Joanna James
Sri Lankan cooking is inspired by strong spices and Dutch and Portuguese influence. All of these together have created an array of quite an interesting portfolio of dishes that visitors to Sri Lanka ought to try. The most delicious dishes can be found almost anywhere on the island for convenience.
This is one of the best dishes in Sri Lanka that is loved by every local and tourist alike. What sets the dish apart from the is rest it the clank, clank, clank of metal that brings music to the streets as a fresh batch of kottu is being made.
The dish is made up of godamba roti chopped up on the hot griddle and stir-fried with vegetables, egg and your choice of meat or seafood. It's a delight to watch it being prepared and a pleasure to dig into a steaming bowl of kottu! It is usually served with some gravy. There are over 20 types of kottu to be found in different restaurants, street-food eateries and even hotels in Sri Lanka.
This is the Sri Lankan version of a pancake also known as hoppers which are made of fermented rice flour and coconut milk. The batter is baked in a thachchiya which is a deep circular pan. The pancake takes the shape of the pan and has crisp sides with a soft centre.
There are variations that are available for this dish as well; biththara appa, where the whole egg becomes the centre of the pancake, kiri appa which are milk hoppers and pani appa served with treacle. The savoury hoppers are served with side dishes like seeni sambal (sweet and spicy onion sambol) or lunu miris (spicy onion sambol).
As Sri Lanka is an island, it's no wonder that there are many, many fish and seafood dishes here and this one, in particular, is very popular. It is a sour fish curry that is made with tuna, bonito or mackerel fish. The fish is seasoned with a number of spices, the main ingredient here is goraka (malabar tamarind). This gives the fish a pleasantly tangy flavour. This combined with the peppery spiciness is something that you simply won't be able to get enough of. The delicacy is served with rice or pol roti.
This is a dish that was handed down from the Dutch in Sri Lanka. It is one of the most fragrant and flavourful dishes on the Sri Lankan menu. This dish can be bought at eateries. First, the rice and sides are cooked separately, then rice and sides are served and packed into a banana leaf and cooked once again. Open it up and the aroma will entice you enough to take a big bite.
The entire dish consists of; yellow rice, seeni sambol, lampara curry, wambatu moju (eggplant), fish cutlet and fried boiled egg. If you are holidaying in Sigiriya, hotels the likes of Aliya Resort will have Lamprais on the menu.
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