Rice and Curry - boiled rice with curried vegetable, fish and/or meat laced with Sri Lankan spices is the typical Sri Lankan main meal, a gourmet's delight. It is served for both lunch and dinner and some do have it for breakfast too. Curries are usually made hot but can be mellowed to suit the pallet.
Some do prefer something lighter than Rice and Curry for dinner. Dishes such as hoppers, string hoppers and roti are eaten with curries for dinner. String Hoppers are made with rice flour, water and salt mixed into a paste, pressed through a mould with tiny perforations into thin noodle shaped strings, folded into small round hoppers and steamed.
Roti stuffed with fresh chilies, onions and cooked eggs, griddle-cooked meat or fish are also popular. Kotu roti is chopped roti with onions, vegetables and meat. It cools quickly and is popular for people short on time although in the countryside the overwhelming majority of people seem to have all the time in the world and yet like this type of roti.
Ayurveda is a philosophy of healthy living that has found its way into Sri Lankan cooking. The word is derived from ayur, life and veda “wisdom”. The ayurvedic philosophy is that one's general well being depends on one's choice of diet, lifestyle and habits. Keeping these in balance is the bets way to minimize stress and its associated health problems.
Sri Lankan cuisine can be described as observing detail and tradition, and all of these delightful options make Sri Lanka a paradise for food lovers. |
