Top 10 Sri Lankan Food For First Time Travellers – Sri Lanka is emerging as an Asian hotspot with its stellar combination of World Heritage sites, wildlife, history, rich culture, pristine beaches, and friendly people. For travelers, it’s feast for all the senses.
The teardrop-shaped island of Sri Lanka off the southern tip of India is a tropical paradise with picture-perfect beaches, ancient Buddhist temples, and exotic wildlife. But for food lovers, Sri Lanka’s vibrant mix of cultural influences makes it a culinary wonderland. Now a traveller’s paradise, Sri Lanka offers a bounty of delicious flavours for the food lovers. Here are the top 10 Sri Lankan food for the first time travelers and seasoned travelers alike.
Tips for Eating Sri Lankan Food with Hands
There are a few simple etiquette rules to be aware of when eating with your hands:
- only use one hand (normally your dominant one)
- don’t let food get past the second knuckles or onto your palm (you should only be mixing with your forefingers, not your entire hand)
- don’t lick your fingers after eating (there’s always a sink and tap at the side of restaurants to wash your hands both before and after eating)
Top 10 Sri Lankan Food for First Time Travellers
1) Kottu Roti
It’s common to hear the rhythmic clank of the kottu maker on the streets – it’s the ultimate Sri Lankan street food. It’s basically a stir-fry which originated as a simple way of dealing with extra roti of the day.
Featuring pieces of roti (bread) mixed together with finely shredded vegetables or pieces of meat, soy sauce, spices, ginger and garlic, on a flat iron skillet using two metal cleavers with wooden handles. You can usually find it in the evenings on the many street stalls, which make use of the ingredients of the day!
2) Lamprais
Originating from a Dutch word that translates as ‘a packet of food’, this is a dish usually made by the Burgher community, who are descendants of colonial Europeans. It consists of boiled eggs, eggplant, frikkadels (Dutch-style beef balls), mixed meats (soya for vegetarians) and sambol. However overtime the varieties of meat have evolved to include diverse flavors as well.
Infused with cardamom, cloves, cinnamon and rice the mix is then wrapped in a banana leaf and baked in the oven at a low temperature for several hours.
3) Dhal Curry
Rice and curry is Sri Lankan comfort food. Dhal curry is made from red lentils (masoor dhal) cooked in coconut milk. Onions, tomatoes and fresh green chillies are sautéed and mixed with tempered spices like cumin seeds, turmeric, fenugreek, mustard seeds and pandan leaves. This is even more delicious when made in an earthen pot.
4) Gotu Kola Mallung (salad)
Mallung is very much a part of the Sri Lankan diet. They deliver a dose of vitamins to a meal loaded with carbs and protein while adding colourful aesthetic appeal. Mallum or mallung is made with chopped greens and chillies then seasoned with salt, pepper and lemon juice as well as ginger, shallots and a sprinkling of fresh grated coconut. Gotu kola leaves (Asiatic pennywort) are used to make a tangy, salad-like tabbouleh.
5) Eggplant (wambatu) moju
One of the most celebrated classic Sri Lankan dishes with plenty of regional variations. It tastes like a caramelised pickle and is usually served with rice. The eggplant slices are deep-fried until brown and then combined with chilli powder, ground mustard seeds, cloves, salt, sugar and vinegar to create a piquant dark saucy moju. This is then added to fried shallots, crushed garlic and shredded ginger and served with plain rice and other curries.
6) Egg Hoppers with Sambol (Appa)
Hoppers are basically the Sri Lankan version of thin pancakes with crispy edges. These crepe-like bowls are made from fermented rice flour, coconut milk, coconut water and a little sugar. A ladle of batter is fried in a small wok and swirled around to even it out. An egg is cracked into a bowl-shaped pancake as it cooks. Traditionally, hoppers were cooked at home over coconut-shell embers.
Egg hoppers are garnished with lunu miris – a sambol of onions, chilies, lemon juice and salt. Pol sambol, which might also be called fresh coconut relish, is a simple blend of finely grated coconut, red onions, dried whole chilies, lime juice, salt and a little fish. It is sprinkled over almost everything! Research tells us it may have originated in Indonesia, but it is found all over Sri Lanka.
7) Wood Apple Juice
If you walk through a market in Sri Lanka, your nose will lead you to the wood apple stall – it’s a South Asian fruit with a brown paste inside the hard shell. The fruit has many health benefits and aids digestion. A favourite with the locals is a wood apple smoothie, a blend with jaggery and water.
8) Green Jackfruit Curry (polos)
Jackfruit, both the unripe and ripe fruit is very popular in the country. The young green jackfruit called polos is sliced into small chunks and boiled until soft. It’s then cooked with onions, garlic, ginger and spices such as mustard seeds, turmeric, chili powder, curry powder and pandan leaves. Coconut milk has to be added towards the end and simmered to reduce most of the liquid, leaving all the beautiful flavors within the cubes of jackfruit!
9) Fish Ambul Thiyal (sour fish curry)
This peppery fish dish originated in Southern Sri Lanka as a method to preserve fish. Cubed fish (usually tuna) is sautéed in a blend of spices including black pepper, cinnamon, turmeric, garlic, pandan leaves and curry leaves. The most significant ingredient is dried goraka, a tamarind-like fruit that gives the fish its distinctive, tart flavour.
All the ingredients are simmered with a small amount of water and cooked until the liquid reduces. This allows the spice mixture to coat each cube of fish and makes a dry curry.
10) Watalappan
Malay-influenced Watalappan, which is very popular with Sri Lankan Muslims, is a must for their religious festivals. It’s a rich steamed egg custard made with Kitul jaggery, coconut milk and spices like cinnamon, cardamom and nutmeg. Air bubbles keep the thick dessert from getting too heavy. This is a popular dessert across the country.
Conclusion
Every dish, from fiery curries to creamy coconut treats, has a story shaped by centuries of trade, colonial influences and deep-rooted traditions. There is no way to be neutral to Sri Lankan street food – one can love it or hate it. Certainly, it is going to be spicy but the explosion of taste compensates for this. As much as it is good to eat spicy food in a hot climate, which results in higher water intake, it is also good for the pocket.
FAQs on Top 10 Sri Lankan Food for First Time Travellers
Q1. What are the Sri Lankan Essential Spices?
A: Sri Lankan cuisine is full of amazing flavors and unique ingredients. The essential spices include curry leaves, cinnamon, cardamom, cloves, and black pepper. These spices make the dishes taste incredible and are used in almost every recipe.
Q2. What are the Sri Lankan Traditional Cooking Methods?
A: Traditional cooking methods in Sri Lanka are fascinating. One common technique is slow-cooking, which helps the flavors blend perfectly. Clay pot cooking is another traditional method, where food is cooked in clay pots to give it a unique taste. Tempering, a method where spices are fried in oil to release their flavors, is often used to finish dishes.
Q3. What makes the way Sri Lankans dine so unique?
A: Sri Lanka offers unique dining experiences that are both fun and culturally rich. Eating with hands is a common practice, and it has its own significance and etiquette. It’s all about connecting with the food and enjoying its flavors more deeply.
Q4. What are the Most Famous Local Beverages in Sri Lanka?
A: When visiting Sri Lanka, you have to try the amazing local drinks. Ceylon tea is famous worldwide and tastes best when you drink it fresh. It’s a must-have for tea lovers. Another cool drink is toddy, which comes from palm trees. It has a unique taste and is often enjoyed by the locals. Fresh coconut water is super refreshing, especially on hot days. You can sip it straight from a coconut!
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