Sri Lankan cuisine

Sri Lankan cuisine is known for its particular combinations of herbs, spices, fish, vegetables, rices, and fruits.

As a country that was a hub in the historic oceanic silk road, contact with foreign traders brought new food items and cultural influences in addition to the local traditions of the country's ethnic groups, all of which have helped shape Sri Lankan cuisine.

This is a widely utilized spice in Sri Lanka, and has a more delicate, sweet taste in comparison to Cinnamomum cassia, which is more common in some other Southeast Asian cuisines.

Contrasting the local cuisine with those of neighbouring regions, Sri Lankan cuisine is characterized by unique spice blends with heavy use of Sri Lankan cinnamon and black pepper, as well as by the use of ingredients such as Maldives fish, goraka (Garcinia cambogia), pandan leaf, lemongrass, and jaggery made from kithul palm syrup.

Kandyan Sinhalese cooking is based on local ingredients, including hill vegetables and fruits.

[2] Herbs: pandan leaf (rampe), curry leaf (karapincha), coriander leaf, shallot, goraka, lemongrass, tamarind, garlic, ginger, lime, cayenne pepper, tabasco pepper Fish: Maldives fish, dried fish, mackerel, tuna, shark, sprats, fermented preserved fish Fruits: bananas, mangoes, pineapple, soursop, guava, avocado, orange Grains: white rice (some common varieties are Samba, Kekulu, and Suwandel), red rice (some common varieties are Kekulu, Pachchaperumal, Kaluheenati, and Madathawalu), finger millet, hog millet, olu haal (water lily seed)[3] Meats: chicken, beef, pork, mutton Oils: coconut oil, sesame oil, cow ghee, buffalo ghee, mustard oil Spices: cinnamon, black pepper, fennel, cardamom, cloves, fenugreek, nutmeg, mace, cumin, coriander, turmeric Sweeteners: kithul jaggery, coconut jaggery, palmyrah jaggery Vegetables and greens: gotukola, green papaya, snake beans, bitter melon, snake gourd, luffa, pumpkin, winged bean,moringa Yams, roots and tubers: lotus root, purple yam, tapioca, kohila (Lasia spinosa), Arrowleaf elephant's ear Other: Coconut milk and grated coconut are ubiquitous in the cuisine, and are freshly prepared almost every day in most households.

Generally eaten for breakfast, kiribath is also prepared on special occasions such as birthdays, New Years' and religious festivals.

Hoppers (appa in Sinhala) are based on a fermented batter, usually made of rice flour and coconut milk with spices.

String hoppers (idiyappa in Sinhala) are made from a hot-water dough of rice meal or wheat flour.

Lamprais is ideal for special occasions with large gatherings considering its richness and the time it takes to prepare.

Mallung is a condiment or side dish, comprising chopped greens which are lightly cooked and mixed with grated coconut and red onions.

[18][19][20] A common dessert in Sri Lanka is kevum, an oil cake made with rice flour and treacle and deep-fried to a golden brown.

Moong Kevum is a variant where mung bean flour is made into a paste and shaped like diamonds before frying.

Western food such as hot dogs and hamburgers have arrived in Sri Lanka, with the globalization of fast-food chains such as McDonald's, KFC and Pizza Hut.