Get the Spice and Aroma of Sri Lankan Cuisine

Sri Lanka (earlier known as Ceylon, native name being Sinhal) - the small island country in the southern part of Asia has a rich culinary heritage. The indigenous spices, herbs and distinctive cooking styles of Sri Lanka have attributed to its recognition as one of the finest cuisines in the world. Just as in any other place, Sri Lanka's geographical location, history, economy, culture and social traditions are reflected on the food habits of these islanders.

Being a historical land of rich spices, it had always attracted foreign traders and conquerers such as Moors, Malays, Indians, Arabs, Dutch, Portuguese and British and all these various cultures have left their impressions on the gastronomic heritage of Sri Lanka.

I am very fond of spicy food from Sri Lanka, hence thought of dedicating this hub writing about Sri Lanka's unique cuisine.

Spices:

The fertile land of Sri Lanka is blessed with a wide variety of aromatic spices such as cinnamon, cloves, cardamom, black pepper, turmeric, curry leaf, nutmeg and mace.

Coconut, palm and plantain:

The tropical beaches of Sri Lanka are fringed with:

• slender coconut trees,
• palm trees and
• banana (also called plantain) trees,

which is why the islanders extensively use these in their culinary delicacies. The curries and many other dishes are mainly based on coconut milk or grated coconut. The endospermic liquid inside a fresh green coconut is highly recommended for drinking. In some of their famous rice dishes, they cook rice in banana leaves to give a unique flavour and two of their local drinks (toddy and arrack) comprise of fermented palm sap.

Fruits:

Sri Lanka's climate and soil favours the growth of a wide variety of fruits some of them are rare and only found in this country. TSome of the fruits that are available are

• mangoes,
• bananas
• mangosteens,
• passion fruit,
• rambutans,
• woodapple,
• cashewapple,
• pineapple,
• durians.

Hence fruits form a very important part of Sri Lankan cuisine. The islanders make curried fruits, eat ripe fruits after meal and also consume fresh fruit juices.

Main course:

The staple food of Sri Lanka is rice, which is always accompanied by hot and spicy curries. The curries are made of vegetables, fish, meat and eggs and are of a wide range of varieties. In lunch and dinner they usually serve red, white or black curries, the colour being the reflection of the prime ingredients.

Red curries are fiery hot with a lot of red chilli powder or ground red chillies, white curries are mild in taste being cooked in coconut milk base and black curries owe their colour due to coriander, fennel and cumin seeds.

Rice is served with 2-3 different types of curries, usually one fish/meat/egg curry, a vegetable or fruit curry and lentils curry and everything is served at the same time. One of the most popular lentils curry is parripu curry, which is made of red lentils cooked in coconut milk and spices.

Side dishes:

Sri Lankans enjoy a variety of side dishes with their meal such as wafers (pappadam), pickles, chutneys, "mallung" and "sambol".

Mallung (also spelled as mallum) is a popular accompaniment which is made of finely shredded green leafy vegetables cooked with coconut milk and spices.

Sambol is a traditional hot and spicy mixture of grated coconut, onions, garlic, salt and pepper, dried Maldivian fish, red chili powder and lime juice, all ground to paste. There are variants of Sambol and it is believed to add zest to the meal and increase appetite.

Fruit Platter:

Being a tropical country, Sri Lanka grows a variety of fruits and every meal is ended with a fruit platter. The fruit platter usually consist of an assortment of seasonal fruits, such as mangoes, papayas, pineapples, jackfruits, bananas, durians, woodapple, cashewapple, passion fruit, guavas, melons, "rambutans" and mangosteens.

The most popular breakfast dishes are different kinds of hoppers (native name appa). These are thin like wafers, cup shaped pancakes, made from a fermented batter of rice flour, coconut and a dash of fermented palm drink (called toddy). Hoppers have crispy exterior whereas soft and spongy in the centre and has a sour flavour. They are best served steaming hot with curries and sambols (mixture of grated coconut and spices). There are different types of hoppers such as plain hoppers, egg hoppers, milk hoppers and sweeter varieties of hoppers.

There are a variety of snacks and shorteats. The most popular ones are:

• Vada
• Kesari
• Fish cutlets (fried mashed tuna dashed with a lot of spices or fried squids on a bed of onions)
• Chinese rolls (pancakes with beef, chicken, fish or vegetable filling and fried)
• Patties

These are often served with hot and spicy sambol.

The main drinks and beverages of Sri Lanka are:

• The hill country and cool climate has made Sri Lanka one of the largest producers of black tea, famous as "Ceylon tea". This drink is enjoyed in every household with or without milk and sometimes with crushed ginger.

• Don't forget to ask for a freshly cut young coconut's water. It is an extremely relaxing and therapeutic drink.

• Sri Lanka growing a wide variety of fruits offer fresh fruit juices

• Two local alcoholic drinks are made from fermented palm tree sap, "toddy" and the further refined form is called "arrack"

Some famous traditional dishes of Sri Lanka are:

• Lamprais (a Dutch descendent): This is made by boiling rice in meat stock, then mixed with meat and vegetables, wrapped in banana leaves and baked over low heat. The banana leaves give a special appetizing aroma and taste to the dish.
• Ambul Thiyal Curry (sour fish curry, more common in the coastal southern part): People living near the sea shores love this fish recipe. Tuna or any red fish are mixed with ginger, garlic, red chiilies, cloves, salt and pepper, tamarind pulp and cooked in a clay pot.
• Puttu (cylindrical shaped rice cake mixed with grated coconut and steamed in bamboo mould to give it an unique aroma). It has a crumbly texture, usually eaten with fresh coconut milk and red chilli sambol.

The most popular desserts of Sri Lanka are:

• Kiribath (made of rice cooked in coconut milk, usually served on special occasions like weddings and festivals)

• Kiripani (made of curd and honey)

• Wattalappam (egg pudding)

• Kevum (battercake made of ground rice and treacle)

• Halape (blending of coconut, jaggery and flour)

• Thalaguli (a confectionary ball)