You may be wondering what may be on the menu at an American/Sri Lankan wedding.   We decided early on we wanted our guests to have the opportunity to experience real Sri Lankan cuisine.  As we know, the best Sri Lankan food on the West Coast is in Los Angeles.  To that end, we drove to LA Thanksgiving weekend (yes – fighting traffic) to find the best caterer for our friends and family.  After sampling three potential vendors, and thoroughly enjoying the free samples, we have decided to have Wadiya cater our special day.   Below are some pictures of food to tempt the palate.   To those that are spicy-food-challenged, not to worry.  I tasted the food to be served with my decidedly American palate and there will be spicy and non-spicy versions of the main dishes as well as plenty of side items.

Appas (hoppers) and egg appas

This is a basket of appas (hoppers), which are very thin cakes made of rice flour batter cooked individually in a small pan.  They can also have an egg cooked in the middle, making them egg appas.

As a variation on your classic appas, these are string hoppers (idiappam).  These are also made of rice flour made into a thicker batter and pushed through a string appa maker.  This takes muscles, I cant do it well, I’ve tried.  The strings are laid on top of little baskets (or a larger perforated surfaced) and steamed.

String hopper maker

String hopper baskets

String hoppers made by Yusuf and Ashley

Along with our main courses, we will have a full complement of spicy side items for those who like it hotter.  On of the most popular is pol sambol, a mix of dried/desiccated coconut and chili.

Pol Sambol

So – in summary, if you are not familiar with Sri Lankan food, come with an open mind and an empty stomach.  We’ll do our best to satisfy both!