Top 13 Sri Lankan Dishes You Can’t Miss on Your Trip
Dive into the vibrant flavors of Sri Lanka with our Top 13 Sri Lankan Dishes! Explore aromatic curries, crispy snacks, and unique sweet treats. This list will tantalize your taste buds and have you booking your trip to Sri Lanka in no time.
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Table of Contents
Sri Lanka is a beautiful island and being so close to India, it only makes sense that we know what our neighbor has to offer in terms of food. Being the foodies that we are, we went ahead and got these 13 dishes from the Lanka Land that have left us awestruck. Make sure to take your taste buds on a roller coaster ride with these dishes when you head to Sri Lanka next!
Top 13 Sri Lankan Dishes
Starters
They’re light, yet appetizing. And what more could you want in a starter? Some are spicy and savory, others leave a somber, creamy taste behind. Whichever your preference, Lanka has something for you!
1. Prawn Sampol Kokis
A Sampol is a Sri Lankan spread, which is had with bread, or uppam, or rice, or anything else in between. It’s made with fresh, raw coconut and some coconut milk, so it isn’t completely dry. The base is dry, which is made with rice and has a sort of spicy flavor.
The coconut gives it a sweet taste, and the shrimp adds a twist. It’s a fusion; Sampol being the traditional item and the base pappadam is of Indian origin.
2. Devilled Chicken (Wings)
The Deviled sauce is a Lankan speciality that you just won’t be able to get enough of! It’s a spicy sauce and has a strictly Lankan origin. The sauce can be used for ANYTHING ranging from fish to vegetables, to any meat. It adds a different dimension of flavour.
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It’s a lot tangier and the spice hits you at the very end and will leave your palate tingling. It’s hailed as the best Lankan street food.
3. Ceylon Curry powder Chicken Roast (Jaffna Chicken Roast)
The chicken is marinated in a lemon leaf, roasted curry powder, and curry leaves. It’s a Jafri style of cooking the chicken. The same curry powder can be used for vegetarian dishes, with a lot more cinnamon.
When using it for non-vegetarian dishes, the curry powder has a more pepper. It’s a Sinhala specialty and will be spicier than the usual Lankan spice.
4. Stuffed Kuzhipaniyaram
It’s somewhat of a fusion, but with a lot more traditional. It’s made in the traditional Kuzhipaniyaram kadhai on direct fire. It’s a rice batter, that’s made into a batter, and into buns with the little stuffing in them.
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5. Melaga Thanni Soup (Mulgutwany Soup)
It’s the most authentic pepper soup from Lanka. It’s also called the National Soup of Lanka land.
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Main Course
This is what we’re all here for! Each cuisine has something very unique that cannot be infused into any other. Sri Lankan food has one dominating flavour over all others; this flavour must be kept in mind when cooking anything from Lanka. Here are a few main course dishes from Sri Lanka that you absolutely cannot miss out on!
1. Iddiyappam Biryani
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It’s a sort of Sri Lankan string hoppers (vermicelli) layered with the spicy mix a veg curry. It’s infused with a lot of saffron, and has a unique taste because it’s not rice, but vermicelli.
Recipe you may like
Jackfruit (Kathal) Biryani
Many thousands of years back when there was no concept of "vegetarianism" in India, everyone ate meat. They caught game, killed and ate it and this included animals like Rhinoceros, Wild Boar, assorted birds like Quail, Pigeon and Grouse and of course the Royal Venison or deer meat which was one of the most treasured culinary delights.With the advent of the caste system and associated conceptual turning around of the society, certain vegetables were treated as "vegetarian meats" and they were primarily used as substitutes of meat namely Chicken, Mutton(Goat meat), Beef and Pork. Some of these vegetables were Jackfruit, Potatoes, Turnips, Radish, Soybean, Avocado, Beetroot and Tomato.Pure vegan products or "vegan meats" such as Tempeh and Seitan have come up to give vegetarians the same protein and nutrients animal flesh gives the "non vegetarian" population. I am very sorry to state here that there is an ongoing war between people who eat meat products and people who do not and each group tries to prove their stance and establish themselves as correct.It is advisable to respect each other's individuality and adopt neutrality towards any preference in the edible product category. Coming back to this delicious rice tongue pleaser, this is made the same way as you would make any non vegetarian Biryani with the only difference that we substitute Jackfruit as the primary ingredient and we cook the Biryani till the rice and Jackfruit take on the flavour of the added ingredients and the pieces of Jackfruit become juicy and succulent and the aroma of the lovely ingredients cooking in the handi pervades the whole house.Believe me when I say that though you may call the preparation tedious but when you taste the final product you will close your eyes and revel in the various masala amalgamations which this Biryani is popular about.This rice wonder was started in the Awadh province back in the 1800 when Nawab Wajid Ali Shah wanted something vegetarian as he was tired of eating meat but wanted the same taste and zayka or as we say "the subtle deliciousness" provided by the recipe!
Check out this recipe
2. Ambul Thiyal
This hot sour, peppery dish were originally developed as a way to preserve fish in the South of Sri Lanka. It has a very sour and high-strung taste, but it’s teeming with flavours. It’s a method of cooking pickled fish, and they use kokum for the curry which is what gives it its brown colour.
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3. Elumas Curry
This Sri Lankan mutton curry is a hearty & comforting fit for any occasion. It’s a hundred percent authentic Sri Lankan and you won’t get the same taste anywhere else. You might want to mellow down the spice that’s used by the Lankans because it just might be a little too much for Indian taste buds.
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4. Ceylon Paratha
This is a Ceylon style folded veechu paratha, ideally eaten with the non-veg curries it’s accompanied with. However, it’s very soft and melt-in-the-mouth so you have it as an evening snack or just something too much on with your tea.
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5. Lamprais
This is a hundred percent authentic Sri Lankan food, with a very strong Dutch influence. This biryani has banana fritters, chicken masala, croquettes, and a lot of different items that go into making it a very delicious meal.
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6. King’s Chicken Curry
A very royal curry that’s now found everywhere in Lanka. It’s one of the most flavorful dishes on the list, right next to the Ambul Thival (pickled fish curry), and is also very spicy. This curry is the highest on the must-try Sri Lankan dishes list we have!
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Desserts
This is the best part of any cuisine and Sri Lankan is no different. Owning to its coastal nature, a lot of palm jaggery and coconut milk is used in the desserts, which give it a sweetness that’s natural and healthy!
1. Wattalappam
It’s the Sri Lankan style of making a Crème Brule. It’s steamed coconut and the palm tree jaggery mixed together, so the sweetness is a hundred percent natural.
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2. Kalu Dodol
It takes a lot of time and effort to make this dessert, but it’s worth the wait. It’s made with rice flour and a special kind of jaggery called kithul jaggery. It’s a Sri Lankan specialty, so it definitely has a touch of coconut milk to it as well, making it very sticky and sweet.
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