A FOOD TRADITION

Sri Lankan Tamil Cuisine

Sri Lankan Tamil cuisine is associated especially with Tamil communities in the Northern and Eastern regions, while also reflecting long-standing connections across the Palk Strait. Rice, red rice, lentils, seafood, coconut, tamarind, curry leaves, dried fish and palmyra products are prominent. Cooks commonly grind spice pastes, temper aromatics in oil, simmer vegetable or seafood curries, and preserve ingredients by drying or salting. Distinctive examples include odiyal kool, a thick seafood and palmyra-root broth; Jaffna-style crab curry; and pittu served with curry or coconut-based accompaniments. Local practice varies considerably between dry northern areas, lagoon communities and the eastern coast.

Catalogue preview Cuisine connections may be unreviewed. Regional comparisons include their food references and do not establish the ingredients of a particular meal.