Traditional Sri Lankan Cooking Class in Ella

The open-air kitchen in Ella

The class takes place in a traditional open-air kitchen on the green edge of Ella, where the breeze keeps the cooking area fresh and you can look out over plants and trees while you work. Clay pots, coconut scrapers and stone grinding tools sit alongside the stove, the same equipment families in the hill country have used for generations.

With a maximum of eight people, the group stays small enough for the instructor to help everyone at the chopping board and the pan. You start by getting to know the ingredients, then move from station to station as each dish comes together. Anyone looking for a cooking class in Ella that feels personal rather than staged will appreciate the friendly, unhurried pace of the two hours.

Hoppers, string hoppers, rice and curry

Hoppers, called appa in Sinhala, are bowl-shaped pancakes made from a fermented batter of rice flour and coconut milk, swirled in a small curved pan until the edges turn crisp and lacy while the centre stays soft. String hoppers are delicate nests of steamed rice-flour noodles pressed through a mould, eaten with curries and coconut gravy at breakfast or dinner.

Rice and curry is the heart of every Sri Lankan meal: a plate of rice surrounded by several small dishes such as lentil dhal, vegetable curries and a fresh coconut sambol with chilli and lime. Honey roti, a soft flatbread with coconut and a sweet glaze, finishes the menu. You learn how each element balances spice, sourness and creaminess, so you can recreate the meal after your trip.

Spices and flavours of Sri Lanka's hill country

Sri Lanka has traded spices for centuries, and its kitchen shows it. True Ceylon cinnamon, native to the island, appears alongside cardamom, cloves, black pepper, fenugreek, curry leaves and pandan leaves, while dried goraka fruit adds a tangy sourness to many curries. Freshly scraped coconut and its milk form the base of countless dishes.

During the class you discover how a good curry is built in layers, from tempering spices in hot oil to the difference between raw and roasted curry powder. Eating off a banana leaf at the end is not only traditional: it saves washing up, reduces waste and gives the food a subtle aroma. It is a delicious way to understand everyday life in Sri Lanka.

Ella town and its surroundings

Ella is a small town in the Uva Province at roughly 1,000 metres above sea level, surrounded by tea estates, misty ridges and waterfalls. Travellers come for the train ride through the hill country, the stone arches of the Nine Arch Bridge, the easy sunrise hike up Little Adam's Peak, the steeper climb to Ella Rock and the cascades of Ravana Falls just outside town.

The class fits neatly into a stay here. The 11:00 session turns into lunch after a morning hike, while the 17:00 session becomes a relaxed dinner after a day of sightseeing. Ella is cooler than the coast all year, and the best time to visit for dry weather is generally from January to April, although the green landscapes are beautiful in every season.