Food of Sri Lanka that you shouldn’t Miss
Sri Lanka isn't only known for perfect sea shores and unusual tea, yet in addition, the place is known for mouth-watering curries and rice. The food of Sri Lanka has its own distinctive taste and flavors. The effect of long stretches of colonization and solid impact from various nations should be visible in the mix of various dishes, curry blends, and remarkable sorts of breads.
You might question how such a small nation can have such a wide variety of food. Sri Lankan cuisine is distinctive not just because of the varied flora and fauna but also because of the country's diversified ethnic population. Traders from India, Europe, Arabia, Africa, and the Malay World arrived in Sri Lanka in the 15th and 16th centuries, bringing with them their local cuisines, as well as various cooking methods and styles. For instance, roasted beef and roasted chicken have British influences, while Lamprais is a meal with Dutch and Portuguese origins.
But a more authentic description of the beautiful country might be the Island of Rice and Curry. Making a liberal practice of regional fruit, such as coconut and jackfruit, seafood and an arsenal of spices, Sri Lankan food delivers an abundance of tasty dishes.
Here are some of Sri Lankan dishes that are worth a try
Fish ambul thiyal (sour fish curry)
As you'd anticipate from an island in the Indian Ocean, seafood plays a significant role in Sri Lankan cuisine. Fish ambul thiyal (sour fish curry) is one of the most loved combinations of the multiple different fish curries available. Ambul thiyal is a dry curry dish, implying all the ingredients are cooked with a small amount of water and cooked until the liquid reduces. This lets the spice mixture to garnish each cube of fish. Arising in southern Sri Lanka, it's available throughout the nation at restaurants that serve curry, and is best eaten with rice.
Kottu (also, kottu roti)
Over the traffic and clatter at a Sri Lankan market, you'll probably listen to the crashing of metal on metal and realize kottu isn't far away. Kottu is Sri Lanka's hamburger and everybody's favorite go-to fast food when wanting something tasty and greasy. It resembles fried rice, but is made with a form of roti known as godamba roti rather than rice (a flat, crispy bread).
The roti is generally fried at the beginning of the day, piled into bundles and served as it's ordered. When you put an order, the kottu chef will fry and chop the roti with a choice of ingredients you select. The outcome is a delicious mixture of salty pieces of fried bread, lightly spiced and exceptionally comforting. Kottu is served with spicy curry sauce, which you can either use as a dip or sprinkle over your whole plate.
Kukul mas curry (chicken curry)
Easy to prepare, chicken curry is a popular household dish in Sri Lanka. There are numerous variations relying on region and taste preferences. Spices like fennel seeds, cardamom, cloves and cinnamon sticks are seasoned in heated oil before being stirred with chicken and spices like chili powder, curry powder, turmeric, pandan leaves, lemongrass and curry leaves.
Coconut milk provides to the rich base of the curry gravy. Relying on the recipe, a puree of tomato is often incorporated. The chicken is simmered for an hour or so until the essence of the spices is imbued into the chicken. Most satisfying when served with hot rice and roti (bread).
Asmi – Magic Of Milk And Cinnamon
Milk is added to rice flour, which is continuously stimulated. Later, cinnamon leaves are pinched into a cup of coconut milk, which is utilized to make the batter. It's then deep fried in oil and coated with treacle syrup. Enjoy this yummy snacky dish
Beetroot Curry
Only a generous portion of beetroot curry can truly complete a dish of rice and curry from Sri Lanka! You can eat a plate of curry without beets, so that statement is untrue. However, people develop a liking for the beetroot curry while travelling in Sri Lanka because it's such a fantastic dish.
Before being cooked to death with a variety of spices, including cinnamon and curry leaves, the beets are diced up. The beets have a delicious, velvety texture. One can simply not get enough of this blood-red veggie during the course of their visit because it goes so well with other curries.
Parippu (dal curry)
Parippu, or dal curry, is the most popular curry in all of Sri Lankan cuisine, a staple in any eatery or home. Masoor dal (split red lentils) are first washed and boiled until soft. In a a different pan, a number of raw ingredients, such as onions, tomatoes and fresh green chilies, are sauteed and mixed with tempered seasonings like cumin seeds, turmeric, fenugreek, mustard seeds and curry leaves.
All the ingredients are blended and usually condensed with a splash of fresh coconut milk to give the dal a rich flavor and creamy texture. It goes with everything but is excellent as a dipping gravy for a fresh roti or paratha.
Lamprais
Sri Lanka has been influenced by an assortment of cultures and one of the most obvious is the Dutch Burgher community. Lamprais, a a phrase that blends the two Dutch phrases for "lump" and "rice," is a a mixture of meat, rice and sambol chili sauce, wrapped into a banana leaf stack and steamed. The rice is cooked with meat stock, usually a a mixture of different meats like beef, pork or lamb, that's imbued with cardamom, clove and cinnamon.
The mixed meat curry, two frikkadels (Dutch-style beef balls), blachan (shrimp paste), and a starch or vegetable—typically ash plantain or brinjals—are all placed in the centre of a banana leaf.
Hoppers (appa or appam)
Also, string hoppers (indi appa or idiyappam) Hoppers are the Sri Lankan response to the pancake. The batter is prepared from a slightly fermented concoction of rice flour, coconut milk, occasionally coconut water and a hint of sugar.
A spoon of batter is fried in a small wok and stirred around to even it out. Hoppers can be sweet or spicy, but one of the regional favorites is egg hoppers. An egg is cracked into the bowl-shaped pancake, generating the Sri Lankan version of an "egg in the hole." Egg hoppers are coated with lunu miris, a mixture of onions, chilies, lemon juice and salt.
Unlike the runny batter utilized for hoppers, string hoppers are prepared from a much thicker dough. The dough is squeezed through a string hopper maker, like a pasta press, to develop thin strands of noodles, which are steamed. String hoppers are generally eaten for breakfast or dinner with curries.
Polos (green jackfruit curry)
Jackfruit is eaten in a number of different grades of ripeness, from extremely ripe and sweet to raw and starchy. Polos is a Sri Lankan curry developed with young green jackfruit. The fruit is slashed into bite-sized pieces and simmered until soft.
Then it is cooked with spices including mustard seeds, turmeric, chilli powder, roasted curry powder, pandan leaves, and curry leaf sprigs along with onions, garlic, and ginger. The final step is to add the coconut milk and boil to reduce the amount of liquid, keeping the delicious tastes inside the jackfruit cubes. The starchy texture of jackfruit is comparable to that of cassava or potato. The most common dish served at Sri Lankan curry restaurants is polos.
Wambatu moju (eggplant/brinjals pickle)
Served primarily with rice and curries, wambatu moju is an an incredibly delicious candied eggplant (brinjals) pickle. The eggplant, usually the purple-skinned, long and slender category, is sliced into bite-sized wedges and deep fried, lending the eggplant a crispy texture with a soft and silky interior.
It's then caramelized with a spoon of sugar, vinegar, red onions, green chilies, mustard seeds, chili powder and a clue of turmeric powder until the color turns practically black. Take a bite and the delicate and juicy texture of the eggplant should melt in your mouth.
Gotu kola sambol (pennywort salad)
Gotu kola sambol is one of the foods made with green vegetables that is most widely accessible in Sri Lanka. Gotu kola is a medicinal seasoning in Asia. It's sliced into slivers, then stirred with shallots, tomatoes, fresh mashed coconut and chili and spiced up with a a flavoring of salt, pepper and lemon juice.
Sambol is a phrase utilized in Sri Lanka for ingredients that are blended and devoured raw, sometimes more of a chili sauce and occasionally more of a salad, like gotu kola sambol. Gotu kola has a a strong, herbaceous aroma similar to kale, making it an incredibly fresh and crisp dish. It's commonly a side dish served with curry and rice.
Kiribath with lunu miris
Kiribath is an unique variety of rice, cooked with thick coconut milk and frequently served during special or auspicious events, such as Sinhalese New Year. There are a few versions of kiribath, however the basic procedure is to begin by boiling a pot of rice.
Before the rice completes cooking, put in coconut milk and a pinch of salt. The coconut milk creates the rice creamy and rich and assists it form a sticky consistency. Once the rice is completed cooking, it's cut into wedges and served like slices of cake. Kiribath can be eaten with a variety of Sri Lankan cuisines, and is frequently either salted with curry or chile sauce or sweetened with jaggery. Lunu miris is a sambol chilli sauce made with red chilies, onions, lemon juice, salt, and occasionally dry Maldivian fish that is crushed into a paste using a stone mortar and pestle. It is one of the most popular ways to garnish kiribath.
Pol Sambol (coconut relish)
In a a nation in which the coconut is of absolute importance, there's one Sri Lankan side dish that pays adequate recognition. Pol sambol, which might furthermore be named fresh coconut relish, is a simple mixture of finely grated coconut, red onions, dried whole chilies or chili powder, lime juice, salt and Maldive fish (if available). The ingredients are chopped or ground, then blended in a bowl.
In Sri Lanka, pol sambol is utilized as a garnish or side dish for everything and anything. It pairs beautifully with rice and curries, pol roti (coconut roti), a warm paratha, string hoppers, or simply just some bread to scoop it up. There is no better garnish in the world if you adore coconut.
Wood apple
It wouldn't be a Sri Lankan food discussion if it does not include the wood apple. Southeast Asian fruit known as the wood apple is about the size of a coconut without the shell. Additionally, it has a strong, almost blue cheese-like scent with a shell that is equally as tough.
In Sri Lanka, when you walk through a market, your nose will notice it before your eyes do. A dark brown substance that resembles a cross between fermented raisins and tamarind pulp is found inside the shell. Wood apple can be consumed directly out of the shell, but one of the most famous ways to consume (or drink) it throughout Sri Lanka is in a thick smoothie, recognized as wood apple juice. The fruit is stirred with jaggery (or sugar) and water to smooth it out. It has an unusual sour and sweet flavor.
Sri Lankan Omelet
Omelets from Sri Lanka are stuffed with regional flavours like cumin and curry powder and cooked in a coating of coconut oil until they turn golden brown. A Sri Lankan omelette is wonderful served over rice with some shredded coconut garnish.