Next Stop: Sri Lanka

Famous for the production and export of tea, coffee, rubber and coconuts, Sri Lanka boasts a progressive and modern industrial economy. The natural beauty of Sri Lanka's tropical forests, beaches and landscape, as well as its rich cultural heritage make it a world famous tourist destination. The cuisine of Sri Lanka draws influence from that of India, as well as colonists and foreign traders.

Sri Lanka's cuisine mainly consists of rice, which can be cooked in a variety of ways – e.g. boiled or steamed – but which ever way its cooked, in Sri Lanka rice is always served with curry. Sri Lankan curries are not just limited to meat or fish platters, they can also be vegetable or sometimes even fruit curries. A typical Sri Lankan meal would consist of a “main curry” which could be fish, beef, chicken or mutton, as well as several other curries made with vegetable and lentils.

Side-dishes would include pickles, chutneys and “sambols” which can sometimes be fiery hot. The most famous of the sambols is the coconut sambol made of ground coconut, or onions mixed with chillies, dried Maldives fish and lime juice. This is ground to a paste and relished with rice, as it gives zest to the meal and is believed to increase appetite. In addition to sambols, you have “mallung” – chopped up leaves mixed with coconut that has been grated and red onions. Coconut milk is usually added to any Sri Lankan delicacy because it gives it that extra bit of flavour.

The Dutch and the Portuguese too have left their stamp on the local cuisine - for example, delectable dishes like Lamprais - rice boiled in stock with a special curry, accompanied by “Frikkadels”, or meatballs, all of which is then wrapped in a banana leaf and baked. This is an original Dutch recipe enjoyed by Sri Lankans today. It has of course been adapted to suit the Sri Lankan palate. The Dutch and the Portuguese also bequeathed a number of recipes for various sweets which continue to be made to this day. There are British and Malay influences as well. Roast beef and roast chicken are enjoyed by many Sri Lankans.

Hoppers is another dish that is native to Sri Lanka. It is served mainly during lunch or breakfast and many eat it with “lunumiris” which is a fiery hot mix of red onions and spices. Hoppers (appa) are made from a fermented batter of rice flour, coconut milk and a dash of palm toddy. The batter of rice flour and coconut milk traditionally has toddy added for the typical sourish flavour and, more importantly, the fermentation which makes the centres full of little holes like crumpets. If toddy is not available, the same action is duplicated by using yeast, either fresh or dry. Many restaurants use yeast because toddy is not readily available always. After leaving to rise, the batter is swirled in a hemispherical pan, rather like a small, more acutely curved wok. Even without the traditional hopper-pan, it is possible to enjoy the unique texture and flavour using a small omelette pan. There are many types of hopper such as plain hoppers, egg hoppers, milk hoppers, and sweeter varieties like vanduappa and paniappa.

Being one of the largest producers of tea in the world, Sri Lankans tend to drink a lot of tea.