culinary traditions of Sri Lanka
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
.
[1]
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.
Regions
[
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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.
[2]
Common ingredients
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Spices:
cinnamon
,
black pepper
,
fennel
,
cardamom
,
cloves
,
fenugreek
,
nutmeg
,
mace
,
cumin
,
coriander
,
turmeric
Herbs:
pandan leaf
(rampe)
,
curry leaf
(karapincha)
,
coriander leaf
,
shallot
,
goraka
,
lemongrass
,
tamarind
,
garlic
,
ginger
,
lime
,
cayenne pepper
,
tabasco 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),
finger millet
,
hog millet
,
olu haal
(water lily seed)
[3]
Oils:
coconut oil
,
sesame oil
, cow
ghee
, buffalo ghee,
mustard oil
Sweetners:
kithul
jaggery
, coconut jaggery,
palmyrah
jaggery
Vegetables and greens:
gotukola
,
green papaya
,
snake beans
,
bitter melon
,
snake gourd
,
luffa
,
pumpkin
,
winged bean
,
moringa
Meats:
chicken
,
beef
,
pork
,
mutton
Yams, roots and tubers:
lotus root
,
purple yam
,
tapico
,
kohila
(Lasia spinosa),
Arrowleaf elephant's ear
Other:
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.
Fruits:
bananas
,
mangoes
,
pineapple
,
soursop
,
guava
,
avocado
,
orange
Dishes
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Rice and curry
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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
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Kiribath
or
paal soru
(
lit.
'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.
Kottu
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]
Kottu is a spicy stir-fry of shredded
roti
bread with vegetables. Optional ingredients include
eggs
,
meat
, or
cheese
. It was invented in Batticaloa and literally means 'chopped roti' in
Tamil
.
Hoppers
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]
Hoppers (
appa
in Sinhala) 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 be either spicy (such as egg hoppers, milk hoppers, and string hoppers), or sweet (such as
vandu appa
and
pani appa)
.
[4]
Spicy hoppers are often accompanied by
lunu miris
, a mix of red onions and spices.
String hoppers
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String hoppers (
idiyappa
in Sinhala) 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
[
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]
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.
Kool
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Kool 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
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]
Pittu
[5]
are cylinders of steamed or roasted rice flour mixed with grated
coconut
.
[6]
Roti
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]
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.
[7]
Another variant is spicy roti, in which chopped onions and green chilies are used when making the dough.
Sambal
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Sambals (
Sambol
in Sinhala) are enjoyed with many dishes including curry dishes and string hoppers.
[8]
Seeni sambol
,
Pol sambol
,
Lunumiris
, Gotukola sambal
and
Vaalai kai sambal
are common
sambols
found in the country.
Mallung
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Mallung is a condiment or side dish, comprising chopped greens which are lightly cooked and mixed with grated coconut and red onions.
Malay
achcharu
[
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]
Malay
achcharu
, also known as Sri Lankan Malay pickle or simply as
achcharu
is a dish that originated from the
local Malay community
and is now widely popular among all ethnic groups in the country.
[9]
[10]
It is a selection of vegetables in a pickled sauce and blends sweet, sour and spicy flavours.
[11]
Chinese chili paste
[
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]
Chinese chili paste is a condiment eaten alongside Sri Lankan-style Chinese dishes.
[12]
Babath
[
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]
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 Moor community as well. The preparation of babath also consists of Kodal or the in states of the animal.
[13]
Sate
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]
Sate
is of Indonesian origin and has become a staple of the Sri Lankan diet.
[14]
They are served with peanut and chili sauce.
[15]
Ekor sop
[
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]
Ekor sop
,
oxtail soup
, is a delicacy of the Sri Lankan Malay community.
[16]
[17]
Nasi goreng and mee goreng
[
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]
Nasi goreng
(
Sinhala
:
???? ??????
) and
mee goreng
are popular street food dishes in the country, a result of cultural influences from Indonesia and the country's local Malay community.
[18]
[19]
[20]
Sweets
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A common dessert in Sri Lanka is
kevum
, an
oil cake
made with rice flour and
treacle
and deep-fried to a golden brown. There are many variations of kevum.
Moong Kevum
is a variant where
mung bean
flour is made into a paste and shaped like diamonds before frying. Other types of kevum include athiraha, konda kevum, athirasa, and handi kevum.
Many sweets are served with
kiribath
milk rice during the
Sinhalese
and
Tamil New Years
.
Other sweets include:
Cakes and pastries:
- Aluwa
- Diamond-shaped rice-flour pastries
- Bolo fiado
- A Portuguese-style layer cake
- Bibikkan
- A rich, cake-like sweet made from grated coconut, coconut treacle, and wheat flour. It is a specialty of coastal areas.
- Kokis
- A savoury crispy biscuit-like dish made from rice flour and
coconut milk
.
- Pushnambu / Wandu Appa - A rich, cake-like sweet made from coconut treacle and wheat flour. Cinnamon/
cardamom
and sweet
cumin
is often added among the Christian population of Sri Lanka.
- Seenakku
- a glutinous rice cake often served with grated coconut.
[15]
Treacle-flavored sweets:
- Undu Walalu/Undu wal or Pani walalu - A sweet from the Mathale area, prepared using
urad bean
flour and
kithul
treacle.
- Aggala - Rice balls flavored with
treacle
- Weli Thalapa - Made from
rice flour
and coconut treacle
- Aasmi
- Made with
rice flour
and the juice of a leaf called
dawul kurundu
(
okra
juice can be used as a substitute), deep fried and topped with pink-coloured treacle.
Puddings and toffees:
- Kalu Dodol
- A solid
toffee
-, jelly-like confection made by lengthy reduction of coconut milk, thickened with rice flour and sweetened with
jaggery
.
- Watalappam
- A steamed pudding made with
coconut milk
,
eggs
, and jaggery. First introduced by the
Malay
immigrants, watalappam has become a staple of Sri Lankan desserts.
Other sweets:
- Thala Guli
- Made from ground
sesame
and jaggery with finely grated coconut.
- Kiri aluwa
or Milk Toffee - Made with sweetened
condensed milk
or sugar-thickened pure cow's milk. Cardamom/sweet cumin and cashews are added for more taste.
- Sri Lankan sweets
-
Konda Kevum
-
Kokis
-
Kalu Dodol
-
Sri Lankan Swiss roll
Short eats
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"
Short eats
" are a variety of snacks that are bought by the dozen from "short eat" shops and restaurants. These are eaten on the go, mainly for breakfast or during the evening.
Short eats include
pastries
, Chinese rolls and
patties
. Other short eats include:
- Vade
- savoury deep-fried fritters made from various ingredients. Varieties include
parippu vade
(lentils),
ulundu vade
(black gram and rice), isso (shrimp) vade, crab vade
- Chinese rolls or
egg rolls
, which often contain minced meats, potatoes, and vegetables
- Patties and pastries - filled with vegetables, meat, or fish
- Vegetable/fish roti - a flatbread with a filling rolled into a triangular shape and baked
- Fish buns/Malu pan - A soft fluffy bun filled with a spicy potato and mackerel filling. Best for a savory breakfast or as a snack or to serve with tea.
[21]
Short eats are served at parties or to guests when they visit a home. Western food such as hot dogs and hamburgers have arrived in Sri Lanka, with the
globalization
of fast-food chains such as
McDonald's
,
KFC
and
Pizza Hut
. However, foods from these establishments are not usually considered short eats. Additionally, hot dogs and hamburgers are also modified to fit local tastes.
Beverages
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Beverages commonly served in Sri Lanka include:
See also
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References
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External links
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