Sri Lankan cuisine is one of the most complex cuisines of South Asia. Due to it's proximity to South India, the cuisine of Sri Lanka shows some influence, yet in many ways is quite distinct. As a major trade hub, it draws influence from colonial powers that were involved in Sri Lanka and by foreign traders.
Rice which is consumed daily, can be found at any occasion, while spicy curries are favourite dishes for lunch and dinner. Some of the Sri Lankan dishes have striking resemblance to Kerala Cuisine, which could be due to the geographic and agricultural features with Kerala.
Main Dishes
Sri Lanka has been renowned for its spices. in the 15th and 16th centuries, traders from all over the world who came to Sri Lanka brought their native cuisines to the Island, resulting in a rich diversity of cooking styles and techniques.
Sri Lankan cuisine mainly consists of boiled or steamed rice served with curry, this usually consists of a main curry fish, chicken, beef, pork or mutton as well as several other curries made with vegetables and even with fruit.
Side dishes include pickle, chutneys and sambols. The most famous of these is the coconut sambol made of ground coconut with chillies, dried maldive fish and lime juice.
Sri Lankan people use spices liberally in their dishes and typically do not follow an exact recipe, thus every cook's curry will taste slightly different. Furthermore, people from different regions of the island for instance, (hill country dwellers versus coastal dwellers) traditionally cook in different ways while people of different ethnic and religious groups tend to prepare dishes according to their customs.
Many spicy Sri Lankan dishes are believed to be amongst the world's hottest in terms of chilli content. As a result, many local restaurants in developed and tourist areas offer special low-spice versions of local foods to cater to foreign palates or have an alternative western menu for tourists.
For authentic Sri Lankan recipes, click here
This post first appeared on Sri Lanka- Pearl Of The Indian Ocean, please read the originial post: here
