What tapas is to Spain is what short-eats is to Sri Lanka. Deep-fried in hot, crackling oil, these spicy, savoury snacks are named exactly as they’re meant to be eaten — instantly. Now, what a short-eat actually is, is a variation of bite-sized delicacies stuffed with meat, vegetables, and the occasional egg, that may or may not be coated in breadcrumbs before being fried in huge pots of oil.
Easily found in every corner of any huge city or small town, be it in street carts or brimming in the glass or metal cases of sidewalk markets, these little delicacies are a living reminder of the island’s rich history of immigration with diverse influences that have readily been soaked in and transformed by the locals. Short-eats have since carved Sri Lanka’s distinct place in the often conflated cuisine of the South Asian subcontinent.
Mutton Rolls
Arriving with the Chinese, mutton rolls are a spin-off of the classic East Asian appetizer that is the spring roll. But unlike the paper-thin wheat flour square wrappers of the latter, the outer layer of the mutton roll is somewhat thicker, made simply with plain white flour, water and a pinch of salt. These circular wraps are packed tightly with a mutton-vegetable curry filling - soft, braised mutton cut into small pieces, but not minced to give you that bite, with potatoes and caramelised onions, spiced with black pepper, cumin, and a couple of green chillies for an added kick.
These are then dipped in a beaten egg mixture followed by breadcrumbs, before being deep-fried in sizzling oil until golden-brown. Either with some ketchup on the side or simply on its own, a bite into these mutton rolls is an explosion of flavours and textures like no other. You’ll find yourself having two, three, or more - we don’t judge.
Vadais
Made from urad dal, a form of lentils, these vegetarian fritters if you will, made its way to Sri Lanka along with incoming Tamils originating from South India. Preparing these is an arduous process, starting with having to soak the ural dal in water for a couple of hours before grinding. Having made these for years on end, the street peddlers work only by intuition, gauging the right amount of water, sprinkling in a little here and there whilst grinding to reach the perfect consistency of wet batter.
Add chopped onions, ginger, green chillies, coriander and curry leaves to the mix and now it’s all about speed. With sizzling hot oil in a pot, these skilled workers grab a ball of batter and make a hole in the middle to form a ring-like shape and lightly drop it in the oil, working quickly to put in the next before checking on the first so that it doesn’t burn too fast. Vadais are served best, dipped in some spicy tomato chutney - a South Asian vegetarian must-try.
Patties
Bearing an uncanny resemblance to empanadas, and perhaps more popularly known as curry puffs in Southeast Asia, patties are said to have arrived with the British but their transformation is a mix of distinct flavours and styles. These are a type of savoury pastry - rolled out dough cut into circular pieces and stuffed with a meat/fish-and-potatoes or vegetarian filling, sometimes with an added quarter of an egg.
The dough is then folded over with the edges sealed either by pressing down the edge of a fork, or by a recurrent curving over of the ends. While typically fried, for a healthier alternative, some cafés and bakeries alike opt for baking them off instead. Either way, they taste just as riveting as the other.
Fish Cutlets
Fish cutlets are a thing of science - unlike mutton rolls and patties, they lack an outer layer that holds the filling together. Made out of canned mackerel (or tuna for the more expensive sort) mixed with mashed potatoes, spiced with green chillies, pepper, and anything else that seems fit, you can’t help but wonder how it holds its shape on its own.
Well, the water content in the canned fish brings the potato mash and spices together, as they’re carefully moulded by hand for a good few minutes into little balls before being breaded. And of course, as every other short-eat, they’re fried in hot oil and served fresh and crispy.
