Foods you should try in Sri Lanka - Savour some of the hot favourites while in Sri Lanka!

A smaller version of a husked coconut, when ripe it is a darker brown than the coconut on the outside with a thinner shell. Crack the fruit to expose the dark brown gooey mass of flesh within. This sour mass can be eaten with sugar or with grated jaggery, it is even better when scoopings of this gooey flesh are pureed with a dash of salt and water and sweetened with palm syrup (kitul treacle). Taste this chilled wood apple juice served at restaurants in Bentota and you will yearn for more.

A recipe handed down by the Dutch who colonized Sri Lanka, this unique dish of 'all in one rice' is a divine culinary experience enjoyed by many visitors at hotels such as Avani Bentota. Small grained rice cooked in meat stock, accompanied by a clump of caramelized onions, eggplant tempered in spices, topped with flavour oozing tenderised meat emanating a tantalizing aroma as you uncover the warm parcel of rice wrapped tight within a fragrant banana leaf. Divine indeed, not a morsel of food would be left uneaten.

Jak fruit provides sustenance at different stages of its life and is a firm favourite among Sri Lankan food. When tender, this is called polos and this tender green fruit is cut into small wedges and made into a curry called polos pahi, tempered with onions and garlic smothered in medium hot spices and covered with thick coconut milk, cooked slowly till the polos becomes tender and fleshy almost like chicken curry. Once mature the jakfruit is cut into strips, including the seeds (which are de-shelled and pounded) are seasoned and mixed with mild spices and cooked in coconut milk making it a light yellow creamy mass. Both preparations are great accompaniments to traditional steamed rice. Jak fruit when ripe is a delicious dessert when sprinkled with pepper and salt, relished by locals and visitors.

Milk Rice is a simple dish yet holds a unique place in Sri Lankan households as a meal on special occasions. The first day of the year, birthdays of family members etc and consumed for breakfast. Traditional rice is cooked thoroughly with salted coconut milk to a soft mass, then levelled out to a platter and cut into shapes. (Diamond/Square). Accompanied by an onion fry and fish or meat curry for a savoury taste or eaten with kittul jaggery for those with a sweet tooth.

This preparation is similar to making fried rice with bite-sized strips of Godamba Roti being used instead of cooked rice. Filling and tasty, Kottu is a fusion of many ingredients coming together on a hot flat oiled griddle along with the Godamba and chopped until properly mixed with two metal blades making the typical Kottu sound. Strips of crispy vegetables such as carrots, cabbage and capsicum, tossed with onion rings and tomatoes, seasoned with salt, pepper, chilli flakes and sauces. The final metal clanging will add the meat of your choice, egg or cheese. Turned out expertly onto the plates by the chefs, this is enjoyed all over Sri Lanka.