Food and Drink

Typically, as an Asian country, the food prepared here is flavoured much by the spice variety as Sri Lanka has always been a source of spices, and it helps to serve plenty of dishes that suit all tastes and palates. The basic or staple food of the locals is made of rice and curries but a vast selection of fruits and vegetables that fruition throughout the year also accompanies the dishes. Fish, meat and seafood are usually cooked with coconut oil and milk adding that enticing to the local menu. Vegetable oil has also taken an important place in the culinary art during the last two decades or so.

Further, Sri Lankan curries that are served with rice, be they of vegetables, meat, fresh fish or dry fish fried they are spicy flavoured with Chilli and onion (Red or Big). Saffron too is added along with curry leaves.
Please, do not be embarrassed to imitate the natives, who eat with their hands. Mixing and crunching all the ingredients with rice brings a real taste. But it might a little too hot If you try to taste each of the components of the dish separately and the overall taste could be too strong for the Western palate as a first timer.
“Aapa” (hoppers) is a type of traditional pancake made of rice flour and eggs, made in a metal bowl over a high flame, served with an egg (“Biththara aapa” or egg hoppers) or honey (“Pani aapa or sweet hoppers”). Another common breakfast of Sri Lanka is the “String hopers “- a kind of noodles served with curry and coconut.
Most widespread seafood can be bought on the beaches; fish is served fresh brought from the Indian Ocean which is rich with different types of fish and other marine kinds. Shrimps of all sizes, many huge lobsters can be obtained at the beaches and mangrove lagoons. Of these, Tuna, Pot mulatto and others are prepared in a variety of cooking methods to make delectable dishes.