Sri Lankan food is absolutely delicious. It’s complex and distinctive, yet hard to define. While geographically close to India, this country’s diverse cuisine is shaped by history, patterns of migration and trade. It’s often referred to as the fresher, lighter cousin of Indian cookery. Sydney-based chef O Tama gives us an insider’s guide to her food: vegetable-dominant curries, hoppers and sambals. While Lanka is Sanskrit for island, in Tamil it means ‘that which glitters’ – a jewel in the Indian Ocean.