Cuisine Of Sri Lanka

Be prepared to sample one of the most delightful south Asian cuisines on your trip to the island country of Sri Lanka. Yes that’s right, we are talking about the cuisine of Sri Lanka! The most noticeable and interesting feature of the cuisine of Sri Lanka is its use of rice, derivatives of rice and generous usage of spices in the dishes that are prepared by the Sinhalese people. The influence on their cuisine is not only from its nearest neighbor, India but also the British Raj and the foreign traders had influenced the food habits of the people. No meal is complete without curries which vary in texture, taste and look (some look too tempting) but keep in mind that most Sri Lankan curries are very spicy.

Rice is the staple food of the people for both lunch and dinner and therefore you can expect different types of rice platters. It can be cooked with meat and vegetables or plain steamed and then taken with various curries. Curries can be made from assorted vegetables, fish, seafood, meat or poultry. A typical curry is either made with vegetables or chicken or mutton. Beef is also very popular in Sri Lanka. Rice and one of the “main curries” consist the bulk of the meal, but you will have a number of side dishes like sambols, chutneys or simply pickles. Pickles and sambols are at times too hot, you can ask the steward at the restaurant, you are dining to temper it according to your taste. The most popular sambol of Sri Lanka is very hot, very tempting provided you enjoy a fiery after taste in your mouth! It is known as the coconut sambol and apart from ground coconut oinions, chillies, dried fish from Maldives and lime juice are used in its preparation. It is served with rice and adds that extra tinge to even the most bland of Sri Lankan dishes. Here though, it is pertinent to mention that Sri Lankan food is anything but bland! Any discourse on the cuisine of Sri Lanka will never be complete without mentioning the alcoholic drink which is popular with both the masses and the classes, toddy. It is prepared from palm tree sap, do sample some on your holiday to Sri Lanka.