The dish of choice in Sri Lanka is rice and curry. And they say it in that order: rice and curry, like the rice is the star of the show. The portion of rice they serve certainly indicates that too.
Many local restaurants and roadhouses had buffets of curries, rice and breads. They loaded up your plate and only charged about 250 – 350LKR ($2 – $3AUD).
There were several vegetarian curries, a lentil dhal and an assortment of sides.
For the meat eaters, there was a fish curry and sometimes fried chicken, which was a couple of dollars more.
One of my favourite sides was the coconut sambal, which was made with shredded coconut flesh and spicy red or green chillis.
Here’s a video I made in Kandy trying all the weird and wonderful food!
Is the street food in Sri Lanka safe to eat?
Yes, and it’s delicious!
My favourite snack, or small food as they called it, was a simple vegetable roti. It was curried vegetables, mostly potato, wrapped up in roti bread into a little triangle and grilled on the hotplate. These were super cheap, around 30 – 50 cents. Two or three of them made a reasonable on-the-go meal.
Another snack I enjoyed a couple of times was deep-fried balls of lentil dhal called dhal vada.
Dhal vadas were often sold by mobile vendors on the trains and were a welcome treat on those long journeys.
This picture shows the assortment of snacks bought from a roadside stall during a road trip: dhal vada, fresh avocado, quartered and eaten straight off the skin, and a vegetable roti.
Is the food in Sri Lanka too spicy?
I use more chilli in my home cooking than the average Australian so I was looking forward to trying the local curries.
I was surprised to find the Sri Lankan food quite mild, yet still full of flavour. A lot of dishes had some spice, but it was usually just a hint.
I didn’t have any problems eating the local food, however my body is very accustomed to eating local food in SE Asian countries. The general rule is to stick to busy places and if in doubt, eat vegetarian.
Is it easy to find fresh produce in Sri Lanka?
Yes. There are lots of fruit stalls, small shops and markets selling fresh fruit and vegetables, bulk dried goods, spices, curd and some packaged items.
I did a whole week’s grocery shop at one fresh produce store when I was cooking in Sri Lanka. I bought bags and bags of fresh vegetables, some fruit, lentils, rice, spices and flour, and it came to 600LKR, or about $5.50AUD.
I bought some extra items like oats, condensed milk (the only type of milk you can get) and curd (buffalo curd, the closest thing to yoghurt) at a supermarket chain called Food City, which was considerably more expensive, but sometimes you just really want your porridge.
What is Kottu Roti?
Kottu roti is another popular local dish. This is basically chopped up roti bread and vegetables fried on a hotplate. You must order one just for the spectacle of the cook rhythmically chopping it up and repeatedly flipping it over on the hotplate.
A lot of places tend to go pretty heavy on the MSG in these though. I think it’s sad how much Maggi in particular has marketed to many developing countries in SE Asia in recent years, that these traditional recipes now include artificial flavouring.
How to make coconut milk: step by step
I was so grateful to spend time with the local women and get an understanding of how they prepare their food.
At home, I love cooking from scratch and working with whatever produce is in season, and this is exactly how they cook in Sri Lanka.
Sri Lanka is still very traditional and in the families I spent time with, the women prepared the meals.
Every kitchen is equipped with a serrated coconut scraper, either attached to a block on the ground as pictured, or a round turning one clamped to the bench, to make their own coconut milk. It was insightful when I realised this was their staple kitchen utensil because I’m so used to cans of coconut milk in Australia.
Watch the video I made of the step by step process here.
One of my Sri Lankan friends, Samali, teaching me how to make coconut milk.
I really do miss the food in Sri Lanka. I have many happy memories of getting warm roti breads and lentil dhal, having picnics scooping up the dhal with the bread and loading it up with spicy coconut sambal.
I have already nailed cooking a good vegetarian lentil dhal from scratch. Now to learn how to make roti bread.
If you know a good Sri Lankan roti recipe, please let me know by commenting below or find me on my Facebook or Instagram.
Thank you!
If you need tips on getting around in Sri Lanka, I wrote this article about the buses, tuktuks and drivers and this article about the most scenic train journey I’ve ever taken!
And here’s that video from Kandy trying all the food!
