Colombo Court Blog Food & Drink
A Sri Lankan breakfast, explained
Hoppers, string hoppers, pol sambol, kiribath and a curry before eight in the morning. What each dish is, how to eat it, and why it is worth getting up for.
Your first Sri Lankan breakfast may surprise you. It is savoury and spiced, and it often includes curry at seven in the morning. Once they are used to it, many guests find it the best meal of the day. Here is what you will find on the table.
The things made from rice flour
Hoppers, or appa, are made from a fermented batter of rice flour and coconut milk. The batter is swirled in a small round pan so that it rises up the sides, creating a bowl shape with a crisp, lacy edge and a soft centre. An egg hopper has an egg cooked in the middle. Eat it with your hands: tear pieces from the edge and use them to scoop up curry and sambol.
String hoppers, or idiyappam, are made from the same flour, pressed into thin nests of noodles and steamed. They are served in a stack and taste quite plain on their own, because they are meant to be eaten with curry and sambol.
Kiribath is milk rice: rice cooked in coconut milk, pressed flat and cut into diamond shapes. It is dense and slightly sweet, and it is traditionally the first dish eaten on special occasions. It is served with lunu miris, a spicy paste of onion and chilli.
The things you put on them
Pol sambol is made from grated coconut, chilli, lime, red onion and Maldive fish. It is served at almost every meal and goes with everything. Seeni sambol is a milder, sweeter relish of caramelised onion and tamarind. Lunu miris is the spiciest of the three.
Then there are the curries: usually a dhal, a potato or jackfruit curry, and often a fish curry. Breakfast curries are mild by Sri Lankan standards, and most of the heat comes from the sambol.
How to eat it
Sri Lankans traditionally eat with the right hand, but using a fork is perfectly acceptable. Tear the hopper and use it to scoop, and mix a little sambol into each mouthful rather than eating it on its own. Start with a small amount.
Plain tea is the traditional drink with this meal, although coffee is widely available.
Here
Breakfast at Amber Poolside is served from seven, beside the pool under the trees. You can choose from Sri Lankan, Western, Indian or lighter platters, so there is something for every taste. If you would like something in particular, let us know the night before and the kitchen will prepare it.
