Kiribath

Sri Lankan milk rice, rice simmered in coconut milk until creamy and pressed into diamond-shaped pieces. It is served with lunu miris, a spicy onion sambol.

Kiribath

Kiribath: AntanO, CC BY-SA 4.0 (Wikimedia Commons)

Where it comes from

Kiribath is a breakfast and celebration food in Sri Lanka, made for family gatherings and for the start of new ventures. The mild rice contrasts with the fiery sambol.

Explore the cuisine of Sri Lanka.

Recipe

Make Kiribath at home

Serves 4Time 40 minutes

Ingredients

  • 2 cups short-grain rice
  • 3 cups water
  • 1 cup thick coconut milk
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 onion, sliced
  • 2 tsp red chili flakes
  • 1 tbsp lime juice
  • 1 tsp Maldive fish flakes (optional)

How it's made

  1. Rinse the rice and cook it in water with salt until nearly done.
  2. Add the coconut milk and stir.
  3. Cook on low, stirring often, until thick and sticky.
  4. Press into an oiled tray or plate and smooth the top.
  5. Cut into diamond shapes.
  6. Grind the onion, chili, lime juice and salt for lunu miris.
  7. Serve the milk rice with the sambol.

Variations

  • Sweet kiribath with jaggery.
  • Kiribath with katta sambol.
  • Green gram milk rice.

Cook’s tip: Stir constantly toward the end; the rice should be soft and almost pudding-like.

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About this page

Description and method written by Intercontinental Chef. Home-style method; quantities are a starting point, so adjust to taste.

Photo credit