East meets West in this famous Sri Lankan fusion dish.

Lampries are a Sri Lankan symbol of hospitality, the ultimate party dish. Their history, much like their flavour, is rich and varied. Also written as ‘lamprais’, ‘lumprice’, ‘lampraise’ or ‘lumprais’, the now iconic Sri Lankan meal was introduced by the Dutch Burgher population (from 1658 until 1796, the coast of Sri Lanka was under Dutch rule) who came up with this delicacy by combing local and Dutch ingredients. The name is an Anglicised derivative of the Dutch word lomprijst, which, loosely translated, means a packet or ‘lump’ of rice.

One of the first literary mentions of lampries was in Hilda Deutrom’s renowned Ceylon Daily News Cookery Book, first published in 1929. The recipe was most recently published in 2015, being OAM Charmaine Solomon’s contribution to The Great Australian Cook Book:

It traditionally comprises a three-meat curry, typically including beef, pork and chicken – brinjal (aubergine), seeni sambol*, blachan, frikadeller (Dutch meatballs) and of course rice (fried with onion and spices in ghee and boiled in stock), all wrapped in banana leaves and baked. Modern versions can include a single meat curry, such as fish or chicken, or a vegetable curry. A hard boiled egg is also a common, but non-traditional, addition and remains a subject of hot debate – should an egg be included in lampries or not? (Have your say in the comments!)

Lampries are rich, fragrant and a symbol of cross-cultural cuisine – history in a banana leaf.