Must Try Cuisine in Sri Lanka - An Unforgettable Experience for Your Taste Buds

Somewhat considered as the national dish of Sri Lanka, milk rice or Kiri Bath, is a delectable food that is cooked and feasted on special occasions such as the Sinhala and Tamil New Year. Some even prepare it on the first of every month as sort of an auspicious way to welcome the new month. It's also considered to be a good hangover cure so most of the hotels like the AVANI Kalutara Resort make it a point to include it in their breakfast buffet after New Year's Eve so that the guests can wind down! Milk Rice is prepared with a special type of rice called Sudu Kekulu. Its first boiled with water and then with coconut milk. Once it's cooked, the creamy rice is spread on a large dish. After the rice 'sets' it is cut into little diamond shaped pieces. Milk Rice is eaten along with the feisty lunu miris which is a very spicy chutney or sambol made out of onions, tomatoes, Maldives fish, salt, lime juice and chilli flakes. If you think you can't handle all that spice, you can have milk rice with some jaggery.

This is undoubtedly Sri Lanka's most loved curry. It's so common that you can find it everywhere from the little street side eateries to the high-end restaurants in Kalutara, Colombo, Kandy and other major cities where five star resorts are mostly based at. Dhal curry or parippu as it's called in Sinhalese, is a dish eaten with rice, bread or roti. Dhal is such a good source of proteins which is why many Sri Lankan mothers make sure their kids eat dhal almost every day. There are two types of dhal curry; one is made with Rathu Parippu (red masoor lentils) while the other is made with Kadala Parippu (garbanzo beans).

Pol sambol and dhal is a match made in heaven. This crunchy, delicious sambol can be eaten with anything from rice to roti, string hoppers and bread. It's so easy to make too. First you need to scrape the coconut, and keep aside. Then grind together chilli flakes, chopped onions and tomatoes; and Maldives fish. Season with lime juice, salt and a little bit of pepper. Next, mix the chili paste together with the coconut and serve!

The quintessential Sri Lankan streetfood, kottu is amazing! It's basically a combination of a roti called godamba, meat or vegetables and a spicy sauce that binds everything together. One of the best places to have kottu is at the saivar kadés like the Plaza and Pilawoos along Galle Road in Colombo. If you go to one of these places, make sure you try the cheese kottu along with a lime soda. This is the go-to food to have after going clubbing in Colombo. Listening to the distinctive sound of kottu being made, which is somewhat like techno/ house music, makes you feel like the party isn't finished.