Kiribath is a traditional Sri Lankan dish made from rice. When it comes to Sri Lankan food, there is no escaping the fascinating story of Sri Lankan Kiribath. Kiribath plays a very important role in our lives. This is the first food that babies enjoy when they switch from breast milk to solid foods by the age of 6 months. This is a symbolic ritual in which a grain of rice touches the baby’s lips as a sign of feeding the baby solid food.
In the homes of Sri Lankans, if it is anyone’s birthday/anniversary/wedding, the mother will cook a pot of milk rice. Also, Sri Lankan mothers do not forget to cook milk rice on New Year’s, when they take an exam, when they start a new job, or even on the first day of every month. It is very commonly served for breakfast. Every April, the head of the Sri Lankan New Year’s household (Surprisingly, Sri Lanka is a patriarchal society where the father is the head of the family, but this ritual is almost always performed by the mother) Milk feeds the rice. Thus the new year begins with milk rice for prosperity and good fortune. Then there are the Sri Lankan confectionery festivals that adorn our dining tables.
Kiribath is prepared with two major ingredients and some other minor supplements; the major ingredients are rice and coconut milk. The commonly used rice is white rice but Sri Lanka in the south of the Island used red rice. First of all, the rice is parboiled in water for about fifteen minutes and then poured and cooked in the coconut milk with a pinch of salt until the liquid is absorbed. Many people will prefer to have this way with just the salt but some others will love to add other ingredients such as sesame seeds or cashew, but it still does not change the milky taste of the rice and coconut milk. The second process involves pouring the rice into a shallow plate to dry then it is been cut into pieces of diamond shapes and served with Lunumiris, a mixture of red onions, red chilies, salt, and lime.
Kiribath is made in several ways. They are called Mung Kiribath and Imbul kiribath.
Mung Kiribath
Mung Kiribath is a variation of Kiribath. By adding boiled green gram to milk rice.The same recipe and procedure can be followed to make this variation. It is often arranged in Buddhist temples.
Imbul Kiribath
Imbul Kiribath is a sweet variation of the original. It is made by taking a small amount of kiribath and making it in a regular process and spreading it on a banana leaf. In the center is a sweet filling made from coconut and jaggery called pani pol. Banana leaves are rolled vertically and pressed tightly to give it an unusual cylindrical shape.
