Curry is an international dish with a sauce or gravy seasoned with spices, mainly derived from the interchange of Indian cuisine with European taste in food, starting with the Portuguese and followed by the Dutch and British. Many dishes that would be described as curries in English are found in the native cuisines of countries in Southeast Asia and East Asia.
Indian cuisine consists of a variety of regional and traditional cuisines native to the Indian subcontinent. Given the diversity in soil, climate, culture, ethnic groups, and occupations, these cuisines vary substantially and use locally available spices, herbs, vegetables, and fruits.
A dosa, dosai or dosha is a thin, savoury crepe in South Indian cuisine made from a fermented batter of ground black gram and rice. Dosas are served hot, often with chutney and sambar. Dosas are popular in South Asia as well as around the world.
Roti is a round flatbread originating from the Indian subcontinent. It is commonly consumed in many South Asian, Southeast Asian, Caribbean, and Southeast African countries.
Malay cuisine is the traditional food of the ethnic Malays of Southeast Asia, residing in modern-day Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore, Brunei, Southern Thailand and the Philippines as well as Cocos Islands, Christmas Island, Sri Lanka and South Africa.
Fried rice is a dish of cooked rice that has been stir-fried in a wok or a frying pan and is usually mixed with other ingredients such as eggs, vegetables, seafood, or meat. It is often eaten by itself or as an accompaniment to another dish. Fried rice is a popular component of East Asian, Southeast Asian and certain South Asian cuisines, as well as a staple national dish of Indonesia. As a homemade dish, fried rice is typically made with ingredients left over from other dishes, leading to countless variations. Fried rice first developed during the Sui dynasty in China.
Biryani is a mixed rice dish, mainly popular in South Asia. It is made with rice, some type of meat and spices. To cater to vegetarians, in some cases, it is prepared by substituting vegetables or paneer for the meat. Sometimes eggs or potatoes are also added.
Sri Lankan cuisine is known for its particular combinations of herbs, spices, fish, vegetables, rices, and fruits. The cuisine is highly centered around many varieties of rice, as well as coconut which is a ubiquitous plant throughout the country. Seafood also plays a significant role in the cuisine, be it fresh fish or preserved fish. As a country that was a hub in the historic oceanic silk road, contact with foreign traders brought new food items and cultural influences in addition to the local traditions of the country's ethnic groups, all of which have helped shape Sri Lankan cuisine. Influences from Indian, Indonesian and Dutch cuisines are most evident with Sri Lankan cuisine sharing close ties to other neighbouring South and Southeast Asian cuisines.
South Asian cuisine, includes the traditional cuisines from the modern-day South Asian republics of Bangladesh, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka, also sometimes including the kingdom of Bhutan and the emirate of Afghanistan. Also sometimes known as Desi cuisine, it has been influenced by and also has influenced other Asian cuisines beyond the Indian subcontinent.
Idiyappam, also known as indiappa, noolputtu, noolappam (நூலப்பம்/நூலாப்பம்), santhagai, or ottu shavige, is a string hopper dish originating from southern India. It consists of rice flour pressed into noodles, laid into a flat disc-like shape and steamed. The dish also spread to Southeast Asia, where it is called putu mayam in Malaysia and Singapore, and putu mayang in Indonesia.
Puttu, also called pittu, is a dish native to the Southern Indian states of Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and parts of Karnataka, as well as Sri Lanka. It is made of steamed cylinders of ground rice layered with coconut shavings, sometimes with a sweet or savory filling on the inside. Puttu is usually a breakfast dish served hot with either sweet side dishes such as palm sugar or banana, or savoury with chana masala, chutney, rasam, or meat curries.
An appa or hoppers is a type of thin pancake originating from South India and Sri Lanka. It is made with fermented rice batter and coconut milk, traditionally cooked in an appachatti, a deep pan similar in shape to a wok. It is part of Tamil cuisine and Kerala cuisine found in the Indian states of Tamil Nadu and Kerala, and in Sri Lanka. Appam is most frequently served for breakfast or dinner, often with a topping such as an egg.
Kerala cuisine is a culinary style originated in the Kerala, a state on the southwestern Malabar Coast of India. Kerala cuisine offers a multitude of both vegetarian and non-vegetarian dishes prepared using fish, poultry and red meat with rice as a typical accompaniment. Chillies, curry leaves, coconut, mustard seeds, turmeric, tamarind, asafoetida and other spices are also used in the preparation.
Maldives fish is cured tuna traditionally produced in Maldives. It is a staple of the Maldivian cuisine, Sri Lankan cuisine, and the cuisine of the Southern Indian states and territories of Lakshadweep, Kerala and Tamil Nadu, and in the past it was one of the main exports from Maldives to Sri Lanka, where it is known as umbalakaḍa (උම්බලකඩ) in Sinhala and masikaruvadu in Tamil. It is also produced in small scale using traditional methods in Lakshadweep Islands in India. It is known as massmin in Lakshadweep.
Kuḻambu, is a tamarind-based stew in Tamil cuisine popular in Tamil Nadu and Sri Lanka that can include a variety of meat, vegetables, and in some cases, dal.
Malaysian Indian cuisine, or the cooking of the ethnic Indian communities in Malaysia, consists of adaptations of authentic dishes from India, as well as original creations inspired by the diverse food culture of Malaysia. Because the vast majority of Malaysia's Indian community are of South Indian descent, and are mostly ethnic Tamils who are descendants of immigrants from a historical region which consists of the modern Indian state of Tamil Nadu and Sri Lanka's Northern Province, much of Malaysian Indian cuisine is predominantly South Indian inspired in character and taste. A typical Malaysian Indian dish is likely to be redolent with curry leaves, whole and powdered spice, and contains fresh coconut in various forms. Ghee is still widely used for cooking, although vegetable oils and refined palm oils are now commonplace in home kitchens. Before a meal it is customary to wash hands as cutlery is often not used while eating, with the exception of a serving spoon for each respective dish.
Shark meat is a seafood consisting of the flesh of sharks. Several sharks are fished for human consumption, such as porbeagles, shortfin mako shark, requiem shark, and thresher shark, among others. Shark meat is popular in Asia, where it is often consumed dried, smoked, or salted. Shark meat is consumed regularly in Iceland, Japan, Australia, parts of India, parts of Canada, Sri Lanka, areas of Africa, Mexico and Yemen.
Malu Mirisata has more of a chili flavor and it's a favorite method of cooking fish in Sri Lanka. The dish is popular around the country and mostly in seaboard area where fish and other seafood are staple foods. Coconut milk is used in some variations of this dish. This can be usually served with rice, bread or string hoppers.
Dahi or curd, also mosaru, dahi, thayir and perugu, is a traditional yogurt or fermented milk product originating from and popular throughout the Indian subcontinent. It is usually prepared from cows' milk, and sometimes buffalo milk or goat milk. The word curd is used in Indian English to refer to homemade yogurt, while the term yogurt refers to the pasteurized commercial variety known as "heat-treated fermented milk".
