This article is brought to you in part by Aliyaa Island Restaurant & Bar.

What comes to mind when you think about Sri Lankan cuisine? “It’s like Indian food!” will be the common answer, I’m sure. However, contrary to popular belief, Sri Lankan cuisine is not at all the same as Indian cuisine – there are similarities, but anyone who has had a taste of both will attest that the two cuisines are distinctly individual.

So let’s take a look at what you ought to know about Sri Lankan food, especially if you’ve never tasted it:

1. It is not the same as Indian food

So let’s start with the obvious. From the ratio of spices to the texture of curries, Sri Lankan packs a more powerful punch compared to Indian food. That’s not to say that Indian food isn’t flavourful but, Sri Lankan food is simply more ‘in your face,’ pinging all your taste buds at the same time because of the liberal use of spices.

One of the spices that Sri Lanka is famous for is, of course, Ceylon Cinnamon. The spice is originally grown in Sri Lanka and has even been mentioned in biblical records and ancient Egyptian recipes. Even the Romans loved cinnamon for its medicinal and culinary values – they were the leading cinnamon buyers of the ancient world!

In terms of protein, Indian cuisine is vegan- and vegetarian-friendly, while Sri Lankan cuisine is unapologetic about the use of meat. From chicken to mutton, goat, fish, and crab, a Sri Lankan meal is incomplete without at least a couple of meat dishes.

2. The cuisine is diversely influenced by European visitors

Thanks to the island’s rich and varied history, Sri Lankan cuisine is heavily influenced by the Dutch, Portuguese, and English. Much of Sri Lankan cuisine is an amalgamation of Keralan food and colonial influences, changing the local food so much that traditional Sri Lankan dishes of today are mostly unrecognisable in their parent country – a fate shared by Malaysian cuisine.

Arab traders introduced saffron and rose water while the Portuguese introduced the use of chillies and the technique of tempering, where spices are heated in hot oil or ghee. The Dutch are credited with introducing specific recipes like Christmas cake, while Malay influences can be seen in desserts like wattalapam (coconut custard pudding) and rice dishes like pilau (rice with spices and sometimes meat).

3. Coconuts feature in almost everything

 

The island of Sri Lanka is well known for its elephants, cinnamon, and coconuts. The island has an abundance of swaying coconut trees and the fruit is used liberally in Sri Lankan cooking, from the juice to the flesh, both young and old.

Coconut milk is used in curries, grated coconut is used to make sambals and condiments, and coconut water is used in desserts and rice dishes. There are very few recipes in Sri Lankan cuisine that omit coconut.

4. Chillies are a staple

One of the foreign influences that the Sri Lankan people have embraced whole-heartedly is chillies – over 60 types of them are grown on the island. It’s not surprising then that the heat level of this cuisine is significantly higher than that of food from both north and south India.

Chillies are used in various forms – ground, fresh, and dried – to both flavour and colour a dish. The redder a dish is, the spicier you can expect it to be. However, generations of cooking means that Sri Lankan cooks and chefs are adept at balancing heat with flavour.

5. There are dishes unique to Sri Lanka

There are several dishes unique to Sri Lankan cuisine. One example is lamprais, a dish introduced by Dutch settlers who’ve been in Sri Lanka since about the 16th century. Lamprais, which comes from the terms ‘lump rice’, is a savoury rice dish with a mixed meat curry, meatballs, belacan, sambal, and aubergine curry. Rice and side dishes are packed together into plantain leaf and baked.

Another unique dish is kiribath, rice cooked in coconut milk and compressed into cakes, and kotthu which is shredded roti stir-fried with vegetables, eggs, meat, and/or cheese.

6. A meal is incomplete without condiments

Most Sri Lankan meals are incomplete without an array of colourful condiments. Saucers of pol sambal (coconut sambal), eggplant moju (pickle), lunu miris (spicy sambal), seeni sambal (sweet and spicy sambal with onions), and more serve to lift up the many rice-based dishes on the island such as string hoppers, kiribath, and appams.

7. ‘Short eats’ are a treat

Another European thread in Sri Lanka’s cuisine is something called short eats. These are bite-sized snacks usually eaten in the evening as a tea-time snack. It’s cocktail party fare. Commonly found short eats include cutles (more like croquettes), the familiar vadai, samosas, and even spicy boiled chickpeas.

8. Ceylon Tea

 

The humidity, cool temperatures, and rainfall of the country’s central highlands provide a climate that favours the production of high-quality tea. The industry was introduced to the country in 1867 by James Taylor, a British planter who arrived in 1852. Since then, Ceylon tea is considered some of the best teas in the world.

Where can I get Sri Lankan food in KL?

If you’d like to sink your teeth into authentic Sri Lankan cuisine this side of Colombo, head over to Aliyaa Island Restaurant and Bar in Plaza Damansara. The chefs use spices actually brought in from Sri Lanka to cook up traditional recipes, bringing a genuine taste of the island to the Malay Peninsula.

Aliyaa’s offerings have won numerous awards for their food from gourmet festivals in Malaysia, such as Most Outstanding Main Course (Meat), Most Outstanding Soup, Most Outstanding Dessert, and Most Popular Restaurant at the the Malaysia International Gourmet Festival (MIGF) Awards.

A trip to Aliyaa is incomplete without tasting their speciality, Sri Lankan Crab: tender succulent crab, fried or cooked in a curry. Also not to be missed are the appams, sweet and savoury pancakes made with fermented rice batter and coconut milk. Aliyaa also carries a range of Premium Grade Ceylon tea that is brewed to perfection, and hopes to create its own brand of tea from the hills of Nuwara Eliya to be directly shipped and sold here.

You can even take a bit of Sri Lanka home with you as Aliyaa will begin selling their spices on retail as well, by popular demand.

Location & Details

Address: 48, Plaza Damansara, Medan Setia 2, Bukit Damansara, 50490 Kuala Lumpur
Tel: +603-2092 5378