Sri Lanka boasts a unique cuisine, shaped by the fruit and vegetables to be found in its abundant garden, and by recips, brought by traders, and invaders - Indians, Arabs, Malays, Portuguese, Dutch and English have all left their mark on the Sri Lankan diet.
Cusines in Sri Lanka can be very hotindeed, but adjustments will often be made to suit sensitive Western palates. If you find you have taken to a mouthful of something that is simply too hot, relief does not come from a gulp of cold water: that's like throwing fuel on a fire. Far better is a forkful of rice, or better stil some cooling yogurt or curd (buffalo yogurt), or even cucumber. Alocohol also dissolves chilli oil, proving there's method in the madness of the Birtish lager lout's vindaloo and there's method in the madness of the British lager lout's vindaloo and beer extravaganza. Another surprisingly effective strategy is to sprinkle plain grated cocounut, chilli and spices. Sambol is the general name used to describe and spicy-hot dish.

Rice and Curry

boiled rice with curried vegetable, fish and/or meat laced with Sri Lankan spices is the typical Sri Lankan main meal, a gourmet’s delight. It is served for both lunch and dinner and some do have it for breakfast too. Curries are usually made hot but can be mellowed to suit the pallet.
The Portuguese, Dutch, Malays, Arabs and South Indians who visited the Island either as traders or voyagers have influenced Sri Lankan food to an extent. Within the small Island is a wide range of regional cuisine too vast to be listed in full.
Rice and Curry is served for lunch and dinner. Boiled or steamed rice with a variety of curries, salads, sambols, pappadam and chutney form the meal. Spices are added to make the dishes more delectable. The unaccustomed may sometimes find the curries too hot but, this is easily controlled by reducing the quantities of spices used, specially chilli and pepper, to suit the different tastes.
Some do prefer something lighter than Rice and Curry for dinner. Dishes such as hoppers, string hoppers and roti are eaten with curries for dinner.
String Hoppers are made with rice flour, water and salt mixed into a paste, pressed through a mould with tiny perforations into thin noodle shaped strings, folded into small round hoppers and steamed.

A typical Sri Lankan rice and curry dinner will comprise the following:
· A large bowl of rice, most often boiled, but frequently fried. Sometimes Kiribath, rice cooked in coconut milk, is served.
· A curry of meat, most often chicken or fish but occasionally goat or lamb
· Dhal, a dish of spiced lentils
· A vegetable curry, perhaps of green beans, jackfruit or leeks.
· Papadums, a thin crisp wafer made from legume or rice flour and served as a side dish.
· Sambals, which are fresh chutney side dishes; they may include red onion, chili, grated coconut or lime juice, and are often the hottest part of the meal.
Each bowl contains small portions, but as is traditional in most of tropical Asia, if a bowl is emptied, it is immediately refilled.
Although Sri Lankan food uses chilli, cardamom, cumin, coriander and other spices similarly to south Indian cuisine, it has a distinctive taste. Sri Lankan cuisine uses ingredients like dried Maldive fish which are local to the area and is much hotter than most south Indian cuisine. The spicier Sri Lankan preparations are believed to be among the world's hottest in terms of chilli content (second only to Sylheti) . While native Sri Lankans are born into this cuisine and develop a healthy tolerance to spicy food, many visitors and tourists to the country often find the spiciness excessive. As a result, many local restaurants in developed and tourist areas offer special low-spice versions of local foods to cater to foreign palates, or have an alternative western menu for tourists

In addition to sambols, Sri Lankans eat "mallung", chopped leaves mixed with grated coconut and red onions. Coconut milk is found in most Sri Lankan dishes to give the cuisine its unique flavor.



Kiribath with lunumiris

Sri Lanka has long been renowned for its spices. In the 15th and 16th centuries, traders from all over the world who came to Sri Lanka brought their native cuisines to the island, resulting in a rich diversity of cooking styles and techniques. Lamprais--rice boiled in stock with a special curry, accompanied by "frikkadels" (meatballs), all of which is then wrapped in a banana leaf and baked--is a Dutch-influenced Sri Lankan dish. Dutch and Portuguese sweets also continue to be popular. British influences include roast beef and roast chicken.

Sri Lankans use spices liberally in their dishes and typically do not follow an exact recipe: thus, every cook's curry will taste slightly different. Furthermore, people from different regions of the island (for instance, hill-country dwellers versus coastal dwellers) traditionally cook in different ways while people of different ethnic and religious groups tend to prepare dishes according to their customs. Although Sri Lankan food is similar to south Indian cuisine in its use of chilli, cardamom, cumin, coriander and other spices, it has a distinctive taste, and uses ingredients like dried Maldive fish which are local to the area.

Sri Lankan food is generally much spicier than most South Indian cuisine, and many spicy Sri Lankan preparations are believed to be among the world's hottest in terms of chilli content. There is a liberal use of different varieties of scorching hot chillies such as amu miris, kochchi miris, and maalu miris (capsicum) among others. While native Sri Lankans are born into this cuisine and develop a healthy tolerance to spicy food, many visitors and tourists to the country often find the spiciness excessive. As a result, many local restaurants in developed and tourist areas offer special low-spice versions of local foods to cater to foreign palates, or have an alternative western menu for tourists. It is generally acceptable for tourists to request that the food is cooked with a lower chilli content to cater for the milder Western palette. The chili content in food cooked for public occasions is typically much less than home-cooked food.

Drinks

Sri Lanka is among the topmost producers of tea in the world. Usually, it is consumed with sugar and milk. Some people are fond of taking 'plain tea' which means tea only with sugar and without milk. Crushed ginger can add more flavour to the tea. The Sri Lankans also like to have coffee. Colombo is a place to enjoy really good espresso. Indigenous cold drinks in Sri Lanka are made of fresh fruit. Bottled carbonated branded drinks like Coca-Cola, Sprite, Pepsi etc. are also widely available. Carbonated drink brands Elephant House and Ginger Beer are very popular in Sri Lanka. People also like drinking water of young coconut. Cut fresh they are delicious and nutritious too. An array of locally produced and imported beers are also available. Two local intoxicating drinks are Toddy and Arrack. Toddy is made out of palm trees while Arrack is fermented and refined toddy


Fruits

Sri Lanka has a wide variety of delicious fruits: passion fruit, avocados and guavas (particularly the little pink variety which are like crispy pears) are just a few to be discovered and enjoyed. Try the sweet red banans or a papaya (pawpaw) with a dash of lime for a delicious wat to start the day. Jackfruit, the world's biggest fruit, may be eaten fresh or cooked as a curry. The fruit breaks up into hundreds of bright orange-yellow segments that have a slightly rubbery texture. The ubiquitous mango comes in a variety pf shapes and tastes, although generally in the greenskinned, peach-textured variety. The mangoes from Jaffna are considered by some to be the best.


Rasa Kevili (Sweetmeats)

A large variety of mouth-watering Sri Lanka sweetmeats is there to choose from.
Kevum (oil cakes) is made with a mixture of rice flour and treacle formed into a flowing batter that is dripped into a pan of oil and deep-fried. It takes different forms. There is the Konda Kevum made with a knob on top which is an expert culinary art. Mung Eta Kevum when the batter is mixed with green gram flour. Athiraha is a flat gritty variety of kevum. Kevum is usually made on ceremonial occasions like the New Year, weddings, birthdays or family occasions.

Aggala is made from roasted rice flour and treacle mixed with a sprinkling of powdered pepper and kneaded into small balls.
Aluva is another mixture of roasted rice flour, coconut treacle with some other ingredients kneaded and flattened to about an inch thick and cut into diamond shaped pieces.
The list is too long to be quoted. But try them. It will be a real ‘Taste of Paradise’.

"Wattalapan" - a steamed pudding made with coconut milk, eggs, and jaggery (a sort of solidified treacle extracted from the kitul palm) has become a staple Sri Lankan dessert, although first introduced by the Malays. Another well-known sweet is "Kavun", a cake made with rice flour and treacle and deep-fried to a golden brown. A variety of "Kavun", called "Moong Kavun" is made from green gram - a type of pulse - which is then ground to a paste and shaped like diamonds before frying. This is equally enjoyable. Many sweets are served during the Sinhala and Tamil New Year with "kiribath". Most Sweets eaten by Sri Lankans have been adopted from Tamil Nadu (South Indian), for example Pongal.
· Athiranha
· Aggala


Hoppers
Hoppers (appa) are another food native to Sri Lanka, served mainly for breakfast or lunch and often accompanied by Lunu miris, a fiery hot mix of red onions and spices. Hoppers are made from a fermented batter of rice flour, coconut milk and a dash of palm toddy, which lends a sour flavor and fermentation ability. If toddy is not available, yeast is often used. The batter is left to rise, then cooked in a hemispherical wok-like pan. There are many types of hoppers including egg hoppers, milk hoppers, and sweeter varieties like vanduappa and paniappa.

Koola'ya is a dish made of a variety of leftover curries, mixed together with rice and often served at temples, with chapati. Its also served in a ball form, or even mixed in a blender.



Short eats
"Short eats" refers to a variety of snacks that are bought and eaten by the dozen from shops and restaurants. Short eats include pastries, Chinese rolls and patties. The most popular Short Eat is the Mutton Roll, which is tender pieces of mutton with potato and seasoned with spices. This can be very hot and is served all over the world, where the Sri Lankan Tamil population is vast.

Other Short Eats:

Vada
Kesari
Fish Cutlets
Chinese Rolls (Fish Rolls)
Patties
Short Eats are thought to the equivalent of Starters, and served at parties or to guests when they visit a home. Fast food such as hot dogs and hamburgers has arrived in Sri Lanka, with the Globalisation of McDonalds and KFC Fast-Food Chains, but these are not usually considered to be short eats. Hot dogs and hamburgers have also been modified to fit local tastes.