A Postcard from Sri Lanka
In her Postcard from Sri Lanka, food TV producer Antonia Lloyd takes us on a sensory journey through the Indian Ocean island’s lush landscapes and vibrant kitchens. The rich and diverse cuisine of the island is shaped by centuries of trade, colonial influence, and both Buddhist and Tamil tradition. From hoppers at breakfast to fiery roadside curries, it's a delicious portrait of a country where spice is a way of life.
Sri Lanka (which means ‘resplendent island’ in Sanskrit) is a teardrop shaped tropical island off the south coast of India. It blew me away when I travelled there earlier this year. Flying into the capital, Colombo, over the Laccadive sea, my first impression was a land of lush vegetation, bursting with tall, leafy coconut and mango trees, and a pleasant, warm humidity that enveloped me. The ancient Sinhalese and Tamil culture has endured waves of colonisers—Portuguese, Dutch and British—fighting over its strategic position on the spice trade route since the 16th Century and I hoped that a two-week tour would give me a better insight into its history, people and, of course, the cuisine.
Sri Lankan food is known for its robust spicing, ubiquitous coconut and rice, a tempting spectrum of curries and dal, as well as iconic dishes such as hoppers (rice and coconut pancakes), southern Indian style masala thosai (another crepe-like breakfast dish) ,pillowy idli (small steamed cakes made from rice and black lentils), biriyani, and, of course, Ceylon tea. I am a fan of our local Sri Lankan restaurant in the UK, The Coconut Tree, so the prospect of a fortnight of exploratory eating made me beyond excited, while my husband was more fearful of the chilli peppers—over 60 types are grown—which are added liberally to dals, fish, meat and vegetable curries, side sambols and chutney. It is, after all, home to the aptly named ‘cobra chilli’, one of the hottest chillis in the world.
Sri Lankan Dal from The Spice Collector’s Cookbook by Vina Patel
Sri Lankan Pumpkin Curry from The Nutmeg Trail by Eleanor Ford
Green Coconut Chutney from Hidden Kitchens of Sri Lanka by Bree Hutchins
Our journey began in the historic ‘Cultural Triangle’, a treasure trove of UNESCO world heritage sites in the centre of the country. We set off early to scale the 180m high ancient fortress of Sigirya or ‘Lion’s Rock’ that many consider the eighth wonder of the world. After a breakfast of champions featuring thick, round pol rotis to mop up a light vegetable dal, and plenty of moreish seeni sambol (caramelised onions with a varying degree of chilli depending where you are), we were ready.
Pol Roti from Hidden Kitchens of Sri Lanka by Bree Hutchins
Seeni Sambol from Hidden Kitchens of Sri Lanka by Bree Hutchins
Lion’s Rock is an extraordinary granite formation surrounded by jungle that towers above you. With bated breath, we ascended a series of staircases emerging from the mouth of a gigantic lion constructed of bricks and plaster. Only those with the stomach for heights (we lost two in our party to the midpoint step) made the final ascent to the summit of the ancient capital built in the 5th Century by the parricidal King Kassapa (473–95 CE). It was truly breathtaking: forest jungle extended for miles, a temple glistened in the distance, the toque macaque monkeys with their distinctive pinkish cap played, snarled and hissed in succession, and our local guide insisted on taking some unique family jumping snaps for posterity.
Lion’s Rock
We’d certainly earnt that evening’s arrack, a traditional local spirit distilled from the sap of the coconut flower stem that we mixed with chilled ginger beer, and we dined heartily on chicken curry infused with locally grown coriander, cinnamon, and cardamom, a coconut red lentil dal shimmering with mustard seeds and crisp curry leaves, stacks of rotis, and a dessert of fresh pineapple and papaya carved into long boats.
A stupa at Polonnaruwa Vatadage
A visit to the ancient Sinhalese kingdom of Polonnoruwa was another highlight. This former second capital of Sri Lanka was once the epicentre for religion, trade, and culture and has stupas (tradtional brick structures) dating back to the 12th Century. To fuel our exploration of the excavated ruins of Polonnaruwa across the vast 4 km site—incorporating royal palaces, monasteries, and Buddhist and Hindu temples—we had possibly our best lunch of the whole trip.
A farm lunch
Wood-fired cooking at its best
Our guide took us for a farm lunch at Priyamali Gedara. Set back from the road in a modest farmhouse, we were introduced to the owner and his wife, the cook, who prepared lunch in the traditional way over firewood in a rustic shed. Seated at wooden tables with views over the paddy fields (kumbura), a dizzying array of bowls were set before us – a dream buffet that I still see at night when I fall asleep.
Piling up our banana leaf plates, there were starters or ‘short eats’ of crispy papadam, fish cutlets, moreish parappu vadai (deep fried chickpea patties) followed by a wondrous selection of fruit and vegetable curries– mango, pineapple, jackfruit, snake bean, bitter gourd, okra as well as vegetables introduced by the British including aubergine and pumpkin prepared two different ways in a thin coconut sauce and crispy, almost deep fried, with chillis and curry leaves– served with rice, fresh rotis, sambols, and mallums (greens). There was also a fish ambul thiyal: a sour fish curry with a prominent use of vinegar that I’d heard was a culinary element introduced by the Portuguese. For dessert, we ate bibikan, a jaggary coconut cake that was dark and treacly and baby kolikuttu bananas that tasted like caramel.
Lunch was matched by the monumental site that we gently cycled through, quenching our thirst with fresh coconut water drunk through straws and laughing at the cheeky macaques, who’d been stealing people’s phones by the stupas, and had the last laugh on us too—whipping ice-creams out of the children’s hands!
Our next stop was Kandy, the last capital of the Sinhalese monarchy (1469-1818) and famous for the Temple of the Tooth, a sacred pilgrimage site for Buddhists (which 75% of the country are). In Kandy we ate our first egg hoppers, crisp bowl-like rice-flour pancakes with a soft boiled egg that we devoured for breakfast with sambol and dal- the sweet chilli tingle on the tongue by now a very welcome start to the day. In Kandy we marvelled at one of Asia’s largest Botanical gardens at Peradeniya with an orchid collection to rival Kew Gardens, wandering along framed pathways of palm trees, spotting ficus planted by visiting royalty from Tsar Nicholas II to Queen Elizabeth II. It was here that Ceylon tea was first grown.
The British colonized the country (then known as Ceylon) from 1802–1948 and introduced tea plantations in the late 1800s after testing the fertile land in the hilly region southeast of Kandy. Today this tea-making region is best viewed by train winding through the misty hills to Ella, revealing one of the world's largest tea producers in all its glory. Unsurprisingly, we felt very at home drinking black or milky tea in the mornings and often at tea-time, a legacy from British colonial times.
The Royal Botanical Gardens
A selection of the famous Ceylon Tea
Road side stalls and little pastry shops boasted all kinds of sweet treats and biscuits like Dutch kokis, wheel-shaped crisp cookies. We also enjoyed Ceylon tea with a slither of the celebratory Love Cake, packed with cashew nuts, semolina and perfumed with exotic spices. Thought to originate from Portugese bolo d'amor ("cake of love"), it was first baked in the 16th Century, and some folklore claims that local women made it to win the hearts of Portuguese sailors. Today family recipes are closely guarded secrets (though ckbk offers several versions to compare) containing spices like cardamom, cinnamon, cloves and nutmeg, along with lime zest, rosewater and honey.
Our final leg by train took us briefly through bustling Colombo where we wandered through the Pettah market—weaving through mounds of okra, garlic, squash and the longest aubergines I’ve ever seen, men pushing trolleys of gargantuan rice bags, and a kaleidoscope of plastic hair clips, shiny bead necklaces and keyrings. We tuk-tukked to the legendary ‘Barefoot Shop’ established in the 1960s by artist-designer Barbara Sansoni selling handwoven fabrics and clothes alive with vivid pattern and geometric line before dashing for our onward train.
Continuing southwards, we were eager to explore the stunning southern coastline with picture-postcard beaches, surfing, and seafood. Coconuts were used to fire up a barbecue in Bentota where we ate grilled lobsters brushed with garlic butter and got our fingers messy devouring crispy shell-on barbecued prawns.
We visited historic Galle, which for centuries was the most strategic trading port in Sri Lanka, a hub for trade between Europe, Asia, and Africa on the ancient maritime route. In Galle Fort built by the Portuguese and expanded later by the Dutch, we wolfed down majestic prawn and crab curries that were fragrant, creamy and had a rounded chilli heat. We were captivated by the local fishermen selling their daily catch by the roadside, a vision of vermillion red scaled grouper fish, yellowfin tuna, and shrimp. My Sinhalese-British sister-in-law negotiated a fair price for the 20 of us, enabling us to prepare the freshest fish supper for our family crowd. We marinaded rockfish in a medley of spices, pan-roasted it, and served it with a mango salsa, and the classic dal, roti, rice. With a crate of the local Lion beer and a 2kg bag of rambutans for dessert, it was a triumph of a dinner.
Our whirlwind tour gave us a real taste for Sri Lanka, a greater tolerance of chilli heat, and an appreciation of the influences that have shaped its cuisine. Dare I say it, food felt rather bland upon our return. It’s no surprise that after a tumultuous political period and civil war, this gem of an island is deservedly seeing a revived popularity.
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