An Individual Approach to Deliciousness

From its position off the southern coast of India, Sri Lanka has ample opportunity to watch the world go by. The tiny tropical island is located on several key shipping routes and traces its history back more than 125,000 years. Formerly known as Ceylon, the island has also been called the ‘Pearl of the Indian Ocean’ for its lush landscapes.

A bit of the landscape is present at each traditional meal. The custom is to present meals on large plantain leaves, setting off the vibrant colors of the food against a rich green backdrop. Most Sri Lankan favorites are lightly prepared blends of local ingredients and spices. These dishes are brightly colored and pack a flavorful punch.

No two dishes will be exactly the same. Sri Lanka supports an individualized approach to cooking in the country, with recipes handed down almost exclusively through word of mouth. Men are more likely to be household cooks than women. Cooking is a respected part of daily life and a central part of many festivals, making it no small wonder than Sri Lankan food is rarely mistaken for anything else.

Influences of the Silk Road

Food preparation styles have not remained constant in Sri Lanka. Historical cuisine connected strongly with East Asian traditions, but the island’s place on the Silk Road has meant centuries of exposure to distant foreign cuisines starting with Portuguese influences in the early 1500s. This was followed by Dutch colonization in the late 1500s that lasted until British colonization in 1815. By the time Sri Lanka became independent in 1948, culinary influences from around the world had woven themselves into local kitchens.

Their most lasting impact was in the dessert space. After a meal of traditional curries and rice, Portuguese layer cake might be served. Alternatively, the dessert might be Lamprais, a European dish cooked in a sweet stock and baked in a banana leaf. Other seasonal favorites include Dutch Christmas cakes and English puddings. In desserts as well as main dishes, locals automatically cut down on spices and flavorings when sharing with a foreign palate that may not be up for an intense taste sensation.

Key Ingredients

Food traditions on the island revolve around the bounty of the landscape in a farm-to-table tradition. Sri Lanka is home to a number of native spices, including cardamom, cinnamon, nutmeg, and some of the world’s hottest chilies. Perhaps it is no accident that the stomach-soothing cinnamon is local, considering the level of spiciness most Sri Lankans consider de rigueur in their cooking!

The emphasis on locally sourced ingredients and flavor quality over food quality helps keep Sri Lankan food healthy. Typical entrees feature coconut milk based curries, rich in both healthy fats and electrolytes. Despite the spiciness of most local curries, coconut milk preparations have been shown to protect against stomach ulcers, while the lauric acid in the milk positively impacts the cardiovascular system.

Side dishes in Sri Lanka add in valuable proteins and fruit nutrients. Common side sauces, known as sambols, are made from locally sourced Maldives fish ground into pastes and blended with onions or chilies. Other sides take advantage of the abundant tropical fruit supply, showcasing jackfruit, plantains, mango, and lychee.

A Taste of Sri Lanka

Tasting Sri Lanka requires a commitment to the two sides of its cuisine – spicy and sweet. For a spicier dish, a curry-centric meal is the only natural choice. For sweetness, you’ll want to be sure to go for the lucky Kiribath.

To make a traditional Sri Lankan curry, start with a coconut milk base. Add in yellow curry powder, fennel, garlic, cloves, cardamom, and mustard seed. The proportions are to taste, in keeping with the individualized nation of local dishes, though more curry powder than the other ingredients drives the balance. Once the dish has turned into a colorful cream, add in chicken or beef for the protein. Finish by adding vegetables, such as chopped red or yellow onion, diced garlic cloves, beetroot, carrot, or potato. For spice, add in thinly sliced green or red chilies. Stir and taste often to ensure the finally dish is to your liking, and know that in Sri Lankan culture no one will tell you that you’re doing it wrong!

For dessert, you’ll want to try Kiribath, a traditional dish with roots in Sri Lanka’s earliest days. The dish is considered to be auspicious or lucky, and so it is eaten on the first day of each month as well as during New Year celebrations as the first meal of the new year.

To make Kiribath, you will need equal parts coconut milk and plain white rice. After initially boiling the rice until it has absorbed its water, begin stirring in coconut milk until you have a creamy, pudding-like consistency. Set off the natural sweetness of the dish with salt, and serve it by molding it into a dome on a serving plate and cutting out a diamond argyle pattern.

Spreading the Flavor

Sri Lanka’s oral tradition of cooking means that it depends on traveling natives to get its recipes out into the global space. Fortunately, the island claims a diaspora of more than one million people at the moment. They are helping to bring elements of Sri Lankan cooking to every corner of the world, dish by dish.

One trend that is helping Sri Lankan food spread is the modern enthusiasm for ‘extreme foods’ and exotic hot dishes. The heavy natural preference for hot chilies makes Sri Lankan cuisine a natural choice for adventurous foodies. While they may not appreciate the evolution of supremely spicy elements into stomach-protecting coconut milk bases, they can appreciate the flavorful punch these dishes bring.

Fiercely fresh and unique, Sri Lanka’s food refuses to be confused with anything else. As the power of the food spreads through word of mouth in spice-loving communities, those seeking a cuisine based on natural ingredients will also be interested. Sri Lanka’s individualized style makes it easy to adopt for beginning and advanced cooks and the freedom to explore rich flavor profiles ensures even jaded gourmands will find the variety they seek. In this way, the independent spirit of Sri Lanka’s cuisine can continue to make a global impression.