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Sri Lanka

Recipes by the places recorded in their sources.

Sri Lanka

14 recipes

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Illustrative finished Lunu dehi: light-brown whole salted limes with visible cuts, chilli and peppercorns in a little vinegar-lime juice, served in an open bowl.

Lunu dehi

Lunu dehi is Sri Lankan salted lime pickle. This version sun-dries cut, salt-stuffed ripe limes, then packs them with dried lime juice, chillies, spices and vinegar.

Sri Lanka · Traditional method
Fruit
Fresh orange-red coconut relish with red onion, chilli and lime in an ivory bowl; an original modern adaptation inspired by pol sambol.

Pol-sambol-inspired coconut relish

A fresh, untested coconut relish developed in reference to Sri Lankan pol sambol. This formula is an adaptation, not a documented traditional recipe or a preserve.

Sri Lanka
· Condiments
Photograph of Seeni sambol.

Seeni sambol

Sri Lankan cooked onion relish: onions fried in oil until dark and jammy, then sharpened with tamarind and sweetened with sugar. Not a fermented condiment.

Sri Lanka
· Condiments
Freshly pounded lunu miris, a coarse red Sri Lankan chilli and onion sambol with visible seeds and a lime wedge.

Lunu miris (Sri Lankan chilli and onion sambol)

Lunu miris is Sri Lanka's pounded onion and chilli sambol: chilli flakes and red onion crushed with salt and lime, often with Maldive fish, eaten in small amounts with hoppers, pol roti and kiribath.

Sri Lanka
· Condiments
Illustrative dark dried Goraka rind pieces in a plain earthenware dish; the species identification follows the cited Sri Lankan government crop source.

Goraka

Goraka is the dried rind of Garcinia quaesita, a souring ingredient for Sri Lankan curries. Its drying is documented, but no complete household method is.

Sri Lanka
Fruit
Softened, quarter-cut golden lime pickle in a shallow ivory bowl.

Lime pickle (Peter Kuruvita)

Peter Kuruvita’s published lime pickle stuffs 20 limes with rock salt, then simmers them in vinegar, sugar and chilli before a two-week rest.

Sri Lanka · Modern method
· Fruit
Illustrative photograph of Sri Lankan roast paan (thati paan): folded, browned yeast-bread pieces with a soft crumb.

Sri Lankan roast paan (thati paan)

A lean Sri Lankan yeast bread baked as joined flat pieces, separated after the first bake, then grilled on both sides for its crisp crust.

Sri Lanka
· Grains and starches
A bowl of coarse orange-red pol sambol made with grated coconut, aromatics and chilli, with lime alongside.

Pol sambol

A Sri Lankan coconut relish made from grated coconut, aromatics, chilli, lime and optional Maldive fish; a seasoned paste is folded through the coconut by hand.

Sri Lanka · Modern method
· Condiments
Hard smoked and dried tuna pieces with fibrous cut faces and thin shavings on an earthenware plate.
High risk

Maldive fish

Maldive fish is a hard, smoke-dried tuna product made in the Maldives and traded especially to Sri Lanka, where it is known as umbalakada. Cooks shave or pound it into a concentrated savory seasoning for sambols, curries and other dishes.

Maldives · Traditional method
· Fish and seafood
A plain appam on a dark plate, its soft center surrounded by a golden, lacy rim.

Appam and hoppers

Appam, or hoppers, are South Indian and Sri Lankan rice pancakes made from a fermented coconut-and-rice batter and cooked in a curved pan to a crisp lacy rim and a soft, spongy centre.

Kerala · Traditional method
· Grains and starches
Plain Sri Lankan godamba roti, thin and folded into soft golden rectangles on an ivory plate.

Plain godamba roti

A Sri Lankan wheat flatbread made from thinly stretched, oil-rested dough and cooked briefly on a dry griddle until soft.

Sri Lanka
Small Sri Lankan pol roti made with fresh grated coconut, browned in spots on a tawa and served plain on a ceramic plate.

Sri Lankan pol roti

An unleavened Sri Lankan flatbread made with fresh grated coconut and wheat flour, cooked on a tawa.

Sri Lanka · Modern adaptation
· Grains and starches
Sri Lankan achcharu of shallots, carrots, green chillies and beans in a ceramic bowl.

Achcharu

Achcharu is a family of Sri Lankan vinegar pickles made with mixed vegetables or seasonal fruit and a piquant spice dressing. This version is a quick, refrigerated, non-fermented mixed-vegetable pickle.

Sri Lanka