Food is an important part of any culture and is integral to a nation's identity. The cuisine of any nation has a lot to do with its geographic location and availability of produce. Sri Lanka's cuisine draws its influences from India, as well as other countries that colonized the island country.

Besides the staple curry and rice, make sure you try the spicy sambhols, delicious kiritbath and the famous Sri Lankan hoppers (appams)!

After you're experienced some shopping in Sri Lanka read our Sri Lanka cuisine and food guide below. To read more about local food & places to eat, check out our Colmbo and Restaurants in Sri Lanka to find the best places to eat at. Relax and experience our exotic food. For more local cuisine and restaurant information, take a look at our Colombo and Southern Coast restaurant guides.

Sri Lanka Cuisine & Food Guide

Sri Lanka was primarily an agricultural society and everyone from the rich to the poor grew rice. Hence, rice is a staple for the people here. The extensive coastline and sensational spice plantations have resulted in an abundance of coconut and a variety of spices, such as cinnamon and red chillies. As a result, rice, coconut and an aromatic concoction of spices form the mainstay of most Sri Lankan food.

While you will find a good variety of liquor in this country, a taste of freshly tapped Toddy is an experience of another kind. Popular with the locals, this drink tastes best in the morning when it is freshly tapped from the palm trees. Sri Lanka is among the nations producing the finest tea in the world, and it is no surprise that tea is a popular drink in this country. Most Sri Lankans punctuate their day with several cups of tea.

Food Facts

Curries in Sri Lanka could be vegetable or even fruit curries - they are not just limited to meat or fish platters. A Sri Lankan meal would typically consist of a "main curry" made of fish, beef, chicken or mutton, as well as a variety of spicy curries made with vegetables and lentils, flavoured with a delectable mixture of herbs and spices. The food here is strongly influenced by a combination of Indian, Dutch and Portuguese cuisines. The country also has a mouth-watering array of delicious tropical fruits such as mangosteen, papaya, banana, mango, and jackfruit.

Traditional Eating Habits

Most Sri Lankan families eat three meals a day - breakfast, lunch and dinner. Families usually gather around and eat their meals together. At breakfast a piping hot cup of tea accompanied with rice cakes is the favourite of most people. Lunch and dinner usually consist of bread, rice, curry with meat, fish, poultry, vegetables or lentils. To make their meals spicy Sri Lankans add a small amount of pickles and chutneys to their meals. Sambols or spicy preparations made of grated coconut, onions, chilli, lime juice and dried fish are popular with most Sri Lankans. However, if your spice tolerance is low, then be sure to try this potent mixture in small proportions. And, of course, keep a large glass of water ready at hand!

While a lot of coconut is used in food preparation along the coast, the hill areas are greatly influenced by the Dutch and Portuguese cuisines. Several delectable delights like the scrumptious Lamprais (rice boiled with a special curry) and Firkkadels (the Sri Lankan version of the original Dutch meatballs) have been adapted from original Dutch recipes to suit the Sri Lankan palate.

The food here shows traces of British and Malay influences, too, with roast beef and roast chicken being popular meals with locals.

Eating Etiquette

Most Sri Lankans eat with their hands. Hence it is customary to wash your hands before and after a meal. Bread or rice is used to scoop the food off your plate. However, cutlery is available at all restaurants here.

Sweets

Sri Lankan desserts are usually part of a special celebration. They do not constitute a part of the daily meals. Kavun, a delicious deep fried oil cake, is perhaps the most loved dessert on this island. Kiri-bath and Wattalapam are a must on the Sinhala and Tamil New Year days.

Snacks

There is a wide variety of readily available snacks and short eats to choose from. These include pastries, rolls, puff pastries, hot dogs and hamburgers. Hoppers are popular. They can be made savoury or sweet and look like noodles or a pancake.

Hoppers

Hoppers, or Appa, as they are called locally, deserve special mention when talking of Sri Lankan food.

They are made from a fermented batter of rice flour and coconut milk, with a dash of palm toddy. Toddy is added to give the typical sour flavour and, more importantly, for the fermentation process which makes the centres full of little holes. The same action can be achieved by using either fresh or dry yeast. After being left to rise, the batter is poured into a hemispherical pan that resembles a small, more acutely curved wok. You could try this out using a small omelette pan.

There are many types of hoppers including plain hoppers, milk hoppers, egg hoppers, and sweeter varieties known as vanduappa and paniappa.

International Food

Colombo, the financial hub, has several restaurants that serve cuisines from around the world. The city also has a few American fast food chains such as KFC, Pizza Hut and Mc Donald's. However, be mindful when choosing your meal as some items on the menu are customized to suit local tastes. These fast food chains are usually frequented by young people and are not really popular with the older generation. They do not consider food served in these fast food chains a real meal! It usually passes off as a snack, as a real meal can only be made of rice and curry!

Service

The service in this country is impeccable. Eating out is a royal experience. Restaurants pay careful attention to their ambience and décor, and service is always an important consideration. It is all right to tip the wait staff; a generous tip is always appreciated.