Sri Lanka Cuisine - Rice and Curry
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. The spicy sauce is usually quite thin and has a coconut milk base.
Dahl, 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.
Apart from the rice, each bowl contains only quite small portions, but as in most of tropical Asia, if a bowl is emptied, it is immediately refilled.
A curry of meat, most often chicken or fish. The spicy sauce is usually quite thin and has a coconut milk base.
Dahl, 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.
Apart from the rice, each bowl contains only quite small portions, but as in most of tropical Asia, if a bowl is emptied, it is immediately refilled.
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. It is also much hotter
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. 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.