While rice dominates the dining table during our lunches and dinners in Sri Lanka, it’s the coconuts that complement almost all our meals. One of the major crops grown in the country, Sri Lanka’s 1340-km long coastline is fringed with coconut palms, and there's even a designated coconut triangle, an area marked by three towns in the northwest of Sri Lanka. Because it grows abundantly in our soil, the coconut palm is woven into every nook and cranny of the communities surrounding it. Coconut lumber is used for roofing, while some houses in villages still use coconut leaves to shade their homes. Generational craftspeople make furniture, cutlery and crockery using coconut wood and sundried coconut shells. These uses aside, coconuts are integral to the island's cuisine. And it’s so evident in our restaurant meal kits in the UK too. 

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To prepare Sri Lankan curries, we fry our herbs and spices in coconut oil. The sound of black mustard seeds popping in hot oil is quite inviting while the aroma of curry leaves releasing their flavours into coconut oil wafts through the open kitchen windows, signalling our neighbours that lunch is being readied. Onions fry until they change their colour to a subtle gold. Other herbs like garlic, cinnamon and pandan leaves are sauteed in oil depending on the dish. Most of the curry-based dishes that are part of our restaurant meal kits in the UK also follow a similar method of preparation. 

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Apart from coconut oil, it’s the coconut milk which is at the heart of Sri Lankan cooking. Think of a thick, creamy dal or lentils dish cooked with coconut milk, so flavourful and rich, a great vegan curry to pair with rice or flatbread like Indian naan. Instead of buying coconut milk that comes in cardboard packs from supermarket shelves, many Sri Lankans prepare coconut milk from scratch. Although time-consuming, the process starts with halving a grown nut with a sharp sickle. After removing the coconut water inside the nut, the next step is to scrape the meat out using a traditional scraper called hiramanaya. Then, grated coconut is mixed with a bit of water and squeezed with bare hands to prepare fresh coconut milk. This creamy milk is added to bind and thicken our curries such as this lightly-spiced Sri Lankan kingfish curry, which is available to deliver as part of our meal kits across the UK.  

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Although little is spoken about it, Sri Lankan cooking is largely vegan-friendly, and coconut milk stands as a great vegan ingredient that makes our dishes rich and tasteful, incorporating different flavours of spices and herbs. Some other vegan coconut-based curries that are part of our restaurant meal kits include this delicious beetroot curry which is as delectable as it looks and the Sri Lankan green bean curry. 

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Currying aside, coconuts have many other uses in Sri Lankan cuisine. This includes making coconut sambols with dried red chilli, onions and a dash of lime, which is also a part of our With Love From Lanka restaurant meal kits. Sri Lankans also use grated coconut to bind mallung, leafy green salads that are vegan and full of nutrients. Another popular island dish is the pol roti or coconut flatbread which uses shredded coconut. A just-off-the-pan pol roti is great when paired with chicken curry, dal curry or lunu miris, an onion-chilli condiment that is fiery and spicy. Popular as bowl-shaped pancakes with crispy edges, hoppers are one of the go-to brunch items at our Soho restaurant Kolamba. Here, rice flour is mixed with coconut milk to prepare the hopper batter. 

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Move beyond these savoury curries and snacks and you’ll find that coconuts — both milk and grated meat — are also a go-to ingredient in many Sri Lankan dessert items. Think of watalappan, a rich, cardamom-spiced dessert prepared by Sri Lankan Muslims during Eid. It’s similar to a gooey, coconut custard and topped with cashews for the crunch. Other traditional coconut-based sweets include pol toffee, which are vibrant, sugary blocks of sweetened grated coconut; and snacks like Sri Lankan rolled pancakes stuffed with caramelized coconut. Besides these traditional preparations, there’s also a coconut and lime sorbet at our Sri Lankan restaurant in Soho. 

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Coconuts are also central to the island’s beloved homegrown distilled alcohol arrack. Made from the sap extracted from the coconut flowers, arrack is aged for several years before they are bottled. This local alcohol pairs well with many cocktails like the classic Arrack Sour that blends coconut arrack with lime juice, egg white and kithul treacle. Mixologists also use both coconut water and coconut milk to draw up innovative and fun cocktails with rich coconutty notes. Moreover, fresh coconut water is perfect to beat the balmy heat and packs many antioxidants. 

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Because of their many uses, coconut trees are often named ‘kapruka’ in Sri Lanka, which means that it’s a tree that gives you everything. But more than anything, it’s so intrinsic to the island’s diverse cuisine that it’s almost impossible to imagine our dishes without coconuts. Order one of our restaurant meal kits in the UK to find out how coconut richens our delicious curry dishes. 

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