Sri Lankan sweets and desserts what to seek beyond watalappan the traditional sweet tooth guide
Sweet tooth with a notebook and I want to go beyond the watalappan every tourist menu lists What are the traditional Sri Lankan sweets and desserts worth seeking the curd and treacle I keep hearing about the festival sweets kavum kokis aluwa the milk toffee the kithul jaggery things How do they taste where do I find the real versions not the hotel approximations and which are tied to festivals so I know what I am eating Sweet makers and sweet hunters please feed my notebook
4 Answers from travellers
Traditional sweets maker so let me feed your notebook properly The one you must have curd and treacle (mee kiri and kithul pani) thick buffalo milk curd set in a clay pot topped with kithul treacle the syrup tapped from the kithul palm tangy creamy curd against dark smoky caramel treacle it is the national dessert and sublime the clay pot curd from the roadside (especially the south and the dry zone) is the real thing not the hotel yoghurt version Watalappan you mentioned the Malay origin steamed coconut custard with jaggery and spice cardamom nutmeg rich and wonderful seek the Muslim home and restaurant versions the festival sweets (the kevili table) these cluster at Avurudu new year and celebrations kavum the deep fried treacle oil cake dense and sweet kokis the crisp deep fried rosette (Dutch influence) light and crunchy aluwa the diamond cut rice flour and treacle sweet aggala the sesame and rice flour balls mung kavum the lentil ones these appear heaped at new year and you may be given them as the Avurudu threads note The kithul and jaggery family kithul jaggery (hakuru) the palm sugar blocks and the treacle are the deep traditional sweetener taste them pure they flavour everything Milk toffee the fudge like milk and condensed milk sweet sold in squares everywhere a simple addictive treat And the fruit based and the helapa (a kithul and rice flour parcel steamed in a leaf) and the aluwa varieties Where to find the REAL versions not the hotel ones the roadside curd and treacle stalls (the south and the Ratnapura and dry zone roads have famous ones) the sweet shops in towns the Muslim sweet shops for watalappan the village homes and markets and at festival time the dansala and the family tables the hotel buffet version is a pale shadow seek the clay pot and the town sweet shop The notebook priority order curd and treacle first (roadside clay pot) then watalappan then a festival kevili sampler then milk toffee for the road eat the treacle things they are the soul of the Sri Lankan sweet tradition
Curd and treacle from a roadside clay pot first then watalappan then the festival kevili my notebook is full the clay pot not the hotel yoghurt distinction is exactly what I needed thank you
The roadside curd and treacle on the southern road is genuinely one of the best things I ate all trip the smoky kithul treacle over tangy clay pot curd is unlike any dessert at home seek it specifically
The kithul treacle and jaggery being the deep traditional sweetener ties to the toddy and palm threads here the same palms give toddy arrack treacle and jaggery the whole sweet world comes from them
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