Top Must Try Sri Lankan food – Flavoursome Delights

Hoppers were traditionally a breakfast food; although it is now also a favoured dinner staple. These are the local version of pan cakes, resembling a bowl shape with a soft centre. Made from a batter of fermented rice flour and creamy coconut milk hoppers are crispy on the rim and soft as cotton in the centre. The savoury hoppers are eaten with an onion relish - lunu miris and good curry of any meat or fish. An egg hopper is created by cracking open an egg into the centre of a half cooked hopper. The result is a hopper with a perfectly poached egg in the centre. Add a dash of salt, pepper and hot gravy and you lose count of the number of egg hoppers downed.

This is a kind of relish that accompanies many other dishes. A stone pestle and mortar are used in the traditional manner to make a sambol of onions and chilli. This is called lunu miris and with the addition of Maldive fish chips is an excellent spicy addition to hoppers or milk rice. Another staple is the coconut sambol; this is made with grated coconut, chilli powder, lime, salt and onions. All ingredients are well blended together to for a fluffy fiery orange sambol that is ideal with just bread and butter or string hoppers.

Seafood is quite prominent on the island with prawns, squid and fish being favoured dishes at any restaurant. It is, however, the Sri Lankan Crab Curry that even locals hanker for. Large lagoon crabs are used for this dish which is a marvelous concoction of spices, fresh crabs and thick gravy to mop up with bread, rice or roti. Breaking into the shell and prying out the soft sweet meat is a delightful treat that will keep this traditional dish a top pick on any menu. Offering this tradition of Sri Lankan seafood treats across the island are many seaside accommodation providers like Mosvold Hotels in Galle.

Vegetable curries vary according to the season. In Tamil culture, a good sambal made of eggplant and drumsticks is a staple while rice is always accompanied with 2 or 3 vegetable curries. These can be carrot curry, pumpkin or even potato; all cooked in a thick coconut cream with loads of saffron and other spices. Some of the traditional favourites are the tender jak fruit, cucumber, okra or breadfruit curries while a good manioc curry with some boiled rice is hard to resist. These are bursting with flavour and so popular that many boutique hotels in Sri Lanka offer the dishes as part of your gourmet Sri Lankan experience.

Gotu Kola is a herbal leaf lauded for its many properties of health. Kanda is a rice based thick drink similar to porridge that is enjoyed as a breakfast. Gotu Kola or Hathawariya leaves are used to make the mixture out of starchy rice and coconut milk. Kola Kenda is usually drunk to the accompaniment of a large piece of jaggery enhancing the flavour and providing an early morning sugar rush.