Top Sri Lankan Dishes to try while in Sri Lanka – simply outstanding

A trip to Sri Lanka is not complete without savoring the island's staple meal; rice and curry. Rice and curry is the standard meal in almost every home in Sri Lanka for lunch, and sometimes dinner as well. The rice, generally red or white rice, is served traditionally with about two or three curries. These delicious curries generally contain at least one meat curry and one vegetable curry. The dish is also accompanied with sambols and chutneys, which add to the flavor. The fusion of all the flavors of the elements on the dish makes a delicious and wholesome meal.

Hoppers are the local version of the pancake. Made of a milky batter, the hopper resembles a bowl, with the edges being thin and crispy, while the centre is thick and soft. There are many variations to hoppers, such as egg hoppers, milk hoppers, and even cheese hoppers. Hot hoppers with a fresh meat curry and some lunu miris (a spicy paste), is one of Sri Lanka's best dishes. String hoppers, are essentially steamed rice noodles which are spiraled together to create a small lump on noodles. This starch based hopper is best enjoyed with a hot dhal curry and some pol sambol (a coconut based dish).

There is hardly a more popular meat dish in Sri Lanka than the flavorsome Sri Lankan Chicken Curry. This dish is one of the most common household dishes of Sri Lankan, and one that Sri Lankan's absolutely love. Made of tender chicken pieces cooked in a mouth-watering spicy brown curry, the Sri Lankan Chicken curry can be enjoyed with rice, hoppers, string hoppers, pittu, rotti, and even bread. While trying out all of Sri Lanka's cuisine should remain a top priority, similar attention should be given when selecting a place to stay. For a comfortable stay in one of the most recommendable Mirissa hotels, make a reservation at Sri Sharavi Beach Villas.

Lamprais is a dish of the Dutch Burgher community of Sri Lanka, and which is a favorite amongst Sri Lankans. Traditionally served on a banana leaf to add to the flavor and aroma, a standard Lamprais contains rice cooked in meat stock and infused with spices, a meat curry, a side of pickled eggplant, a boiled egg, and blachan (a spicy paste made of shrimp). This dish truly packs quite a punch in terms of flavor and aroma, and is thus well worth trying out.

Curd and Treacle is one of Sri Lanka's standard dessert dishes. Curd is a yogurt-like dairy product which is creamy, yet has a slightly sour taste. The curd is eaten with kithul treacle; a sweet and sticky syrup, which resembles maple syrup. The sourness of the curd and the sweetness of the treacle create an excellent combination, making for a great dessert.

Kottu is perhaps Sri Lanka's most popular street food. It is essentially like fried rice, except the rice is swapped out for godamba rotti (a softer kind of rotti). Kottu is prepared by mixing up precooked vegetables, meat, eggs, and godamaba rotti, and thereafter being chopped up and mixed up in rapid succession using two large metal spatula-like instruments. It truly is quite fascinating to watch it being prepared. Served hot off the grill, kottu makes for a delicious meal with an amazing combination of flavors, spices, meat, and starch.