Sri Lankan Herbs and Spices: How They Flavour Our Dishes

If there's one thing we can't cook without, it's our herbs and spices. Across Sri Lanka, there is hardly a dish, sweet or savoury, that doesn't use them in some form. Think of turmeric-infused golden dhal, curry leaves fried crisp into a bite of kokis (rice flour and coconut milk snacks), or the sweet, floral scent of cinnamon curling through a chicken curry.

Our spice racks hold both whole and ground spices. Whole spices come in many shapes and sizes: plants, roots, bark and seeds, from tiny beads of mustard seed to the tart, black rind of sun-dried goraka. Ground spices we reach for daily, like chilli powder, turmeric and thuna paha, a ready-made blend commonly called curry powder. Herbs like curry leaves, lemongrass and pandan grow in home gardens across the island, picked in bunches and tossed into anything and everything. You'll find them here at Kolamba too, especially in our long-grain basmati rice, steamed with curry leaves, pandan and spice.

So this month, we're taking a journey through Sri Lanka's seasoning agents, and how they flavour, elevate and transform our dishes.

Curry Leaves and Fresh Herbs

Curry leaves, known as karapincha in Sinhala and karuvepillai in Tamil, are impossible to miss in a Sri Lankan kitchen. They turn up in sambol, yellow rice, parippu wade (deep-fried lentil fritters), kokis, and practically any curry you can name. For curries, the leaves are sizzled in hot coconut oil to draw out their sweet, earthy, subtly citrusy notes; for garnish, they're deep-fried instead. Sometimes, for a hearty kola kanda (herbal porridge), they're blended straight into coconut milk.

Pandan is another kitchen staple. Long, slender and slightly spiky, these bright green leaves turn sweet, musky and almost grassy once bruised and cooked; a family cook will often break the leaf into a few pieces and crush it between the fingertips to release its aroma into a chicken curry. Fresh lemongrass plays a similar role with red meat curries, releasing bright, zesty flavour with a subtle note of mint when chopped.

Whole Spices with Character

Cinnamon, kurundu in Sinhala, sits at the centre of Sri Lankan cooking. Air-dried, brittle sticks scent rice for special occasions, particularly kaha bath (yellow rice). Because cinnamon is sweet, floral and warming, both the coiled bark and the ground powder work well in dips, curries, or a soothing cup of evening tea. It also perfumes the breudher, a spiced fruit cake traditionally baked at Christmas.

Cloves are prized too. Thanks to their healing properties, they were traditionally worn during the healing of infected ear piercings, a practice that earned the spice its quirky Sinhala name, karabu nati, or "earring stems." In the kitchen, these dark, stud-shaped buds are tempered in coconut oil for curries, releasing sweet, bitter, menthol-like notes. Added by the handful to sago porridge, a popular breakfast for beating the heat, they're a small but essential flavour.

Travel south, and you'll find maalu ambul thiyal, a tangy, cured fish curry made with goraka (dried brindle berry, or Malabar tamarind) and black pepper. Goraka is packed with antioxidants, and in the kitchen it's a souring agent: fish is treated with the dried rind to give it a distinct smoky-sour edge. Head north instead, and goraka gives way to tamarind, which grows there in abundance; once sun-dried, it goes into curries whole, seed and all.

Ginger is often homegrown too. When it's time to harvest, the plump rhizomes are uprooted and washed clean of soil before storing. At home, ginger is mostly a flavour enhancer, trapping a comforting heat in every mouthful, but it's medicine as well. On a cold or a flu day, a simple mix of ginger, lime and wild bee honey is a trusted home remedy across many Sri Lankan households.

Ground and Powdered Spices

Travel through the island and you'll spot trays of whole red chillies and coriander seeds sunbathing on rooftops. Traditionally, these are ground into a thick paste using a grinding stone, or miris gala. Powdered red chilli and black pepper bring the fiery kick to curries and condiments, while turmeric, golden, herby and musky, lends its colour to dhal, potato and coconut-based gravies.

Thuna Paha: Sri Lankan Curry Powder

Thuna paha, Sri Lanka's all-in-one curry powder, is the ultimate flavour enhancer: a blend of coriander, cumin, black pepper and cardamom that's rich, earthy, sweet and nutty. In the north, curry powder blends run hotter, sharper and brighter, built with additional ground spices like chilli, fennel, cinnamon, curry leaves and peppercorns.

Sri Lankan grocery stores stock both roasted and unroasted curry powder. The roasted blend, warm, toasty and smoky, holds its own against red meats and slow-cooked jackfruit. The unroasted blend is milder, floral and fresh, better suited to fish and vegetables where you want the core ingredients to shine.

Taste It at Kolamba

At Kolamba, these are the same herbs and spices behind the dishes on our menu, from the curry leaf and pandan basmati rice to the deep, smoky notes in our slow-cooked curries. In Sri Lanka, herbs and spices are more than ingredients: they're the colours, aromas and flavours that make food feel like home. Come taste that for yourself; book a table at Kolamba or explore the full menu online.

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