Sri Lankan Food and Gastronomy

Sri Lanka is a small island situated in the Indian Ocean which is called the "Pearl of the Indian Ocean". It has its very own, unique art of cooking and unique types of food.

Fruits in Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka is gifted by many juicy and tasty tropical fruits such as pineapples, bananas, mangoes, king coconuts, papayas and guavas. Among these, king coconut is a famous drink in Sri Lanka which attracts tourists too. It is famous for its delicious taste and its ability to quench thirst. Papaya is a fruit which has a similar taste of the peach. It contains vitamins and digestives essential for a man's health. Fruit salad is a very simple but very tasteful dessert made by almost every Sri Lankan family. They use bananas, papayas, mangoes, pineapples and dried grapes for this. The fruits are then cut into small cubes and then mixed with sugar in a bowl.

Spices

The spices are used in almost every main dish in Sri Lanka which makes theme uniquely Sri Lankan. Coriander, cardamom, mustard, white and black pepper and chili powder are some of the spices used in Sri Lankan dishes such as soups, rice dishes and curries. A curry is a mixture of spices and the main ingredients of the curry (chicken, beans, potatoes, cucumber etc) usually boiled in coconut milk.

Staple Food

Rice is the staple food of Sri Lanka. That is why this little island is full of greenish paddy fields. Neither the King nor the poorest man in Sri Lanka will say that his hunger is gone without eating some rice for his lunch or dinner. There exists 15 varieties of rice according to its form, colour and taste. Rice is eaten with curries as preferred by families. For example Sri Lankans eat rice with a fish/chicken/beef/pork curry, bean curry, potato curry, coconut sambol etc. Rice is eaten for lunch and dinner. For special occasions Buriyani, a spicy rice dish is prepared. It is a rice dish with some spices and chili mixed with chicken. In fact, Sri Lankans are born with a passion for chili and they prefer chili in their curries and rice dishes.

Breakfast

There is a huge variety of Sri Lankan breakfast dishes. These dishes are suitable for special occasions as well. Some of the Sri Lankan breakfast dishes are milk rice, hoppers and string hoppers. The milk rice dish is prepared for special occasions such as weddings and open ceremonies. It is cut into diamond shapes and when the auspicious time arrives the invitees eat it with a curry called lunumiris. Normally these breakfast dishes are tasted with some curry or coconut sambol.

Drinks
Sri Lankans drink tea at least 3 times a day. Tea is grown in the hillside country and Sri Lankan black tea is famous worldwide for its rich taste and quality. It is indeed a very refreshing drink that can be drunk with milk as well.

If you visit Sri Lanka, do not forget to taste some of tasty Sri Lankan dishes or else you will be sorry since Sri Lankan food is not comparable to any other food in the world