Culinary Tour to Sri Lanka – Essential Foods to Try Out on a Sri Lankan Culinary Tour

This an umbrella term that covers a wide-range of savoury snacks that are legendary throughout the island. The most popular ones are maalu paan and Chinese rolls. The prior is basically a fish bun that is triangular in shape and contains a spicy mixture of fish and potatoes. The latter refers to a deep-friend delicacy where a pancake is topped with a similar filling to a fish bun, rolled up, battered and then friend to form a crunchy indulgent snack. There's hardly anything Chinese about it, except for maybe it was loosely inspired by spring rolls. The egg roll is a triangular shaped spiritual equivalent to the Chinese roll that usually contains half a boiled egg and mashed potatoes.

These are some of the most celebrated and popular treats on the island and resemble a thin, crispy, crepe-like pancake with a more pronounced centre. Hoppers can be consumed at any point in the day, but are most popular either as a breakfast dish or an evening meal. An egg hopper is when a fried egg is incorporated to the centre of a hopper with the yolk usually left intact. When it comes to Sri Lankan cuisine, hoppers are definitely one of the most essential items to taste.

An indulgent food that is also a heavy on ceremonial value is milk rice. It is a staple when it comes to special occasions, and is always served during the start of the New Year. If your adventure in Sri Lanka is organised by one of many travel agencies such as Jetwing Travels, you're bound to experience this at some point. It's prepared by cooking rice in a rich coconut milk, resulting in an almost homogenous sticky delicacy that is served after being cut into diamond-like shapes. It is generally accompanied with either lunu miris or seeni sambol. The prior is a spicy mix of chilli and raw onions, while the latter is a sweet and spicy caramelised onion comdinment.

Locally known as mee kiri and kithul pani, this exquisite local dessert consists of fresh buffalo curd topped off with sweet palm-treacle. It is indulgent and healthy because the ingredients are natural, pro-biotic and very low on calories.

his is the all-time reigning champion of Sri Lankan cuisine, and is an absolute essential if you ever find yourself in Sri Lanka. Thin flatbread is shredded to fine strips then stir-fried with vegetables, onions, spices and your choice of meat. It's available in vegetarian varieties as well and most places have the option for you to add cheese into the mix. The roast-chicken and cheese kotthu is the most popular one on the market, but the cheese kotthu comes in many varieties such as devilled beef and cheese and even mixed seafood with cheese.