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 Food
The staple diet in Sri Lanka is rice. It
is eaten with curry and a variety of chutneys, pickles and sambals.
The rice may be boiled and served with curries or it may be cooked
with spices and in coconut milk, as 'yellow' rice. It is also baked
in meat stock as a Biriyani. Meats, seafood and vegetables are cooked
as a curry with a base of coconut milk.
Other special food includes:
| Kiribath |
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Kiribath means 'milk rice' and is
a traditional dish for festive or special occasions. |
| Hoppers |
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Hoppers (egg and plain) are made
of a batter containing coconut milk and palm toddy left overnight
to ferment. It is then fried in a bowl shaped metal pan which
forms its shape. Simply breaking an egg into the centre of the
plain hopper makes an egg hopper. |
| String Hoppers |
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String Hoppers are vermicelli made
of rice flour and steamed over a low fire. |
| Pittu |
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Pittu is prepared with rice flour
and shredded coconut and steamed inside a bamboo. It is eaten
with a hot sambal and pol hodi (coconut gravy). |
| Lamprais |
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Lamprais is a dish of Dutch origin.
The rice is boiled in meat stock and then the vegetables and
meat are added then slowly baked wrapped in a banana leaf. |
Desserts
The wide array of Sri Lankan sweets betrays the sweet tooth of the
Sri Lankan.
| Buffalo Curd and Treacle |
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Buffalo Curd and Treacle (kithul
pani which is made from the kithul palm). |
| Juggery |
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Juggery is a hard, brown coloured
sweet made out of kitul treacle. |
| Kalu Dodol |
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Kalu Dodol is made out of coconut
milk, juggery and cashew nuts. |
| Kavum, Kokis and Athiraha |
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Kavum, Kokis and Athiraha are traditional
Sinhala sweetmeats. |
| Watalappan |
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Watalappan is made out of boiled
coconut milk and juggery laced with cashew nuts and raisins. |
| Rasakevili |
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Rasakevili are the sweetmeats eaten
during the festive seasons. |
| Thalaguli |
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Thalaguli are sesame balls. |
| Halape |
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Halape are a mixture of coconut and
juggery. |
| Aluwa |
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Aluwa is a fudge-like sweet. |
| Puhul Dosi |
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Puhul Dosi (pumpkin preserves). |
| Panivalalu |
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Panivalalu are 'honey bangles'. |
| Bibikkan |
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Bibikkan is a traditional Sinhala
cake made from juggery, coconut, cashews and dried fruit. |
Fruits
Tropical fruits are plentiful in Sri Lanka. There are various varieties
of mangoes, bananas, papaya, pineapples, avocados, guava, melons,
passion fruit and pomegranate.
Some of the special fruits are:
| Rambutan |
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Rambutan is related to the lychee.
It is coated with a soft red hairy skin, which is easily peeled
to rach the sweet flesh of the fruit. |
| Mangosteen |
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Mangosteen is a dark purple fruit
with luscious translucent segments within. Its flavour may be
described as a combination between strawberries and grapes.
They are seasonal and are available from July to September.
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| Durian |
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Although the skin of the fruit has
a strong, sometimes unpleasant aroma, the fruit is rich, soft,
and yellow custard-like on the inside. This is believed to be
an aphrodisiac. |
| Wood Apple |
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Wood Apple is a hard wooden-shelled
fruit. This can be made into a tasty drink or a rich pudding
with coconut milk. |
| Jackfruit |
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Jackfruit is very large fruit and
may be eaten fresh as a fruit or cooked as a curry. Within the
coarse, green skin, there are hundreds of succulent orange/yellow
segments. |
| Babyjack |
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Babyjack is a watermelon-sized fruit
which is eaten cooked as a curry. |
Fish and Seafood
Being an island surrounded by the ocean, there is naturally a huge
selection of seafood.
These include:
Prawns, Tuna, Crabs, Mullet, Shrimp, Shark, Lobster, Skipjack, Large
Tiger Prawns, Amberjack, Squid, Seer.
There is also a large variety of freshwater fish. |
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