Kerala, India
Appam
അപ്പം
A soft, bowl-shaped rice pancake from Kerala and Sri Lanka with lacy, crispy edges and a fluffy center. It is often served with stew or coconut milk.
southern-asia
Sri Lanka
Explore 82 foods connected to Sri Lanka, from everyday staples to rare local specialties.
82 foods12 leading categories1 Essentials guides
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Sri Lanka Essentials
11 editor-selected foods for understanding the place through what people eat.
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Traditional foods from Sri Lanka.
82 foods in this view. Filter by category, type, rarity, or search every recorded name.
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Sri Lanka
Black Dodol
කළු දොදොල්
The dodol cooked longer until the coconut oil separates out and the mixture turns jet black and glossy
Sri Lanka
Black Pork Curry
කළු ඌරු මස්
Pork cooked with roasted dark curry powder, goraka and pepper until the gravy goes almost black and clings to the meat.
Sri Lanka
Breadfruit Curry
දෙළල් කරි
Breadfruit cut into chunks and simmered in coconut milk with roasted curry powder, pandan and turmeric until the pieces go soft and golden and the gravy thickens.
Sri Lanka
Buffalo Curd with Treacle
මී කිරි සහ පැණි
Set buffalo milk curd served in the clay pot it was made in, with dark palm treacle poured over it.
Sri Lanka
Caramelised Onion Relish
සීනි සම්බෝල
Onions cooked down slowly with sugar, tamarind, maldive fish, chilli and spices into a dark, sticky sweet-hot relish.
Sri Lanka
Cashew Curry
කජු කරි
Raw cashews soaked and simmered gently in a mild coconut milk gravy with turmeric and pandan until they turn soft and creamy.
Central Highlands, Sri Lanka
Ceylon Black Pepper
ගම්මිරිස්
Peppercorns grown on the hill slopes, high in piperine and noticeably more pungent than most commercial pepper.
Sri Lanka
Ceylon Cinnamon
කුරුඳු
The paper-thin inner bark of the cinnamon tree, rolled by hand into layered quills, delicate and sweet rather than hot.
Central Highlands, Sri Lanka
Ceylon Tea
ලංකා තේ
Black tea grown on the central highlands and graded by elevation, from bright high-grown to strong, dark low-grown leaf.
Sri Lanka
Chilli and Onion Paste
ලූනු මිරිස්
Dried chilli, red onion, salt and lime pounded on a grinding stone into a fierce coarse paste, eaten with milk rice and roti.
Sri Lanka
Chopped Greens with Coconut
මැල්ලුම්
Green leaves — gotu kola, mukunuwenna, kale — shredded very fine and tossed raw or barely wilted with scraped coconut, lime and chilli.
Sri Lanka
Chopped Roti Stir-Fry
කොත්තු රොටි
Godamba roti shredded on a hot griddle with vegetables, egg and meat, chopped with two metal blades in a rhythm you can hear down the street.
Sri Lanka
Coconut Arrack
අරක්කු
A spirit distilled from fermented coconut flower sap and aged in halmilla wood vats, tasting between rum and whisky.
Sri Lanka
Coconut Cake
බිබික්කන්
A dark, dense cake of scraped coconut, jaggery, semolina and candied fruit spiced with cardamom and clove, baked slowly and cut into squares.
Sri Lanka
Coconut Jaggery Custard
වටලප්පන්
A steamed custard of coconut milk, palm jaggery, egg, cardamom and nutmeg, dark, dense and set firm, topped with cashew.
Sri Lanka
Coconut Milk Gravy
කිරි හොදි
A thin, pale coconut milk gravy with turmeric, onion, green chilli, curry leaf and a sharp squeeze of lime, poured over string hoppers and rice.
Sri Lanka
Coconut Roti
පොල් රොටි
A thick unleavened flatbread of flour and scraped coconut cooked on a griddle, eaten with chilli sambol at breakfast.
Sri Lanka
Coconut Sambol
පොල් සම්බෝල
Freshly scraped coconut pounded with dried chilli, red onion, lime and maldive fish into a coarse red relish.
Sri Lanka
Coconut Treacle Pancakes
පොල් පැණි
Thin crepes spread with a filling of scraped coconut cooked in palm treacle and cardamom, rolled and eaten warm with tea.
Sri Lanka
Cream Soda
ක්රීම් සෝඩා
A bright green vanilla-flavoured fizzy drink that has been the country's default soft drink since the 1930s.
Sri Lanka
Crisp Rosette Cookies
කොකිස්
A batter of rice flour and coconut milk fried on a heated metal mould into brittle flower shapes, a Dutch-era import kept for New Year.
Sri Lanka
Crocodile Bun
කිඹුලා බනිස්
A long sweet bun scored across the top and dusted with sugar, said to resemble a crocodile's back, eaten with tea.
Sri Lanka
Egg Hopper
බිත්තර ආප්ප
A bowl-shaped fermented rice-flour pancake with an egg cracked into the middle and steamed under a lid until just set.
India
Falooda
फालूदा
A layered dessert drink with rose syrup, milk, basil seeds, vermicelli, and ice cream. It is rich and fragrant.
Sri Lanka
Fiery Maldive Fish Sambol
කැට්ට සම්බෝල
A dry, extremely hot pounded mix of chilli flakes, maldive fish, onion and lime, used in tiny amounts on rice.
Sri Lanka
Finger Millet
කුරක්කන්
A dark red-brown millet ground into flour for rotis, porridge and steamed sweets, and treated as the healthier grain.
Sri Lanka
Fish Bun
මාළු පාන්
A soft baked bun stuffed with spiced fish and potato, sold from the bread vans that play a tune through every neighbourhood.
Sri Lanka
Fish Cutlets
මාළු කට්ලට්
Balls of spiced fish and potato coated in breadcrumbs and deep-fried, sold from bakery counters and eaten with chilli sauce.
Sri Lanka
Flaky Flatbread
ගොදම්බ රොටි
Dough slapped and spun out to a transparent sheet, folded into a square and griddled, plain or wrapped around egg or curry.
Sri Lanka
Goraka
ගොරකා
The dried, blackened rind of a sour tropical fruit, used to sour and preserve fish curries in place of tamarind.
Sri Lanka
Herbal Porridge
කොළ කැඳ
A thin green porridge of red rice, coconut milk and the juice of a medicinal leaf, drunk hot at dawn from roadside stalls.
Sri Lanka
Idiyappam
ഇടിയപ്പം
A South Indian and Sri Lankan dish of steamed rice noodles pressed into thin strands and formed into nests. It is served with curry or coconut milk
Sri Lanka
Jackfruit
කොස්
The enormous spiked fruit of the jak tree, eaten unripe as a meaty curry, ripe as a sweet fruit, and its seeds boiled as a vegetable
Jaffna, Sri Lanka
Jaffna Crab Curry
நண்டு கறி
Whole lagoon crab cooked in a fiercely hot northern curry powder with roasted spices, tamarind and coconut milk, eaten with the hands.
Jaffna, Sri Lanka
Jaffna Goat Curry
ஆட்டிறைச்சி கறி
Goat on the bone cooked in the dark northern curry powder with tamarind and coconut, hot enough to make a visitor stop talking.