Food & Drink in Sri Lanka

If you like Indian or Thai food, you will love Sri Lankan cuisine. For thousands of years, the island has been known for the spices that grow here, such as cinnamon, cardamom, cloves, pepper and nutmeg, which is quickly noticeable when you look into the cooking pots. We have summarized here what is served in Sinhalese cuisine in the morning, at noon, for dessert and in the bar.

Spicy and a vegetarian's paradise 

Among other things, chili is used abundantly, which makes Sri Lanka's cuisine one of the hottest in the world. The spiciness also has a disinfecting effect - not least the spices were also used as medicines. So if you want to prevent stomach problems, you shouldn't be afraid to eat original Sinhala. If you can't stand it, ask for "non-spicy" dishes in the restaurants.

By the way, Sri Lanka is an Eldorado for vegetarians, because it is mainly vegetarian. But fish, seafood, beef, chicken and goat are also on the menu here.

Popular Main Dishes in Sri Lanka

Curries :

This hot dish consists of vegetables, fish or meat in a more or less spicy sauce and is usually eaten with rice. Sinhalese and Tamils use the fingertips of the right hand (the left is considered unclean), but you also get a spoon as an aid. The secret of the culinary delights are carefully composed spice blends, which are given an inpidual touch by each chef. The curries are served with various side dishes: Sambol (usually made from onions and chilli), pickles (pickled fruits or vegetables), yoghurt or small Sinhalese salads.

Roti :

These flat flatbreads are made with flour, salt, vegetable fat and coconut flakes. They are eaten as a snack in between with sambol, a hot red sauce, or filled with vegetables, meat or fish. Roti is also available as a sweet version with bananas or coconut milk.

Kothu: For this popular street food, the Rotti dough is chopped directly on a hot metal plate with the help of metal sliders and fried with vegetables such as carrots and onions.

Lamprai :

For this dish, rice, sambol and vegetables, fish or meat are steamed in a banana leaf. Lamprai dates back to the time as a Dutch colony.

Breakfast in Sri Lanka

Traditionally, in Sri Lanka, hoppers with sambol, dhal (lentils) or curry are eaten in the morning. Rice dough, palm sugar and coconut milk are mixed and baked in small bowls. This creates a kind of pancake in the shape of a small bowl. One variant is Egg Hoppers, where a fried egg is added to the pancake-like hopper.

If you order string hoppers, you get the well-known rice dough in spaghetti form, as the dough is pressed through a sieve and cooked.

Desserts in Sri Lanka

For the European taste, these are usually too sweet and sticky, but one or the other candy should be tried. Ingredients are palm sugar, coconut milk, cashew nuts, sesame seeds and dried fruits.

Fruits in Sri Lanka 

Welcome to tropical paradise! Sri Lanka grows bananas, mangoes, lychee-like rambutan, giant jackfruit, papaya, guava, passion fruit, pineapple and even pomegranate. The ripening period of many fruits is between May and August, which would certainly speak for a trip in the low season.

Drinks in Sri Lanka

In addition to the mixed fruit cocktails made from tropical fruits, there are also less substantial drinks based on ginger and coconut water.

Alcoholic beverages are offered in Sri Lanka, but it should be noted that no alcohol is allowed to be sold or served during the full moon. In order to keep consumption in check, the Sri Lankan government has imposed high prices on alcohol. Nevertheless, there are beers such as Lion Lager – quite unusual for Western taste buds – and Arrack (coconut rum) as the national drink.