Whilst having significant parallels to the opposite region bordering the Indian ocean, South India, the distinct space Sri Lankan cuisine occupies in the subcontinent isn’t to be underestimated. With a dense history of immigration and colonialism, the unique blend of disparate flavours, skillfully woven by the country’s diverse ethnic communities, transcend culinary borders in every way. As an island with the ideal tropical climate, you’ll find that coconuts and seafood, on top of the abundance of spices, form an integral part of the dishes here. We bring you a complete round-up of all the foods you ought to try in Sri Lanka, from sweet to sour and everything in-between.
Hoppers, appam
A breakfast (or even dinner) favourite, the clash of textures in an appam beats any version of a pancake. Made with slightly-fermented rice flour, coconut milk, and a little sugar, these are cooked in small curved woks where a ladle of the batter is swirled around, giving you thin, crispy edges while leaving a soft, thick centre.
In Tamil regions, you’ll find milk hoppers, which are a step above the aforementioned plain ones, with an extra coconut milk centre to give just that added creamy sweetness. It’s hard to go wrong with the classics but for a savoury touch, we recommend going for the egg hoppers - cracked right in the middle with a runny yolk. Things might get a little messy here but we assure you, it’s worth every bite!
Eggplant pickle, wambatu moju
Typically served with rice, wambatu moju is a candied eggplant pickle that has plenty of variations across the different regions in Sri Lanka. Eggplants are cut into wedges and deep-fried in coconut oil until tender. These are then caramelised with vinegar and a spoon of sugar before being stir-fried with a range of spices which, depending on where on the island you’re having it, include chili powder, ground mustard seeds, and cloves among others. As you can probably tell from the ingredients, the explosion of sweet, sour, and saltiness, all in one soft and juicy bite will only leave you wanting more.
String hoppers, idiyappam
While similar in name, this dinner classic is nothing like the sweet hoppers you saw just a while earlier. Idiyappam is made from a much thicker rice flour dough, pressed through a string hopper maker into thin noodle-like strands that are formed as neat circles over woven bamboo plates. These plates are then steamed and string hoppers served hot.
If you’re wondering where the coconut fits in this story, well, it’s in the pol sambol that often accompanies it on the side. A relish of sorts, this is a simple mix of finely shredded coconut, chilli powder or even whole dried chillies, red onions, and a squeeze of lime juice. Take a little scoop of it with your string hoppers and enjoy!
Kottu roti
When you’re out on the streets and hear pulsing metal-on-metal clanking, you can be sure that you’re not far from a kottu stall. The beloved Sri Lankan street food is all things greasy and everything you would want in comfort food. Its name is derived from exactly how it’s prepared - kottu, meaning chopped (hence the clanking), and roti, referring to crispy flat bread, familiarly known as roti prata in Southeast Asia.
An array of spices (not limited to) ginger, garlic, curry leaves, chili, cardamom, cinnamon, and pandan leaves are first fried - the intense aromas of this alone will sway you towards the stall. Different shredded vegetables and seasoned slices of beef or chicken are then added before the chopped pieces of roti (vegetarian options are also available!). Everything is stir-fried and finally topped with eggs, scrambled along in the mix. Served with spicy curry sauce, the flavour profile of this dish will take you to another level.
Polos
Polos is a standard Sinhalese dish that you’ll find in almost every restaurant in the city areas. Prepared with young green jackfruit, this is a traditional curry where the unripe fruit is first sliced into chunks and boiled until soft. It is then cooked with onions, garlic, ginger and, of course, not forgetting the all-important spices including turmeric, chili powder, roasted curry powder, mustard seeds, and pandan leaves. Towards the end, coconut milk is added and the curry is left to simmer until most of the liquid has been reduced. This final step leaves most of the flavours trapped within the cubes of jackfruit giving you a punch with every bite.
Lamprais
Courtesy of the Dutch Burghers, lamprais is a dish named after a combination of the Dutch words for ‘lump’ and ‘rice’. The rice is first cooked in meat stock, infused with sweet spices like cardamom, clove and cinnamon that are particular to the community. Along with a mixed meat curry of lamb, beef, and pork, frikkadels (Dutch meatballs), shrimp paste, and ash plantains, a scoop of rice is placed on a banana leaf that is then wrapped into a parcel and steamed or baked slowly. Cooked with patience and love, lamprais is a taste of home.
Sour fish curry, ambul thiyal
With its origins in southern Sri Lanka, fish ambul thiyal is one of the most renowned varieties of fish curries in the country. Unlike most others of its kind, the lifeline that is coconut milk isn’t used in this dish. Appearing more as a ‘dry’ curry, a large fish, usually tuna, is first cut into cubes and sautéed first with your typical spices like black pepper, turmeric, garlic, cinnamon, pandan and curry leaves.
But a special ingredient is then added - dried goraka, a tamarind-like fruit that gives the fish its characteristic, tart, sour flavour. Left to simmer with just a little water, as the liquid reduces, the spice mixture wraps itself around each cube of fish. We promise this unique curry tastes equally as incredible as every other coconut-milk based one you’ll find across the country.
Crab curry
A Jaffna specialty, the crab curry is a symbol of traditional Tamil cuisine. Conveniently along the coast of the Indian Ocean at the northern tip of the island, the mud crabs readily available here are like no other. A blend of curry leaves, ginger, onions, garlic, cinnamon, turmeric, fenugreek seeds, and red chili peppers are first roasted before the crabs are added along with coconut milk and some lime juice. The curry is then left to simmer until a thick consistency is reached and the crabs are fully cooked through.
Tender, sweet crab meat set in spicy gravy and served with rice, this gloriously flavourful dish is probably the best curry you’ll ever get to taste in the world, let alone Sri Lanka. Cracking the claws and shells to get to the good stuff is an experience you wouldn’t want to miss.
