Local Dishes

1. කිරිබත්

   kiribath

   Kiribath (rice cooked in coconut milk)

   Usage

   Cut into diamonds and served for celebrations and the first of the month, with hot lunu miris or jaggery on the side

2. ආප්ප

   āppa

   Hopper (bowl-shaped rice flour pancake)

   Usage

   Fermented rice flour and coconut milk cooked in a round pan, thin at the rim and thick in the middle. Sold morning and evening

3. බිත්තර ආප්ප

   biththara āppa

   Egg hopper

   Usage

   An egg dropped into the middle as it cooks. Each one is made to order, so expect a short wait

4. ඉඳි ආප්ප

   indi āppa

   String hoppers (steamed rice-flour noodle nests)

   Usage

   Ordered by the piece — ask for ten or fifteen — and eaten with kiri hodda and pol sambola

5. පිට්ටු

   piṭṭu

   Pittu (steamed rice flour and coconut cylinders)

   Usage

   Rice flour and grated coconut steamed in a tube, served with coconut milk or a fish curry

6. කොත්තු

   koththu

   Kottu (chopped flatbread stir-fried on a griddle)

   Usage

   You find the shop by the clatter of blades on the griddle after dark. Many versions (cheese, jackfruit and more) — point at the one you want

7. පොල් රොටී

   pol roṭī

   Coconut roti (flatbread with grated coconut)

   Usage

   A breakfast staple: thick and filling, torn by hand and dipped in lunu miris or curry

8. පරිප්පු

   parippu

   Parippu (lentil curry, dhal)

   Usage

   The word itself means "lentils", but pointing at the pot in an eatery gets you the dhal curry. Mild, so it suits anyone wary of chilli

9. කිරි හොද්ද

   kiri hodda

   Kiri hodda (thin coconut milk gravy)

   Usage

   A pale, almost ingredient-free gravy poured over string hoppers or pittu. Very mild

10. පොල් සම්බෝල

    pol sambōla

    Pol sambola (spicy grated coconut relish)

    Usage

    Grated coconut with chilli, red onion, lime and dried fish. It comes with almost every meal and it is properly hot

11. ලුණු මිරිස්

    luṇu miris

    Lunu miris (chilli and salt paste)

    Usage

    Literally "salt and chilli". The deep-red paste served with kiribath and hoppers, and among the hottest things on the table

12. මැල්ලුම්

    mællum

    Mallum (shredded greens tossed with coconut)

    Usage

    Finely shredded leaves with grated coconut and red onion. Usually not spicy, and the easiest way to get greens on your plate

13. ගොටුකොළ සම්බෝල

    goṭukoḷa sambōla

    Gotukola sambola (pennywort salad)

    Usage

    Pennywort chopped fine and tossed with coconut and lime — close to a raw salad, and a good foil to the curries

14. අච්චාරු

    achchāru

    Achcharu (sweet-and-sour pickle)

    Usage

    A vinegar-and-chilli side dish. The same word covers the sweet-hot mango or pineapple pickle sold at street stalls

15. කරවල

    karavala

    Karavala (dried fish)

    Usage

    Fish salted and sun-dried, then curried or fried as part of a rice plate. Strongly salty and pungent — start with a little

16. ඇඹුල් තියල්

    æmbul thiyal

    Ambul thiyal (sour fish curry)

    Usage

    Fish cooked with dried goraka until almost black — dry and sharply sour. It keeps well, so it doubles as a travelling food

17. හත්මාළුව

    hathmāḷuva

    Hathmaluwa (a curry of seven vegetables)

    Usage

    Seven vegetables simmered in coconut milk, as the name says. A festive dish, and meat-free, so it suits vegetarians

18. ලම්ප්‍රයිස්

    lamprayis

    Lamprais (rice and curries baked in a banana leaf)

    Usage

    One portion of rice, curries and a fried egg wrapped in a banana leaf and baked. Made here since Dutch times, and ideal as a takeaway

19. බිරියානි

    biriyāni

    Biriyani (spiced rice cooked with meat)

    Usage

    Also pronounced "buriyani" in speech. Many shops cook one big pot on Fridays and feast days, and it sells out by early afternoon

20. වඩේ

    vaḍē

    Vade (deep-fried lentil fritter)

    Usage

    A small fritter of ground pulses. Hawked on long-distance buses and trains; some versions have a prawn pressed on top

21. කැවුම්

    kævum

    Kevum (rice flour and treacle oil cake)

    Usage

    Rice flour and treacle deep-fried to a golden ring. Always on the April new-year sweet tray; a mung-bean version also exists

22. කොකිස්

    kokis

    Kokis (crisp rosette-shaped fried sweet)

    Usage

    Batter set on a flower-shaped iron and fried thin. It dates to the colonial period, and the name comes from Dutch "koekjes"

23. අලුවා

    aluvā

    Aluwa (diamond-cut rice flour sweet)

    Usage

    Rice flour worked with sugar and cut into diamonds. A fixture of the festive sweet tray and sold boxed as a gift

24. වටලප්පන්

    vaṭalappan

    Watalappan (jaggery and coconut milk custard)

    Usage

    A steamed custard of coconut milk, egg and jaggery scented with cardamom and nutmeg — the standard festive dessert

25. බිබික්කං

    bibikkaṃ

    Bibikkan (baked coconut and treacle cake)

    Usage

    A dark, dense cake of grated coconut and kitul treacle, sold in squares from bakery trays

26. දොදොල්

    dodol

    Dodol (chewy treacle and coconut sweet)

    Usage

    Kitul treacle, rice flour and coconut milk cooked down for hours into a dark, sticky slab. The Kalutara "kalu dodol" is the best known

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