For most Sri Lankans, rice and curry is a staple meal that can be had for breakfast, lunch or dinner. Depending on the meal, the rice and curry can be either very simple or incredibly rich in flavour and choice of curries. During breakfast, for instance, the rice is served as milk rice (kiri bath in local parlance) along with a single dollop of spicy chilli mix or accompanied by a fish or meat curry. For lunch, the canvas is greatly expanded: steamed rice is accompanied with a lentil stew (dhal or parippu) a meat or fish main and an assortment of vegetable curries including the ubiquitous pol sambol. This is a feast for the senses – the colours will dazzle, the aromas will hypnotize, and the taste buds turn into a stage for a dance of flavours. We recommend caution if you are unfamiliar with spicy food – replace the spicy ‘red’ curry with ‘white’ curries such as potato stew, gotukolla (Centella asiatica), beetroots.