Vegetarian and Vegan Travel in Sri Lanka: A Food Guide

Sri Lanka is a great destination for vegetarians and vegans. Rice and curry — the national meal — is mostly built from vegetables, pulses and coconut, and many dishes are naturally plant-based. Buddhist and Hindu traditions mean vegetarianism is widely understood. There's just one catch: dried fish.

The hidden ingredient: Maldive fish

Maldive fish (umbalakada) — cured, dried tuna — is a common seasoning in Sri Lankan cooking. It's added to many sambols (including the classic coconut pol sambol), some vegetable curries and onion relishes, often in small flakes you won't notice.

Always ask:

• "No fish, no Maldive fish, please" — most cooks understand.
• In Sinhala: "Maalu nathuwa, umbalakada nathuwa" (without fish, without Maldive fish).

Also watch for fish sauce in some dishes and dried sprats in sambols.

Naturally vegetarian dishes

• Parippu (dhal curry) — red lentils cooked in coconut milk with turmeric and spices; served with almost everything.
• Polos (young jackfruit curry) — rich and "meaty" in texture.
• Kiri hodi — a mild coconut-milk gravy, usually with string hoppers.
• Wambatu moju — sweet-and-sour fried aubergine pickle.
• Gotu kola sambol — a fresh, zingy salad of pennywort, coconut and lime.
• Mallung — finely shredded greens stir-fried with coconut.
• Beetroot curry, pumpkin curry, potato curry, okra (bandakka) curry, cashew curry (kaju maluwa).
• Hoppers, string hoppers, pittu and roti.
• Kottu — order vegetable, egg or cheese kottu.
• Kadala — spiced chickpeas.
• Vadai — lentil fritters (check they're not prawn vadai).

Vegan notes

• Most curries use coconut milk rather than dairy, so they're often vegan.
• Ghee is used in some festive dishes, biryanis and sweets.
• Egg is common in hoppers, kottu and fried rice — ask for "no egg" (biththara nathuwa).
• Curd (buffalo yoghurt) with treacle is a popular dessert — not vegan.
• Many tea-shop drinks are made with condensed or powdered milk.

Where to eat

• Local "hotels" (small cafés) serving rice and curry at lunchtime — often have several vegetable curries in the selection.
• Tamil vegetarian restaurants — especially in Colombo, Kandy and Jaffna, serving dosa, idli, vadai, thali and South Indian-style meals. Many are fully vegetarian.
• Tourist towns such as Ella, Mirissa, Hiriketiya, Galle and Arugam Bay have cafés with clearly labelled vegetarian and vegan menus.
• Guesthouses — home cooks will happily prepare vegetarian or vegan rice and curry if you ask in advance.
• Poya days — many Buddhists eat vegetarian on full-moon days, and some restaurants serve only vegetarian food.

Useful phrases

English	Sinhala	Tamil
I am vegetarian	Mama elavalu vitharai kanne	Naan saivam
No meat	Mas nathuwa	Iraichi vendaam
No fish	Maalu nathuwa	Meen vendaam
No egg	Biththara nathuwa	Muttai vendaam

More in our Sinhala and Tamil phrases guide.