Rice and Curry: How to Eat a Sri Lankan Plate Properly
Rice in the middle, curries around the edge. Here is how to actually eat a Sri Lankan plate, and why mixing is the whole point.
The first time someone puts a Sri Lankan rice and curry in front of you, it can be genuinely confusing. There is a mound of rice in the middle and five or six small piles of different things around it, and no obvious instruction.
It is not a main and sides
This is the thing to understand. Those little piles are not side dishes and you are not supposed to eat them in sequence. The plate is a set of components and you are supposed to combine them, differently, in every single bite.
What is usually on the plate
Rice in the centre. A dhal, which is a soft lentil curry and the comforting anchor of the plate. A protein curry, chicken, fish or beef. One or two vegetable curries, perhaps beetroot, green beans or okra. A coconut sambol, which is grated coconut with chilli and lime, sharp and fresh. And often a papadum for crunch.
How to build a bite
Take a small amount of rice. Add a little dhal. Add a bit of your protein curry. Add a pinch of sambol. Mix it with your fingers or your fork, right there on the plate, and eat it. The next bite, change the ratio. The dhal softens the heat, the sambol cuts the richness, the curry carries the flavour. Every bite is slightly different.
The sambol is not a garnish
People push it to the side of the plate. Do not do this. Coconut sambol is the seasoning of the entire meal. It is what makes rice and curry taste alive instead of heavy.
On heat
Sri Lankan food runs hotter than most Indian restaurant food in Canada. That is fine and any kitchen will tone it down if you ask. But do try it as intended once. The heat is part of the balance, not an add-on.
Where to start
We are a family-run halal Sri Lankan and Indian kitchen in Scarborough and rice and curry is the truest thing on our menu. If you are ordering for a group, it is also the most generous. See our Sri Lankan food in Scarborough guide, or how to host a Sri Lankan dinner.
If you want to practise, our rice and curry plates are a good start, and you can order online for delivery or pickup.
Eating with your hand
Most Sri Lankans eat rice and curry with the right hand, and once you try it, the reason is obvious. Use your fingertips to pull a little rice toward you and press it together with the curry. Gather it into a loose ball, then use your thumb to push it from your fingers into your mouth. Keep the food on your fingertips, not your palm. Wash your hands before and after. A fork works fine. But mixing by hand lets you feel when the rice has soaked up enough gravy.
What each small dish does
Many of our combos come with the same supporting cast. Here is what each one adds:
- Eggplant moju: sweet, sour and spicy. Small amounts, it is strong.
- Pineapple or mango curry: the sweet side of the plate, good next to a hot meat curry.
- Acharu: a vinegar pickle of fruit and vegetables. It cuts through ghee and coconut.
- Maasi sambal: dried Maldives fish with chilli and onion. Salty, crunchy and hot.
- Potato milk curry: mild and creamy. Use it when the heat builds up.
Eating it from a takeout container
Do not eat from the box. Tip everything onto a wide plate with the rice in the middle and each curry in its own small pile. Mixing only works when you can see what you are reaching for.
Questions first-timers ask
Do I finish one curry before the next?
No. Take a little from two or three piles for each mouthful.
Is it rude to leave the chillies?
Not at all. Whole chillies and curry leaves are there for flavour and are often left on the plate.
Where do I try this at home?
Ghee Rice Combo (Beef) at $23 comes with beef kurma, fried chicken, mango curry, potato milk curry, kaliya, masi sambol and acharu. That is a full plate to practise on.