Sri Lankan cuisine

Sri Lankan cooking is hotter than Indian and rests on coconut, roasted spices and sambols — fresh hot relishes beside every dish.

Spices here are roasted dark before grinding, which India rarely does. Hence the characteristic dark, nearly black cast of Sri Lankan curries.

A sambol is compulsory accompaniment rather than optional seasoning. It supplies heat and freshness where the curry itself has already been softened by coconut milk.