| Sri Lanka Street Food Overview |
Sri Lanka offers a diverse range of street food, commonly found at roadside stalls, small eateries, and mobile vendors. These foods include meals, short eats, sweet buns, and snacks. |
| Meals |
Hearty and filling options like kottu, String Hoppers, rice, and curry are popular. These are served for breakfast, lunch, or dinner at various eateries and stalls. |
| Short Eats |
Small, savory pastries such as patties, Chinese rolls, and fish buns filled with spiced vegetables, meat, or fish, commonly sold in bakeries and tea shops. |
| Sweet Buns |
Soft, sweetened buns like seeni sambol buns, maalu paan, and coconut buns, often enjoyed with tea and sold at bakeries or choon paan tuk-tuks. |
| Snacks |
Quick bites like isso wade, Achcharu, and roast paan — offering flavorful, authentic street food experiences at markets and beachside stalls. |
| kottu |
A signature Sri Lankan street food made of chopped roti stir-fried with vegetables, eggs, and meat, flavored with curry or gravy, and prepared with rhythmic chopping. |
| Hoppers (Appa) |
Fermented rice flour and coconut milk pancakes with crispy edges and soft centers, often eaten with lunu miris or curry. Egg hoppers include a whole egg in the middle. |
| String Hoppers (Indi Appa) |
Steamed rice flour noodles served with dhal curry or sambol, offering a light and delicate texture, usually eaten for breakfast or dinner. |
| Coconut Roti (Pol Roti) |
Flatbread made with grated coconut and flour, sometimes with onions or chilies, served with sambol, dhal curry, or fried egg common breakfast food. |
| Roast Paan |
Crusty Sri Lankan bread baked in wood-fired ovens, offering smoky flavor and crispy texture, often enjoyed with butter or curries. |
| Chickpeas (Kadala) |
Popular snack made from chickpeas either curried with coconut milk and spices or deep-fried into fritters called Kadala Wada. |
| Green Porridge (Kola Kenda) |
Nutritious herbal porridge made with rice and green leaves like gotu kola or moringa, often flavored with coconut milk, eaten for breakfast. |
| Fish Bun (Maalu Paan) |
Soft bread filled with spiced tuna or fish curry mixture, baked until golden brown a favorite snack or light meal across Sri Lanka. |
| Seeni Sambol Bun |
Sweet and savory bun filled with caramelized onion relish (seeni sambol), combining rich and spicy flavors, en |
