Sri Lankan style Breakfast
Several guests interested in Sri Lanka's culture also like to gain an impression of Sri Lanka's food. This, of course, starts with a breakfast that differs from the British and continental style of breakfast. This page provides some information about dishes usually served for breakfast among locals in Sri Lanka. Even some breakfast buffets of better hotels also include some Sri Lankan dishes, besides international ones.
String Hoppers (rice noodles) are the favourite staple food for breakfast meals in Sri Lanka. Other common staple foods are Pol Pittu (made of rice flour with scraped coconut) and Dosa (rice pancake with black gram), also normal noodles and bread, and Kiribath (coconut-milk rice) particularly on special occasions.
The typical curriy served for breakfast is Kiri Hodhi (a gravy based on coconut milk), it's used for egg curry or potato curry or fish. The gravies for curries for breakfast are not as spicy as those for lunch and dinner, mild curries or also sweet curries. The spicy breakfast side dish is Katta Sambola also known as Lunu Miris (chilis with onion and lime juice). A very common curry for all Sri Lankan dishes is Dal (lentils), it's often served for breakfast. Morning soups before breakfast are common in Sri Lanka, too. This so-called Kola Keda is only eaten on an empty stomach. It's a kind of Ayurvedic drink.
Sri Lankans don't drink while eating breakfast, only afterwards. After eating rice for breakfast, Sri Lankans often drink no tea at all. But after eating noodles or Rotis with Lunu Miris, it's normal to drink tea immediately. Milk tea is served after breakfast, too.
String Hoppers (rice noodles) are the favourite staple food for breakfast meals in Sri Lanka. Other common staple foods are Pol Pittu (made of rice flour with scraped coconut) and Dosa (rice pancake with black gram), also normal noodles and bread, and Kiribath (coconut-milk rice) particularly on special occasions.
The typical curriy served for breakfast is Kiri Hodhi (a gravy based on coconut milk), it's used for egg curry or potato curry or fish. The gravies for curries for breakfast are not as spicy as those for lunch and dinner, mild curries or also sweet curries. The spicy breakfast side dish is Katta Sambola also known as Lunu Miris (chilis with onion and lime juice). A very common curry for all Sri Lankan dishes is Dal (lentils), it's often served for breakfast. Morning soups before breakfast are common in Sri Lanka, too. This so-called Kola Keda is only eaten on an empty stomach. It's a kind of Ayurvedic drink.
Sri Lankans don't drink while eating breakfast, only afterwards. After eating rice for breakfast, Sri Lankans often drink no tea at all. But after eating noodles or Rotis with Lunu Miris, it's normal to drink tea immediately. Milk tea is served after breakfast, too.
Rotis - Pol Rotis (පොල් රොටි )
Sri Lanka Rotis
Rotis are a typical Indian kind of unleavened flatbread made from wheat flour. Usually rotis are taken as an accompinant to other foods. But rotis in Sri Lanka differ from those in most Indian states. Sri Lankan rotis are thicker, they can be made from finger millet (then called „Kurakkan Roti“) instead of wheat, they commonly have more ingredients than only wheat and water and oil and salt and Sri Lankan rotis are served not as a mere supplement but form a part of the main meal. Apart from string hoppers (rice floor noodles) rotis are the most common staple food of breakfast dishes in Sri Lanka. Rotis are eaten with spicy onion sambols and also with vegetable curries.
The most popular kind of roti in Sri Lanka is called „Pol Roti“, which translates to „coconut flatbread“, scraped coconut being the crucial additional ingredient. Almost all rotis in the lowlands of the island are made with fresh coconut flakes. Actually, when you hear the English term „Plain Rotis“ in Sri Lanka‘s lowlands, what is meant is almost always „Pol Roti“. In contrast, the rotis in the hillcountry are no coconut rotis, because it would be more expensive in those cooler regions. The rotis in Sri Lanka‘s highlands differ in another way, as they make use of yeast, which is uncommon in the lowland regions. Most of the hotels in Sri Lankas serve rottis for breakfast, too. Even if they do not provide spicy sambhols and curries in the Sri Lankan style, rotis are tasty also when eaten with butter or jam or with a soup. |
Ingredients of all normal rotis500 g all-purpose wheat flower
1 cup water 1 tsp salt 1 Tbsp coconut oil additional ingredient in Sri Lanka‘s lowlands1 coconut shredded
additional possible ingredients for spicy variants- red onions (Colombo onions)
- green chili - curry leaves PreparationMix the flour, salt and water. For the Sri Lankan Pol Roti, add the coconut, too. For a more spicy taste, add minced curry leaves or chopped Colombo onions or green chili powder or chili flakes.
Moisten it into a not too soft dough, so do not use more than one cup of water. Knead the ball-like dough a bit. For a better taste, you can stir some coconut oil in the dough when the other ingredients are mixed already 70 to 80% but not yet completely. Use some coconut oil on the surface of the dough for forming six to eight smaller balls and roll them out on a board. Use a grill or otherwise a flat cooking surface or a pan. There is no need to grease the grill or pan with additional fat or oil. Cook the dough on the grill or flat surface on only a medium fire. After the underside is crispy, just turn over. In Sri Lanka, rotis are almost always served with a chili paste called "Katta Sambola", see below. The roti variant in the highlands is perfect for chicken or pork or dal curries, too. |
Katta Sambola (කට්ට සම්බොල)
Katta Sambola is the Sinhala name of the typical Sri Lankan sambol. It's also known as Lunu Miris, a Sinhala term meaning "onion chili". Katta Sambola indeed is simply a chili paste with red onions. A popular varient also uses cured tuna which is known under the name "Umbalakada" in Sinhala or "Maldives Fish" in English. Also Kiribat, the traditional coconut-milk rice served on Buddhist festival days, is commonly served with Katta Sambola
ingredients50 g Colombo onion (red onion)
20 g dry red chili 1 lime half teaspoon salt optional: 15 g Maldives fish powder (Umbalakada) |
preparationCut the red onions very fine. Grind the chilis 75%, not 100%. Then add other gredients and mix with fresh lime. The Sambhol is ready. That's easily done.
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Kiribath (කිරිබත්)
Kiribath
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Ingredients of Kiribath750 g short-grain rice, for example Rathu Kekulu (red rice)
thick coconut milk of 1 1/2 coconuts 1 1/2 tsp salt PreparationSqueeze the coconuts and add about 4 cups of water to get thick coconut milk. The rice is cooked in boiling water for about fifteen minutes, until it's 90% ready. Only afterwards, the coconut milk mixed with salt is added. Stir well, before simmering the rice again, until the the consistency becomes tight and sticky.
Kiribat is usually cut in square-shaped blocks, after being flattened on a dish and smoothened on the top. The Kiribath blocks are commonly served with a spicy Katta Sambola, see above. It can also be consumed with sweet side dishes such as jaggery or fruits. |
Kiribath (also transcribed "Kiri Bath") is a Sinhala term simply translating to "milk rice". However, it is not made from milk but from coconut-milk, which traditionally plays an even more significant role in Sri Lankan cuisine than in other tropical Asian countries. Kiribath, which is somewhat unique to Sri Lanka, is of a tighter and less gelatinous consistency when compared to Western milk rice. Actually, Kiribath resembles more a rice cake.
In Sri Lanka's Buddhist tradition, Kiribath is an essential breakfast dish on festival days, particularly on Poya days (full moon celebrations), when it forms the centrepiece of the meals. Most significantly, Kiribath is the first meal eaten in the morning of Sinhalese New Year celebrations. Kiribath is also the first solid food given to an infant and the first meal of a bride at wedding ceremonies. In general, Kiribath symbolizes the exceptional celebration of an auspicious new beginning.
In contrast to Western milk rice, Kiribath is less often sweetened. Salt is a more common ingredient.
In Sri Lanka's Buddhist tradition, Kiribath is an essential breakfast dish on festival days, particularly on Poya days (full moon celebrations), when it forms the centrepiece of the meals. Most significantly, Kiribath is the first meal eaten in the morning of Sinhalese New Year celebrations. Kiribath is also the first solid food given to an infant and the first meal of a bride at wedding ceremonies. In general, Kiribath symbolizes the exceptional celebration of an auspicious new beginning.
In contrast to Western milk rice, Kiribath is less often sweetened. Salt is a more common ingredient.
