Best Sri Lankan Dishes you should Try – Taste the Exotic Flavours

A staple, firm favourite and available in plenty, rice and curry in Sri Lanka let you savour a variety of dishes in one go. A typical meal will consist of rice, either red country rice or white varieties, served in the middle of the plate around which 2 to 3 vegetable curries are dished out. The vegetables are seasonal and could be a dry curry and those made with thick coconut milk. The addition of meat, fish, egg or dry fish is customary, although vegetarian rice and curry are bound to taste just as fine. Many places dress the meal up with additions such as crispy papadam, fried salty chillies and green salad or chutney. Check out the Kalutara restaurants where delicious rice with fish curry is often a popular choice. The luxury hotels too, like Anantara Kalutara Resort, make sure to include a traditional section in the lunchtime buffet spread, allowing foreigners to savour the delights of local rice and curry.

As an island nation seafood takes precedence amongst Sri Lankan cuisine. The devilled fish curry often served as a sweet and sour dish is quite famous. Made by first frying chunks of fish, such as tuna or seer, the meal is prepared by stir-frying the fried fish with lots of fiery hot capsicum, onions, chilli, tomato sauce and green chillies.

One of the most common dishes in Sri Lanka, dhal curry is found at just about every meal, whether its breakfast, lunch or dinner. Made tempering the grains with shallots, garlic and chilli and then boiling in thick coconut cream, dhal curry is delicious with bread, roti, rice or string-hoppers.

One of the most famous Sri Lankan curries, polos made with young jack fruit is a rich dark brown coloured curry which resembles a fish curry. Cooked with the right balance of flavours the dish represents sour, spicy and sweet tastes which are achieved through traditional tried and tested methods many Sri Lankans hand-down from generation to generation. Polos is delicious with rice or bread.

Sri Lankan's believe that a rice and curry dish must contain a green salad and gotukola sambol is often a firm favourite. Popular for it's many medicinal and health benefits the Asian pennywort leaves are cut finely, mixed with salt, lime juice, shallots and some grated coconut to form a tasty fresh salad.

A staple and delicious fast food, kottu is loved by night owls. Served at just about every night-food kiosk the kottu is made by shredding bits of roti together with egg, vegetables and a meat or fish. The vegetarian kottu too is a pretty good choice while the most fascinating aspect of this dish is the preparation, done by a skilled kottu maker using two sharp cleavers like metal utensils.