Welcome to the summary page for FabulousFusionFood's Sri Lankan recipes, part of the Asian continent. This page provides links to all the Sri Lankan recipes presented on this site, with 51 recipes in total.

This is a continuation of an entire series of pages that will, I hope, allow my visitors to better navigate this site. As well as displaying recipes by name, country and region of origin I am now planning a whole series of pages where recipes can be located by meal type and main ingredient. This page gives a listing of all the Indian recipes added to this site.

These recipes, for the major part, originate in Sri Lanka. Otherwise they are fusion recipes with major Sri Lankan components.

Srl Lanka, historically known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka (ශ්‍රී ලංකා ප්‍රජාතාන්ත්‍රික සමාජවාදී ජනරජය [Sinhala]/இலங்கை சனநாயக சோசலிசக் குடியரசு [Tamil]), is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separated from the Indian peninsula by the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait. It shares a maritime border with the Maldives in the southwest and India in the northwest.

Sri Lanka has a population of approximately 22 million and is home to many cultures, languages and ethnicities. The Sinhalese people form the majority of the population, followed by the Sri Lankan Tamils, who are the largest minority group and are concentrated in northern Sri Lanka; both groups have played an influential role in the island's history. Other long-established groups include the Moors, Indian Tamils, Burghers, Malays, Chinese, and Vedda.

Sri Lanka's documented history goes back 3,000 years, with evidence of prehistoric human settlements dating back 125,000 years.[14] The earliest known Buddhist writings of Sri Lanka, known collectively as the Pāli canon, date to the fourth Buddhist council, which took place in 29 BCE.[15][16] Also called the Teardrop of India, or the Granary of the East, Sri Lanka's geographic location and deep harbours have made it of great strategic importance, from the earliest days of the ancient Silk Road trade route to today's so-called maritime Silk Road.[17][18][19] Because its location made it a major trading hub, it was already known to both East Asians and Europeans as long ago as the Anuradhapura period. During a period of great political crisis in the Kingdom of Kotte, the Portuguese arrived in Sri Lanka and sought to control its maritime trade, with a part of Sri Lanka subsequently becoming a Portuguese possession. After the Sinhalese-Portuguese war, the Dutch Empire and the Kingdom of Kandy took control of those areas. The Dutch possessions were then taken by the British, who later extended their control over the whole island, colonising it from 1815 to 1948. A national movement for political independence arose in the early 20th century, and in 1948, Ceylon became a dominion. It was succeeded by the republic of Sri Lanka in 1972. Sri Lanka's more recent history was marred by a 26-year civil war, which began in 1983 and ended in 2009, when the Sri Lanka Armed Forces defeated the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam.

Sri Lanka is a developing country, ranking 73rd on the Human Development Index. It is the highest-ranked South Asian nation in terms of development and has the second-highest per capita income in South Asia. However, the ongoing economic crisis has resulted in the collapse of its currency, rising inflation, and a humanitarian crisis due to a severe shortage of essentials. It has also led to an eruption of street protests, with citizens successfully demanding that the president and the government step down.[21] The country has had a long history of engagement with modern international groups; it is a founding member of the SAARC, the G77 and the Non-Aligned Movement, as well as a member of the United Nations and the Commonwealth of Nations.

In antiquity, Sri Lanka was known to travellers by a variety of names. According to the Mahāvaṃsa, the legendary Prince Vijaya named the island Tambapaṇṇĩ ('copper-red hands' or 'copper-red earth'), because his followers' hands were reddened by the red soil of the area where he landed.[22][23] In Hindu mythology, the term Lankā ('Island') appears but it is unknown whether it refers to the modern-day state. The Tamil term Eelam (Tamil: ஈழம், romanized: īḻam) was used to designate the whole island in Sangam literature.[24][25] The island was known under Chola rule as Mummudi Cholamandalam ('realm of the three crowned Cholas').

Ancient Greek geographers called it Taprobanā (Ancient Greek: Ταπροβανᾶ) or Taprobanē (Ταπροβανῆ)[27] from the word Tambapanni. The Persians and Arabs referred to it as Sarandīb (the origin of the word 'serendipity') from Sanskrit Siṃhaladvīpaḥ.[28][29] Ceilão, the name given to Sri Lanka by the Portuguese Empire when it arrived in 1505, was transliterated into English as Ceylon.[31] As a British crown colony, the island was known as Ceylon; it achieved independence as the Dominion of Ceylon in 1948.

The country is now known in Sinhala as Śrī Laṅkā (Sinhala: ශ්‍රී ලංකා) and in Tamil as Ilaṅkai (Tamil: இலங்கை, IPA: [iˈlaŋɡaɪ]). In 1972, its formal name was changed to 'Free, Sovereign and Independent Republic of Sri Lanka'. Later, on 7 September 1978, it was changed to the 'Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka'. As the name Ceylon still appears in the names of a number of organisations, the Sri Lankan government announced in 2011 a plan to rename all those over which it has authority.

Food and Cuisine:

Sri Lankan cuisine is known for its particular combinations of herbs, spices, fish, vegetables, rices, and fruit. The cuisine is highly centered around many varieties of rice, as well as coconut which is a ubiquitous plant throughout the country. Seafood also plays a significant role in the cuisine, be it fresh fish or preserved fish. As a country that was a hub in the historic oceanic silk road, contact with foreign traders brought new food items and cultural influences in addition to the local traditions of the country's ethnic groups, all of which have helped shape Sri Lankan cuisine. Influences from Indian (particularly South Indian), Indonesian and Dutch cuisines are most evident with Sri Lankan cuisine sharing close ties to other neighbouring South and Southeast Asian cuisines.

Sri Lanka is historically famous for its cinnamon. The 'true cinnamon' tree, or Cinnamomum verum, used to be botanically named Cinnamomum zeylanicum to reflect its Sri Lankan origins. This is a widely utilized spice in Sri Lanka, and has a more delicate, sweet taste in comparison to Cinnamomum cassia, which is more common in some other Southeast Asian cuisines. Contrasting the local cuisine with those of neighbouring regions, Sri Lankan cuisine is characterized by unique spice blends with heavy use of Sri Lankan cinnamon and black pepper, as well as by the use of ingredients such as Maldives fish, goraka (Garcinia cambogia), pandan leaf, lemongrass, and jaggery made from kithul palm syrup. Sri Lanka is also a consumer of many varieties of red rice, some of which are considered heirloom rices in the country. Tea is also an important beverage throughout the country, and Sri Lanka is known for producing some of the world's finest tea.

The central feature of Sri Lankan cuisine is boiled or steamed rice, served with a curry of fish or meat, along with other curries made with vegetables, lentils, or fruits. Dishes are accompanied by pickled fruits or vegetables, chutneys, and sambols. Coconut sambol is especially common, a paste of ground coconut mixed with chilli peppers, dried Maldives fish, and lime juice