What to Eat in Sri Lanka
When it comes to Sri Lankan food, there are two things you need to know.
Rice and curry.
These two are staples when it comes to any type of meal served. I could fill this list with 20 different types of curries and their variations for you to get the point but I will try my best to mix it up. While it’s easy to assume that Sri Lankan food is typically Indian, the variety of flavors and spices differ, shaping a unique taste which is a treat to anyone traveling this region. So get your taste buds ready as here are a few of our top picks of must try dishes while in Sri Lanka.
Must Try Dishes
Fish Ambul Thiyal (Sour Fish Curry)
Fish curries are one of the most usual dishes that you will find anywhere in Sri Lanka which is served with some rice and often accompanied with a few side dishes. The curry itself is very flavorful and includes some distinct flavors like turmeric, pandan leaves, and a tamarind like fruit called goraka which gives it the sourness. The whole thing is cooked and simmered to perfection until you get a dry curry that is often insanely spicy yet super flavorful.
Parippu (Dhal Curry)
This vegetarian staple is one of the most common types of curry that you can find in Sri Lanka. They often use red lentils and boil and simmer it with spices until soft. The dhal curry is then topped with a splash of fresh coconut milk, often added to give it a light yet creamy flavor. Dhal is often eaten with either rice or roti.
Wambatu Moju (candied eggplant)
Often served as a pickled side dish with curries, these candied eggplants are delicious! Deep fried, sliced, then caramelized with lots of oil, salt, sugar, and soysauce, this eggplant dish is the perfect side dish. It is sweet, savory and sour, working perfectly well with the spiciness of the curries that they often serve it with.
Appa (Hoppers)
If you’re looking for something slightly sweet, Sri Lanka has their own version of pancakes. Similar to pancake batter, they ladle it on to a wok and swirl it around, making it either a sweet or savory dish. You can order it plain, or with an egg in the middle. The egg hoppers are then served with a spicy sambal sauce to add flavor. You can also find string hoppers which is made from a thicker rice flour which they squeeze into noodle like consistency, steam, then serve with….you’ve guessed right, curry!
Kukul Mas Curry (Chicken curry)
Similar to the Philippines national dish, adobo, there are multiple variations to Kukul Mas. Every single one is different so narrowing it down to one flavor is rather difficult. However, no matter what they put, the end result is almost always a delicious blend of coconut and spices. A bowl of kukul mas served with a bowl of hot rice and freshly made roti is to die for!
Polos (Jackfruit curry)
While I literally wasn’t kidding when I said that Sri Lankans love their curries, this one has a rather unique taste which I love. The jackfruit is cooked until tender and mixed with various spices and chilies giving it a soft potato like flavor. Although I love eating meat, this dish is something I don’t mind eating regularly. Trust me on this one!
Fried Salted Fish
While this might not be everyone’s cup of tea, Sri Lankans often eat these tiny fish which are heavily fried until crunchy. Often eaten with with lots of rice, chilis, small side dishes and curry, this is definitely you should try at least once while in Sri Lanka.
Sri Lankan Samosas
While samosas are often associated with Indian cuisine, Sri Lanka has their own version of samosas which you can easily munch on as a snack. You can find samosas that are filled with either meat or vegetables pretty much anywhere in Sri Lanka.
Lamprais
When you’re on the go, lamprais is definitely the way to go as it literally translates to a pack of food! You will see it almost everywhere and is difficult to resist. Composed of a banana leaf filled with rice, meat, some vegetables and sambal chili, it is the Sri Lankan’s version of bento boxes. The meat is often beef, pork, or lamb that is stewed with cloves and cinnamons and is very tender and flavorful.
Kottu Roti
Served in different variations, kottu is made up of shreaded roti and is fried with lots of vegetables or meat. I will boldly make the claim that it is just similar to fried rice as you can literally chuck anything with it. Often used to get rid of leftovers and other small scraps of food, this dish is one of Sri Lankas’s ultimate street food meals. Vegetarian versions are often cooked with leek, onions, and cabbage while you also get meatier versions and ones topped with cheese. (P.S. Cheese Kottus are out of this world!)
Fried Snacks
Aside from delicious flavorful curries, Sri Lankan’s have a wide array of snacks like cassava chips, deep fried jackfruit seeds, or fried batter with curry leaves. While not entirely healthy, these are often flavored with salt and pepper then placed in a bag, ready for snacking and long bus rides. Oh and there sure is a lot of them in Sri Lanka!
Pol Roti (Coconut curry)
This quick snack is widely available in train stations and are a good way to keep your hunger levels in check. When freshly baked and served warm, this coconut flat bead served with a salty chili sauce is delicious!
Kiribath with lunu miris
Kiribath is a special type of rice, cooked with thick coconut milk and often served during special or auspicious occasions, such as Sinhalese New Year. There are a few versions of kiribath, but the basic procedure is to start by boiling a pot of rice. Before the rice finishes cooking, add coconut milk and a pinch of salt. The coconut milk makes the rice creamy and rich and helps it form a sticky consistency. Once the rice is finished cooking, it's cut into wedges and served like slices of cake. Kiribath can be eaten along with a number of different Sri Lankan dishes, often either sweetened with jaggery or consumed salty with chili sauce or curry. One of the most common ways to garnish kiribath is with lunu miris, a sambol chili sauce made from red chilies, onions, lemon juice, salt and sometimes dry Maldive fish, all ground into a paste using a stone mortar and pestle.
Pol Sambol (coconut relish)
In a country in which the coconut is of supreme importance, there's one Sri Lankan side dish that pays fitting tribute. Pol sambol, which might also be called fresh coconut relish, is a simple blend of finely grated coconut, red onions, dried whole chilies or chili powder, lime juice, salt and Maldive fish (if available). The ingredients are diced or ground, then combined in a bowl. In Sri Lanka, pol sambol is used as a garnish or side dish for everything and anything. It goes well with rice and curry, pol roti (coconut roti), a hot paratha, string hoppers or even just scooped up with slices of bread. If you love coconut, there's no better garnish in the world.
Desserts
Buffalo Curd
This is a must try dessert during your stay in Sri Lanka. Curd (Mee kiri) is a traditional dessert prepared with buffalo milk and it goes well with palm treacle(kithul pani). Southern Sri Lanka is popular for the best curd, although this dish can be found anywhere in Sri Lanka. If you like natural yogurt,then I am sure you will also like this Sri Lankan finger licking dessert!
Wattapalam, coconut milk pudding
Watalappam is a coconut custard pudding made of coconut milk or condensed milk, jaggery, cashew nuts, eggs, various spices, including cardamom, cloves, and nutmeg, and sometimes thick pandan juice or grated vanilla pods.
street food you have to try in Sri Lanka
Isso vadei
spicy lentil cakes that have prawns either mixed in or balanced on top.
Drinks
King Coconut
The other popular drink in Sri Lanka has to be the juice of the King Coconut. A quick glance will confirm that the Sri Lankans love it. The tree of the King Coonut can be found is many a Sri Lankan household, and the juice is delightfully refreshing, especially in the warm tropical weather.
Ceylon Tea
ri Lanka is the 3rd largest tea producer in the world, and in this land of tea, even the most ardent of coffee drinkers have to set aside coffee for tea at least once. Ceylon tea is characterized by its rich, mellow flavor, golden colour and pleasant aroma, synonymous with quality and superior taste, as any serious tea drinker can attest to.
woodapple 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.
Milk tea
Milk tea as well as ginger tea and plain tea are all popular and widely available choices.
Local Fruits of Sri Lanka
Dragonfruit
The taste of the dragonfruit, which comes from the cactus family, is much less distinctive than the colour. The skin is inedible, but once you cut through the pink outer layer you’ll reach a soft, white seeded part, which has a subtly sweet taste. It has a whole load of health benefits, and can be used to soothe sunburn and treat chemically dyed hair.
Mangosteen
The mangosteen is a segmented fruit contained in a purple rind. It’s known as one of the tastiest Sri Lankan fruits. It has immune system-boosting qualities, and is used to make health drinks, tablets and powders. The rind can also be steeped in water to make tea. To open press firmly on the outside of the shell and twist until it breaks apart.
Anoda
The anoda also goes by the names sugar apple, sweetsop and custard apple. These names are fairly representative of the taste, while the flesh is soft, grainy and sweet. You can buy them in Sri Lankan supermarkets or find them growing on the beach just south of Mount Lavinia Hotel.
Wood Apple
This singularly odd fruit consists of a hard outer shell and a soft, seeded centre. The best way to break one open is by smashing the shell against the edge of a surface – we recommend a garden wall. The wood Apple is an acquired taste – sour, sweet, and hints of coffee – and the texture is a bit gungy and gristly, but it’s definitely worth trying. Wood Apple juices and jams are very tasty. The rind, pulp, and shells of wood Apples are also used to produce glues, gums, dyes, hair fragrances, household cleaners and utensils.
Cashew Apple
The cashew nut is actually a seed. It grows underneath the cashew apple – effectively the stem of the nut – that hangs from the tree. The relatively unknown cashew apple contains five times more vitamin C than an orange, but is easily damaged so harder to export. The cashew nut grows in a shell that is toxic to the skin, which is why it’s only in the last few centuries that the nut overtook the apple in popularity. In Brazil – where the Portuguese colonisers originally imported from the cashew tree from – the nut is regularly discarded in favour of the apple. In Sri Lanka the cashew is called the kadju, and you can find the apples sold by street vendors in villages around Batticaloa.
Rambutan
Although it looks like a kids’ toy from the ‘90s, the rambutan is actually edible. To open a rambutan, cup it in your hands and find a groove between the spikes with your thumbs. Push downwards and then outwards to prise it apart. Once through the fuzzy outer shell you’ll find a glistening lychee-like fruit. Pop it whole in your mouth but make sure you don’t eat the seed.
