Characteristic products
Sri Lanka is made up of three communities with different lifestyles and diets, particularly with regard to meat consumption. The Sinhalese, who represent three quarters of the population, are Buddhist and eat pork and beef in particular. The Tamils, mostly Hindu, do not eat beef for the most part. Finally, the Moors, who are Muslims, obviously do not cook pork. On the other hand, chicken and goat are common in the whole country.
Because of its geographical situation, Sri Lanka has integrated in its gastronomy a multitude of fish and seafood: mackerel, tuna, shark, snapper, jackfish, grouper, barracuda, sardine and a multitude of reef fish, often unknown in Europe. Maldive fish is a preparation based on dried tuna or bonito, often in the form of flakes, widely used for its intense taste. Seafood, especially shrimp and crab, is very popular.
Rice - white or red - is absolutely essential to Sri Lankan cuisine. Lentils, dried beans, millet, cassava, sweet potato, potato, yam and lotus root complete the list, without forgetting of course various vegetables: squash, cauliflower, beans, bitter melon and several leafy vegetables like gotu kola. As for aromatic herbs, let's mention lemongrass, curry leaf (kaloupilé) or pandan, a kind of palm tree with very fragrant leaves. The pulp of tamarind is very appreciated for its sour taste.
Known for its spices for centuries, Sri Lanka quickly attracted the covetousness of European merchants. It is on this island that grows the Ceylon cinnamon tree whose bark gives us the famous cinnamon. Its rich and fruity taste is more delicate than its cousin, the Chinese cinnamon tree, common in Southeast Asia. But we will also find black pepper, fennel, cardamom, cloves, fenugreek, nutmeg, mace, cumin, coriander and turmeric. Not forgetting fresh herbs such as ginger, garlic and of course chilli. The combination of pepper and cinnamon is recurrent in the local cuisine. Goraka is a very acidic spice that goes well with fish and seafood. Finally, jaggery is an unrefined brown palm sugar.
If it is often compared to Indian cuisine, there is a world of difference between Sri Lankan cuisine and the cuisine of Rajasthan or Punjab in northern India. However, there are similarities between the island's cuisine and the specialties of Kerala and Tamil Nadu, in the south of the subcontinent. Not to mention the Chinese, Malay, Portuguese or Dutch influences. Also noteworthy: in Sri Lanka, one eats without cutlery, with the fingers of the right hand.
The classics of Sri Lankan cuisine
Rice is an institution in the country and can be found at almost every meal. Rice & curry is everywhere. It's not a dish in itself, but a common formula, especially in small local restaurants. There are many types of rice in Sri Lanka, but here it's usually white rice with a variety of curries based on meat, fish and/or vegetables. Examples include kukul mas maluwa (chicken curry) or kalu uru mas (pork curry). Curries, a skilful blend of cumin, turmeric, pepper, cardamom and cinnamon, almost always contain coconut milk.
A Dutch colonial dish, lamprais consists of a dome of rice cooked in a broth, surrounded by frikandellen (meatballs), a meat curry (beef, goat, mutton, pork, etc.), eggplant curry(wambatu moju) and caramelized onion chutney(seeni sambol). The whole dish is then wrapped in a banana leaf and baked a second time. As this dish takes a long time to prepare, it is generally reserved for special occasions.
Fish and seafood are obviously a must on this island. Let's mention of course the malu mirisata, a fish stew (often tuna or swordfish) with a nice dose of chilli and sometimes a little coconut milk.Ambul thiyal is a recipe for fish seasoned with a mixture of pepper and goraka, giving it a characteristic sour taste. Jaffna crab curry comes from the predominantly Tamil Jaffna region in the north of the island. This highly aromatic curry contains a host of spices, and is also available with goat meat.Odiyal kool is a spicy fish and seafood soup from the same region.
On the vegetable side, you will also discover mallung (a mixture of chopped leafy vegetables, spices and grated coconut) or parippu (red lentil dhal), without forgetting thali. This Tamil dish is also very common in India and consists of a rice base surrounded by a multitude of small bowls containing various vegetable recipes, hot or cold. Not forgetting various chutneys and pickles (vegetables and fruit preserved in vinegar). Pol sambol, found everywhere, is made with red chili, coconut, onion and lemon. Lunumiris is a spicy paste of chili, shallot, maldive fish, black pepper and lime juice.
For breakfast, we eat appam or hoppers, bowl-shaped pancakes made of rice flour and coconut, sometimes topped with an egg.Idiyappam or string hopper is a type of steamed rice noodle pancake common at breakfast, usually served with a spicy sauce, as is puttu, a steamed cylinder of rice and coconut paste. Roti is a type of pancake that is used to prepare kottu, which consists of strips of roti with scrambled eggs, onions, chilies, spices, vegetables and sometimes meat.
The large Chinese and Malay communities, especially concentrated in Colombo, also offer visitors specialties such as nasi goreng and mee goreng, two recipes of rice and noodles respectively, sautéed with vegetables, meat, seafood and soy sauce. And let's not forget satays, small spicy meat skewers served with peanut sauce.
Desserts and drinks
Rice is also used for dessert. Kiribath is a rice cake with coconut milk. Kalu dodol is a dense cake with rice flour, coconut milk and jaggery, flavored with cardamom and topped with cashew nuts. Very similar, bibikkan replaces rice flour with semolina, and dried fruit and citrus peel are added. Watalappam is a coconut milk pudding with cashew nuts, cinnamon and nutmeg.Aluwa is a confection made of rice flour, molasses and cashew nuts, always molded in a diamond shape.
Pani walalu are honey donuts in a spiral shape and kevum are round donuts made of rice flour and molasses. Kokis are crispy doughnuts in the shape of flowers. Often prepared for weddings, aasmi are half-moon-shaped fritters made with rice vermicelli and topped with molasses. For refreshment, there is a wide range of tropical fruits such as banana, papaya, watermelon, guava, mango, rambutan (a cousin of lychee), passion fruit, and bael or Bengal quince, often found in dried slices.
As for drinks, try the royal coconut water of the thambili variety, sliced from the coconut with a machete. Despite its name, ginger beer is not a beer but a ginger-based soda. On the other hand, you will find beers and notably the Lion Beer, the most consumed in Sri Lanka, brewed since 1881 on the island. You will also find toddy, a low alcohol palm wine. Much stronger, thearrack is a brandy made from the nectar of coconut flowers, ranging from 35 to 50°.
From leaf to cup
Native to southern China, the tea plant is a bushy tree with a lifespan of more than 50 years, and can reach more than twenty meters in height, which would make it impossible to pick the buds. Throughout the year, Sri Lankan women (the pickers are mainly women) detach the shoots by cutting them between the middle finger and the index finger. We distinguish in the shrub: the leaf, the flower, the shoot and the bud. The leaf is shiny on its upper side and matt on its inner side; the younger and taller it is, the more tasty and sought-after it is. The flowers, white with golden pistils, can be kept in perfumed mixtures for aesthetic reasons.
The differences in processing, quality, preparation and harvesting period are all criteria for classification. While in China a classification based on the color of the infusion (white, green, yellow or red) prevails, in Sri Lanka and as for all fermented teas, called black teas, it depends on grades. These are hierarchical according to the type of plucking and the more or less full-bodied taste of the tea, which are related to the different degrees of fermentation and manufacturing processes.
The strong teas are found in the broken leaf teas, symbolized by the "B" of Broken; the "P" of Pekoe means that the plucking was done around the bud. As for the "O", it is an indication of quality given by the Dutch merchants to the glory of the Nassau who became princes of Orange. During the rolling process, the juice of the leaves will give the buds a golden or silver tint, hence the indications " Golden " or " Silver ". In order to preserve the freshness of the tea, all the manufacturing steps are done on site.
