Cuisine Sri Lanka

Apart from the staple food as described in the above post, Sri Lankan cuisine is a huge unity of influences from South Indian neighbors and the Portuguese and Dutch pioneer. Milk Rice is concerned as an important cultural valued food since from past till today. Rotti is made by powdered cereal. Also there are gruel prepared using cereal namely Lunu Kenda, Kola Kenda and Kiri Kenda. These gruel help people to build a health body and event give energy to the body.  

According to the ancient sources, herbal gruel have given for patients almost every day which can be categorized as Polpala Kenda, Hathavariya Kenda, Iramusu Kenda, Ranawara Kenda and Gotukola Kenda. In most cases ancient people used to have gruel for their breakfast. Same as gruel there were some fruit drinks which were popular since past like mangoes, orange, lemon.

In the past people were used to have green leaves and vegetables with their meals because they are grown by themselves in home gardening. Food items like drumsticks Wel kohila, Kesel muwa, Kekatiya and Nelum ala were popular from the past. 

The different types of spices were mixed with curries like pepper, ginger, mustard, tamarind, garlic, turmeric, lemon, curry leave. Coconut oil is used for tasting food as well as consumed in preparing food in occasional seasons. Most of the sweets are made out of rice flour and treacle. Some of them are known as Avulpath, Aluwa, Halapa, Ingurudosi, Puhuldosi, Welithalapa, Pani Walalu, Dodol.

From the aryan’s period in Sri Lanka fish and meat were widely consumed. The popular meat is mutton. The fish varieties like Lula, Kavaiya, Pethiya, Prawn and Crab. As well the eggs were consumed in the past such as Chicken eggs, Thara eggs, Kesbe eggs.

With the stated above information we can come to a conclusion that Sri Lanka had a culturally valuable food culture from the past. The food items such as Pittu, Appa, Indi Appa, Wade and Papadam came from Indian culture. During the Portuguese, Dutch and English rules many food items were introduced to Sri Lanka.

Pittu made with the Malay contingents brought by the Dutch and the English. This is a mixture of fresh rice and grated coconut steamed in a bamboo mould.  Thosai is delicious, nutritious and eat with chili sambol. Milk is a food item with high cultural value.

Sri Lankan food culture influenced of Buddhism and Ayurvedic medicine. Different beliefs, blessings and worships have contributed to sustenance of the country’s food habits.