A Beginner's Guide to Sri Lankan Cuisine

Sri Lankan food is built around rice and curry — not a single dish but a spread of several curries, sambols and accompaniments served together. Coconut appears throughout, from milk in curries to the sharp, chilli-laced pol sambol served alongside almost everything. Hoppers — bowl-shaped fermented rice-flour pancakes, often served with an egg cracked into the centre — are a breakfast staple worth seeking out from a local eatery rather than a hotel buffet. In Jaffna, expect a noticeably different, Tamil-influenced cuisine with fiery crab curry and distinct vegetarian dishes. Street food lovers should try kottu roti, a satisfyingly loud dish of chopped flatbread stir-fried with vegetables, egg and your choice of meat on a hot griddle.