11 Sri Lankan Snacks to Try, Known as Short Eats

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What defines a snack to you? For me, this is something small, and that’s quick and easy to wolf down. Apart from sampling local street food when traveling, don’t forget about local snacks. 

In Sri Lanka, these are known as “short eats,” and while many short eats are savory, there are also the sweet kind. Locals love their short eats in between breaks, whether work or school, or in the afternoons with a cup of tea or Ceylon Coffee. 

Like most places in Southeast Asia, it’s a similar vibe around this tropical island when it comes to snacks and street food. The best place to sample and purchase Sri Lankan snacks is from the locals. Set up as a simple cart or street-side vendor, these spots are often undiscoverable if searching for them on maps. Having said that, they’re not hard to come by, and you see locals selling Sri Lankan snacks on every corner and roadside, as well as at local supermarkets and bakeries. 

Short eats are super popular in Sri Lanka, and you’ll certainly find these 11 Sri Lankan snacks in every city, town, or village!  

P.S. When buying from a street vendor, you can never really tell how fresh your snacks are, unless you see them straight out of the fryer, for example. I won’t lie, I was ill a few times after snacking on local bites, but that didn’t stop me from continuing.

That’s part and parcel of the travel life/experiences. But I feel like (most times), you can judge how fresh something is. Many times, for veg-based snacks, you’re all good, but there’s a lot of fish and mutton in Sri Lankan snacks. It’s also boiling hot in Sri Lanka, so these factors can influence the freshness of goods. Just something to be aware of. 

1. Samosa 

Growing up, I’d always grab a couple of samosas from the local garage (gas station) or Indian shop. So, I’m a hardcore judge of them. One thing I notice with Sri Lankan-style samosas is that many times they’re deep-fried in a batter that makes the exterior triangle shell bubble, and the pastry is extra flaky. 

Other street food carts selling these short eats have samosas that are smooth-textured. I prefer these over the flaky kind. 

Vegetarians, you’re in the right place for snacking, and many Sri Lankan snacks are just vegetables. For veggie options, go for all-veg samosas like plain potato, or corn and cheese. Then you also get mutton mince, chicken mince, and sometimes a fish variety around the island. 

In between train rides or bus journeys, it’s a perfect pocket of goodness that fills you up. You’ll find samosas everywhere, from the local shops to street stalls to markets, even vendors at the train station. 

Typical price: Rs. 20-40. 

2. Murukku

One of the (many) reasons I love Sri Lanka is because of how much I feel at home. The city I grew up in (Durban) has a prominent Indian population, and so many of the Sri Lankan snacks I’m familiar with and have eaten many times. Case in point: addictive murukku. 

I say it’s the Sri Lankan equivalent of a packet of crisps, and munched around the same time as you’d enjoy eating chips. There’s something so moreish about the twisty, crunchy deep-fried snack. The maize/rice/hickpea flour-based snack is rolled out into thin reels and cooked in oil. It’s not the healthiest, but let me just tell you, murukku is deliciousssss. 

Word of warning: Be careful when eating; they are really crispy, and you don’t want to crack a tooth. 

Eat your way through different flavors, like spring onion, curry, or super spicy versions. However, I prefer the plain one. 

Typical price: From Rs. 50 

3. Elawalu Roti

Before you go confusing yourself, yes, a roti is a round, flour flatbread. But an elawalu roti in Sri Lanka is a triangle-shaped Sri Lankan snack. The base comprises a roti, but it’s folded over and stuffed with various fillings. 

In other countries, this type of snack is a dosa. 

Locals make different versions, similar to the samosa. But elawalu specifically means a vegetable version. The wrapper is soft, but slightly toasted on the exterior, and the filling is potato/veg goodness. Like many Sri Lankan snacks, you’ll never know the true spice level until you bite into one — even if a local claims it’s “not spicy.” You also get mutton versions. 

Luckily, Sri Lankan spices are a lot milder than Indian, but I have a low spice threshold, so I’m not a good judge. 

While in Arugam Bay (favorite place on the island), I got violently ill for a day after eating an elawalu roti, among other curries. To this day, I don’t know if it was this that made me sick. I made extra sure to have my eating wits about me afterward. 

Typical price: Rs. 50-200 

4. Parippu Wade, i.e., Dhal Wade

Dhal (made from lentils in Sri Lanka) and I are long-time besties. I go gaga for the stuff. In general, I’m big on lentils, and always have been. Dahl is another Indian side dish I grew up eating. Even living in Hanoi, Vietnam, I ordered dahl at least once a week from my local Indian restaurant. So naturally, I’m in seventh heaven in Sri Lanka. 

Now, parippu wade (dahl wade) is just a lentil patty-based Sri Lankan snack that’s (again) deep-fried. I know all this deep-fried business doesn’t seem the healthiest, but hey, it’s just lentils…The mixture also contains curry leaves for fragrance and chili flakes. You won’t be able to gauge heat levels until eating, but it shouldn’t blow your head off. 

(I always judge a snack’s spice level by how many chili flakes I can spot.) 

Discover varieties of wade all over the island. Isso wade refers to prawn wade, and you also get crab wade! The mixture doesn’t contain either crustacean, but rather has a prawn shell/crab meat topping. 

Here are my favorite restaurants in Negombo, where seafood is the main star of the show. 

Typical price: Rs. 20-50

5. Mutton Rolls 

Elsewhere in the world, if you see the shape of a Sri Lankan mutton roll, you’ll automatically assume this is a spring roll. But in Sri Lanka, any “springroll” looking snacks are usually these mutton rolls. Yet because of previous associations, they have garnered the cute nickname: “Chinese rolls.” 

Unlike classic Chinese spring rolls, these have a crumbed exterior. (You also sometimes find samosas made with the same texture.) The common filling in Sri Lanka is mutton (sheep’s meat), which is probably the most popular protein in any Indian cuisine. This is because cows (beef) are considered sacred in Indian culture. Potatoes and spices like turmeric are added to the filling before it’s rolled up and hits the oil. 

Apart from mutton, fish and other seafood are Sri Lanka’s most widely used protein sources. You also find fish versions of Sri Lankan Chinese rolls. 

The perfect mutton roll should have a thin, crispy exterior, and shouldn’t be dough-heavy. 

Typical price: Rs. 60-150  

6. Fish Patty 

A fish patty? It’s not what you think. Sri Lanka fish patties are not some round processed food component that goes on top of a burger bun. It couldn’t be further from this. However, if you are trying to imagine what these Sri Lankan snacks are like, they sort of resemble an empanada. 

Any Brit will probably know what a fish patty is, though. In England, the term “patty” refers to a crescent-moon-shaped pie pastry that’s baked and filled with whatever pie filling. If history isn’t your strong suit, Sri Lanka was colonized by the British between 1796 and 1948. 

To this day, that’s pretty much what Sri Lankan fish patties are…But then again, others argue Sri Lankan fish patties come from the times when the Portuguese ruled over the island (from 1505 to 1658) — hence the empanada reference. 

A semicircle-shaped pastry is filled, shaped, and fried. Other key ingredients are green chilis, onions, and garlic. 

Local food tip: Another stuffed fish-based Sri Lankan snack is maalu paan, i.,e. triangular-shaped fish buns.  

Typical price: Rs. 130 

7. Seeni Sambol Buns

I’m very particular about sweet and savory stuff. Sometimes, even caramelized onions are a touch sweet for me. While I enjoy a seeni sambol bun, it’s one of the Sri Lankan snacks I saw a lot (especially sold on the bakery-on-wheels tuktuks), but tried just once. 

My husband, on the other hand, who is caramelized savory stuff obsessed, loves them! So it boils down to your taste buds. 

A soft, white brioche-like bun is center-filled with the relish, and as you bite into it, it oozes out. Some vendors skimp out on the relish, but generally, a good seeni sambol bun is generously filled. 

Seeni sambol refers to Sri Lankan-style onion jam, and the condiment (called sambol) is locally beloved. You’ll see many curries topped with it, especially crab curries. This is when I can appreciate the onion marmalade, as it balances out the spicy vibes. The best seeni sambol I tasted was in Tangalle with the best crab curry of my one-month trip here. 

Typical price: Rs. 100 

8. Manioc Chips

Have you ever bought a packet of veggie chips, you know the kind with red, orange, and yellow crisps, and wondered what the dark yellow ones were? There’s a good chance it was cassava root. In Sri Lanka, this root is known as ‘manioc,’ or more commonly, tapioca, but it’s still the starchy root veg. 

Easily manipulated in the kitchen (which is evident across South American cuisine), on the island, its most favored use by young and old is for manioc chips! Doused in a little bit of salt or chili powder, I call it the lightly salted Lays equivalent. 

If comparing them to a lightly salted crisp, it has slightly more bite to it, and it is thicker in texture. 

Manioc root is also boiled and eaten like that with coconut for breakfast in Sri Lanka. But I’ve never eaten it this way. 

Typical price: Rs. 300-500 per packet

9. Ulundu Vadai

Ever heard of the pulse, black gram? And no, I’m not talking about heart rates here, but rather a grain of the legume family, especially popular in Indian cuisine. In Sri Lanka, ulundu vadai is made from black gram. 

Another name for these savory “donuts” is “medhu vadai.” So if you see the name on a street vendor sign, you’ll know what it’s referring to. 

These Sri Lankan snacks always remind me of fried onion rings, the kind you always find on a pub menu. The black gram (which I’d say is closest to lentils) batter does contain onions, but these are chopped into the mix along with carrots, fresh coriander, ginger, curry leaves, and of course, green chilis. 

Useful to know: another one of the popular dahl-type Sri Lankan snacks is crispy paruthithurai vadai.

10. Sri Lankan Fish Cutlets

Just when you think you know exactly what the next Sri Lankan snacks are all about by reading the name, you’re fooled yet again. Sri Lankan fish cutlets are another example, and have absolutely zero resemblance to any sort of protein “cutlet” — the word reminds me of a schnitzel-type situation. 

Instead, these Sri Lankan snacks are fish croquettes, made from chopped up fish (till it’s a flaky consistency) and potatoes that are rolled into balls and are deep-fried. Some places make them very spicy, while other vendors, not so much. 

This time, it’s the Dutch showing its influence over Sri Lanka (colonizing the country between 1658 to 1796). Don’t believe me? Check out these classic Dutch snacks, where bitterballen are croquettes. 

Ask for sambol to dip them in! 

Typical price: From Rs. 50 

11. Lavariya

I can’t get enough of lavariya, reminding me always of Vietnamese bò bía ngọt, a popular street food in cities like Hanoi. 

If you’ve got a sweet tooth, it’s the perfect little bite, made from the same batter as the country’s famous string hopper. 

Wrapped up like a crepe, but boasting the same cool texture as the classic Sri Lankan hopper (one of the most popular street foods), the inside contains chewy, caramelized shredded coconut. It goes down a treat with a cup of tea. Sri Lanka is known as the Ceylon Country for a reason… 

Typical price: Rs. 350 

I’ve had the pleasure of traveling all around Sri Lanka, from west to east, and all the way down south, landing back in Colombo. If you find yourself in Galle (with its famous fort), here’s where to find the best restaurants in Galle! 

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