Rice and curry is just the beginning. Here are the dishes, snacks, and sweet treats you should not leave the island without trying.
Sri Lankan cuisine is bold, fragrant, and wonderfully diverse — shaped by centuries of trade, Indian and Malay influences, and an abundance of fresh coconut, spices, and seafood.
If you only learn a few dishes before you arrive, make it these.
Rice and curry
The national meal is a generous spread of rice surrounded by several curries — dhal, jackfruit, beetroot, fish, or chicken — alongside sambols and crisp pappadams. No two homes make it the same way.
Hoppers and kottu
Hoppers are bowl-shaped, fermented rice-flour pancakes, often served with a soft egg in the centre. Kottu, made from chopped roti stir-fried with vegetables and spices, is the sound of every evening street — listen for the rhythmic clang of the metal blades.
Short eats and sweets
Look out for fish cutlets, samosas, and spicy patties at every bakery. Finish with curd and treacle, or watalappan, a rich Malay-influenced coconut custard spiced with cardamom.
