The joy of group dining: Sharing feasts in Sri Lanka

 In Sri Lanka, food is more than sustenance. It’s what brings people together, in times of hardships and moments of joy. From village kitchens deep-frying a new batch of golden brown rice cakes to clinking glasses of fermented king coconut wine sipped during family gatherings, and saffron-infused Eid sawan (a large, sharing meal) taking centerstage, this sacred act of sharing food is integral to us, our people, and our island. Whether it’s a grand feast or a humble plate of everyday food, the simple pleasure of serving and savoring are always brought to life in the company of  friends, family and those we love. 

Traditional Sri Lankan cuisine perfectly exemplifies how eating is a communal affair in the island. Beyond festive feasts, our everyday staples like rice and curry, too, are often made for sharing. At Kolamba, our Sri Lankan restaurant in London, we keep this tradition alive with our set menus designed for large group bookings, or events in our private dining room at Kolamba East. For us, creating this opportunity to sit down for a meal with your friends and family, is something that we take pride in. 

Festive feasts in Sri Lanka

Back in our island home, festive seasons like Christmas, Sinhala and Tamil New Year, and Eid bring with them the tradition of preparing hearty feasts and gathering for communal dining. While joyous occasions like weddings and birthdays also call for  delightful spreads, what stands out the most in Sri Lanka are our festive meals.

Communal dining during Christmas

Christmas offers a chance to reconnect and rediscover the true spirit of traditional Sri Lankan festivities. Scented with spices abundantly found in tropical gardens, our island kitchens start to bustle with activity by the end of November. The fragrant yellow rice dominates the table, but it’s the desserts and homemade wine that draw the eye.

During Christmas, baking becomes an essential family event with mothers and grandmothers flipping through the pages of their tightly guarded recipe books. A deeply loved dessert is the breudher cake, with its history tied to the Dutch colonial rule in Sri Lanka. Light and airy, this warm treat is an arrack-infused fruit cake flavored with aromatic spices like nutmeg and cinnamon. The cake takes on a distinctive Sri Lankan twist thanks to the introduction of local spices and spirits. 

And no Sri Lankan Christmas is complete without sharing a glass of king coconut wine. Preparing holiday wine begins months before Christmas, where king coconut water, sugar, and a blend of local spices – including cinnamon and nutmeg – are fermented to create a refreshing welcome drink for our guests. 

Feasting during the New Year

Avurudu, also known as the Sinhala and Tamil New Year, is a cultural harvest festival rooted in the core value of sharing. Celebrated in April, the backyards of our local homes come alive with makeshift hearths as families get ready for hours of labour. Sweetmeats like kevum (deep-fried rice cakes) are prepared in large batches, tightly packed and ferried around the neighbourhood as an act of giving. 

New Year lunches begin with plates of yellow rice, everyday curries, and tangy pickles. These meals, always shared with family and friends, are the essence of the festive period, with platefuls of rice, meat, curried vegetables, and fried seafood. Then there is the irresistible Malay achcharu (pickle), a new year staple fermented in vinegar, made with thinly sliced carrots, shallots, green chilli, and dates.

Eid specials 

Nothing – quite truly – beats the spirit of Eid celebrations in Sri Lanka. The Muslim community in Sri Lanka ends Ramadan, the Islamic holy month of fasting, on Eid, where everyone comes together to share a meal. 

More than anything, what makes every Eid special is the sawan, a special biriyani dish made with spiced, long-grain basmati rice. Sawans easily become the decorative centerpiece of every Eid table, where this fragrant, slow-cooked meal made with perfectly cooked rice seeping in ghee and tender meats like beef or mutton, symbolizes love, labour and care wrapped up in a dish. Gathered around the sawan, usually on a floor mat, biryani is best enjoyed with raita, a curd-based condiment flavoured with cucumber, onions and herbs.  

Watalappan, too, is another Eid treat you simply cannot miss, which is also why it appears on our menu at Kolamba. Creamy and decadent, this traditional Sri Lankan dessert is a custard pudding made with coconut milk, jaggery, and spices, and garnished with chopped cashew nuts. It is then followed by a glass of falooda, a rose syrup milkshake made with vermicelli, basil seeds, and vanilla ice cream. 

Across Sri Lanka, sharing a meal isn’t limited to festivities. It’s an everyday tradition ubiquitous throughout the country, extending to weddings, birthdays, and nightouts with friends. And as we gather around the table, whether in Sri Lanka or in London, we are constantly reminded of the laughter, memories, and conversations over shared meals. We hope dining at Kolamba will remind you of these little joys in life.