February is all about celebrating the love, affection and warmth we share with others, whether with your partner, a friend, or family. And perhaps, there’s no better way to celebrate the joy of love this Valentine’s Day than to prepare a hearty, homemade meal from scratch. At home in Sri Lanka – like in many other places across the globe – food is a love language. Our parents would spend hours putting together a delicious feast as a token of love; celebrations would begin and end with dessert cake so rich in aromatic spices; and every homecooked meal is cherished. So this February, celebrate love by preparing traditional Sri Lankan dishes, from the irresistibly indulgent love cake to flower-shaped, deep-fried rice flour snacks.

As a Sri Lankan cuisine restaurant in London, we’re bringing you five traditional Sri Lankan dishes that perfectly capture the essence of February, each unique in its own way. 

Kiribath 

Kiribath (milk rice) is rice cooked in creamy, rich coconut milk, but it’s so integral to island life that almost no celebration is held without a plate full of diamond-shaped Kiribati. It’s prepared during all auspicious days, like New Year's Day, or during every celebratory event, like the first day of a new job, a housewarming, or the first day at school – and it’s often associated with prosperity. At home in Sri Lanka, a traditional kiribath recipe involves a small, short-grain rice variety called kekulu. Once the rice is cooked in coconut milk until it becomes smooth and velvety, it’s then levelled on a banana leaf, left to cool and cut into diamond-shaped slices. You can also mold it into heart shapes, which makes it ideal for Valentine's Day. Once sliced, you can enjoy kiribath with a spicy Sri Lankan chicken curry flavoured with curry leaves, or an onion and chili relish called lunu miris. For something sweet and spicy, pair kiribath with seeni sambol, a caramelized onion condiment.  

Sri Lankan love cake

Sweet, spicy, fruity and floral, nothing is as indulgent as the Sri Lankan love cake – a reason why it’s the perfect Valentine’s Day dish. Traditionally, the Sri Lankan love cake recipe includes ingredients like cashews, pumpkin preserve, and roasted semolina, and flavouring agents like cinnamon, cardamom, and rose water. Believed to be baked by Sri Lankan women to win the hearts of Portuguese sailors during the European colonial period in the 16th century, baking love cake is a laborious task, symbolizing one’s love for another. Today, in Sri Lanka, it’s also a takeaway gift at weddings and celebrations, honouring the love between two people. It’s so special to every Sri Lankan celebration that it’s also part of our Valentine’s Day menu, served with rum orange, hibiscus syrup and whipped cream for that extra sweet, spicy, zesty kick – it’s everything that love is. 

Kokis

Every year during the Sinhala & Tamil New Year in April in Sri Lanka, kokis dresses our dining tables. It’s difficult to pinpoint the history of this beloved snack, but the common belief is that it’s tied to the Dutch colonial period in Sri Lanka during the 17th and 18th centuries. A traditional, deep-fried Sri Lankan savoury treat made with rice flour, coconut milk and a touch of turmeric adding a shade of bright yellow, kokis is shaped into beautiful patterns – like flowers and butterflies – using a metal mold. Even if you carefully follow every step of a kokis recipe, you’ll know that mastering kokis isn’t the easiest job – you’ll need practice and precise technique. In the villages, kokis molds are shared among families and are safeguarded for decades. Crunchy and delicate, families make kokis in large batches during the New Year to share with relatives, friends and neighbours – along with other seasonal sweetmeats – as a way to show togetherness. 

Watalappam

Watalappam is a customary affair every Eid prepared by Sri Lanka’s Muslim community. A traditional watalappam recipe melds the flavours of coconut milk, jaggery (deep brown blocks of palm sugar), eggs and spices like cardamom and cloves – sometimes, it’s garnished with cashews for the extra crunch, like how it’s usually plated at our Sri Lankan restaurant in London. Deliciously creamy, this custard-like treat served chilled brings people of all backgrounds together to the dinner table. Its history, though, is rooted in Sri Lanka’s Malay community, many of whom arrived in the island during the Dutch colonial rule from 1658-1796. The name watalappam is derived from the Malay word “watal” – meaning “sugar” – but over time, it incorporated commonly available local sweetening agents like jaggery made from the fishtail palm tree. Good watalappam, though, is not commercially available in Sri Lanka as it’s best prepared at home. 

Hoppers 

Called appa (in Sinhala) and appam (in Tamil), hoppers are bowled-shaped pancakes made in a special hopper pan with a round bottom. Fermented rice flour and coconut milk batter is swirled in this heated, oiled pan as it forms a soft, meaty centre with lacy, crispy and crunchy edges. Often, an egg is cracked in the middle to prepare savoury egg hoppers and drizzled with a hint of powdered black pepper. But hoppers are also enjoyed as a sweet treat. At home, there are two common variations: Milk hoppers are made with sweetened coconut milk while hakuru appa – jaggery hoppers – are topped with melted palm jaggery. This quintessential Sri Lankan dish is so versatile that you can customize the toppings – think of adding some bacon, or a scoop of ice cream, like Kolamba’s Valentine hoppers that are served with melted jaggery and coconut lime sorbet. 

Preparing traditional Sri Lankan dishes this February is a meaningful way to show the love, care and warmth you have for your loved ones. And if you’re craving an authentic Sri Lankan dining experience in London, reserve your table at Kolamba today. We are all about Sri Lankan homecooking, perfect for sharing with those you cherish. 

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