The beautiful island of Sri Lanka often gets overshadowed by its neighbour — India — and doesn’t get its due, be it in terms of tourism or cuisine. Sri Lankan restaurants abroad are often conveniently clubbed under “Indian” cuisine. Yes, there is no doubt that Sri Lankan food has similarities with south Indian food, namely Kerala, but it remains distinctly its own form of cuisine.

Throughout years of colonisation and influence from other countries, Sri Lanka has adapted its food into a blend of different curry concoctions and dishes based on its heritage of rich spices. Then known as Ceylon, this strategically located island attracted the Dutch, French and British for the precious spices. The abundant spice gardens of cloves, cardamom, cinnamon, mace, pepper and vanilla were a source of trade for merchants and even today, Sri Lanka is the largest exporter of spices in the world.

During a recent trip, I tried to decode the local flavours and aromas of this beautiful island. A few things can be said with certainty: Sri Lankans love hot and spicy food. They love food that explodes with flavour and they enjoy deep-fried snacks!

Easy access to the sea and a tropical climate make coconuts and fish the two most influential components of Sri Lankan cuisine. A typical meal would be a hearty fish curry, rice, some vegetable curries and dal. (The dal contains coconut milk too!) I know it sounds similar to what we eat back home but there is a stronger use of chillies and spices. Different varieties of scorching hot chillies such as amu miris, kochchi miris and maalu miris (capsicum) are used, as explained to me by the owner of a local eatery in Colombo. To give some of the curries a distinct flavour, dried local Maldive fish is also added.

Sambols are the equivalent of our achaars and chutneys, best described as an array of delicious pungent side dishes to enhance the flavours of the main course. The most common, pol sambol, is a concoction of grated coconut, chilli powder, lime juice and red onions. I enjoyed just eating this by itself with a Sri Lankan-style roti. Lunu miris or onion sambol is a mix of pounded red onions, salt, chilli powder, lime juice and a handful of dried Maldive salted fish... yummy! Other types of sambols are those with carrot, okra, bittergourd and cabbage.

Instead of rice, sambols, curries may be accompanied by appas (like appams in Kerala) or hoppers. Made fresh from a fermented batter of rice flour, coconut milk and a dash of palm toddy, appas are tossed out of special mini woks for a thin and crunchy texture on the edges and a soft thick centre. Eaten with coconut sambol, this is the typical Sri Lankan breakfast.

I enjoyed egg hoppers every morning, which in layman’s terms is a fried egg on a light dosa! String hoppers, milk hoppers and some sweet ones known as vandu appa and pani appa are the other delicious items which feature on the Sri Lankan breakfast table.

They say that the best food of any place is found on the streets. Kothu is an extremely popular Sri Lankan street food found all over Colombo. This is simply shredded pieces of paratha stir-fried with your choice of meat or vegetables and some spices. One can also opt for a cheese kothu, which is even better. I thought this was a very innovative way to eat a paratha and accompaniments while standing, without the hassle of dirtying your hands. A great idea for an addition to the Calcutta street food scene.

Walking further along the beautiful Galle Face Beach, I discovered more mouth-watering treasures. I now understood that Sri Lankans really like their fried snacks. Small carts selling hot cassava (tapioca) chips, fried and salted jackfruit seeds, fish cutlets, vadas made from dal or prawns line the promenade at sunset.

Apart from its gastronomy, the warm hospitality is a point to be appreciated. Be it the taxi driver, the waiter at a restaurant or a passerby stopped by a lost tourist for directions, courtesy and politeness never fell short. Clean streets, orderly traffic and a peaceful atmosphere set Colombo apart from a crowded Indian city. Sri Lanka is an island inviting to be explored further and I will definitely return for more.

I was fortunate to get some cooking lessons from a Sri Lankan friend during my trip. Here is a home-style fish curry which had me licking my fingers (not something I usually do)!

Home-style Sri Lankan Fish Curry

Ingredients

4 medium-sized fish steaks (bekti will do)

1 large onion, chopped

4 garlic cloves, finely chopped

½ tsp ground turmeric

2 tbsp Sri Lankan curry powder (see below)

2 medium-sized tomatoes, skinned and chopped

50ml tamarind liquid

For the Sri Lankan curry powder

2½ tbsp coriander seeds

A pinch of fenugreek seeds

1” piece cinnamon stick

2 green cardamom pods

Method

For the Sri Lankan curry powder, simply grind everything together into a fine powder. Store in a jar.

Rinse the fish steaks under cold water and dry on paper. Heat oil in a large, shallow pan; add the onion, garlic, curry leaves and fry gently for 7-10 minutes until the onions are soft and lightly golden.

Add the turmeric, chilli powder and 2tbsp of the Sri Lankan curry powder and fry for 1-2 minutes. Add the tomatoes, tamarind liquid, coconut milk and 1 tsp of salt, and simmer gently for 15 minutes.

Add the fish steaks to the pan and spoon some of the sauce over the top of the fish. Simmer gently for 5 minutes, then cover the pan and set aside for 25-30 minutes. By this time, the fish should be cooked through. Serve it with steamed Basmati rice.

This is a popular vegetarian dish which features on a typical Sri Lankan menu. Here’s a recipe I tried from celebrity chef Peter Kuruvita, who also starred on Masterchef Australia a few times.

Ingredients

10 small beetroots, washed and trimmed

50g ghee

1 large onion, finely chopped

2 small green chillies, finely chopped

10 fresh curry leaves

2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced

200ml coconut milk

1 cinnamon quill

3 tsp white vinegar

1 tsp ground coriander

1 tsp chilli powder

1 tsp castor sugar

Method

Cut the beetroot and stems into 1cm pieces and set aside. Heat ghee in a saucepan over medium heat, add onion and green chilli and cook until translucent. Add curry leaves and garlic, and cook until fragrant, for about 2 minutes. Add the beetroot and remaining ingredients; cover and simmer over very low heat, stirring occasionally, until tender (about 30 minutes). Serve with paratha or roti. Also goes with rice and dal.