Kiribath with lunu miris
Kiri Bath (Milk Rice) is an iconic food that marks Sri Lanka's identity to the world. It is a food that every Sri Lankan is willing to taste. It tastes like milk.
Preparing milk rice is an ordinary Sri Lankan tradition on every auspicious day, like New Year. Before starting any good work, tasting some milk rice has become a tradition in Sri Lanka. It is a symbolic food that marks prosperity and success. Especially on New Year's Day, a pot of coconut milk boils so that the water overflows to mark the prosperity of the new year. Then the same milk is used to make the milk rice, adding the washed rice and a pinch of salt.
Once the rice is well cooked, the traditional way is to put warm milk rice in a banana leaf and then spread it on a banana leaf. Banana leaves also add a characteristic aroma to milk rice.
Soon as it's layered, it is cut into squares/rhombic pieces before serving.
Milk rice will taste better if tasted immediately after cooking before chilling. Usually, the milk rice is served with spicy Lunu Miris, a sambol chutney made with red peppers, onions, lime juice, salt, and sometimes dried Maldive fish, all ground into a paste with a mortar and rock pestle. Alternatively, it can be tasted with banana, jaggery, Maldivian Sambol fish, fried onion curry, etc.
