Sri Lanka has a fascinatingly unique culinary heritage, the result of a centuries-long fusion of local produce with recipes and spices brought to the island by Indians, Arabs, Malays, Portuguese, Dutch, and English.

Rice and curry is the staple dish, a miniature banquet whose contrasting flavors – cinnamon, chillies, curry leaves, garlic, coconut milk, pandanus leaves, and “Maldive fish” (an intensely flavoured pinch of sun-dried tuna) – bear witness to Sri Lanka’s status as one of the original spice islands. Other unique specialties to explore and enjoy include hoppers, string hoppers, kottu rotty, lamprais, and pittu, as well as abundant seafood.

Be aware that due to the peculiarities of Sri Lankan spelling, popular dishes can appear on menus in a bewildering variety of forms: idlis can become ittlys, vadais can become wadais, kottu rotty can become kotturoti, and lamprais can become lumprice. There will also be plenty of unintentionally humorous offerings such as “cattle fish,” “sweat and sour,” and Adolf Hitler’s favorite dish, “nazi goreng.”