Table 1 Popular cereal and cereal flour-based meal items identified with their name, ingredients and method of preparation

Kiribath/milk rice (Fig. 2a)

Rice, coconut milk.

- Rice is cooked, mix with coconut milk and cook till grains hold together.

- Form into shapes or cut into pieces after forming a soft cake.

- Lunumiris; a coarse ground mixture of onions, dry chili, salt and lemon.

- Curried vegetables, fish or meat.

- Molded with sweetened coconut makes Imbul kiribath.

- Rice can be supplemented with green gram (Mung kiribath, Fig 2b)

- Dairy milk can replace coconut milk.

- Cooked rice grains are held together by the soft gel network created from gelatinization of released starch and denatured coconut milk protein.

Diyabath (Fig. 2c)

Cooked rice, water, condiments, with/without coconut milk.

- Soak cooked rice overnight in water at room temperature.

- Garnish with shallots, salt and green chili.

- Consume as a whole food.

- Mild fermentation may have occurred.

- Consider as a suitable remedy for gastric acidity and to reduce blood glucose levels.

Thalapa (Fig. 2d)

Flour of rice, finger millet, or cycas, water, salt.

- Boil flour-water slurry until a thick paste is formed.

- Make balls with fingers.

- Ánama; a thick gravy formulated with pulses (mung bean, horse gram) or meat.

- A thick gravy is needed to consume sticky gelatinized flour balls without chewing.

Roti/flat breads (Fig. 2e)

Flour of rice, finger millet or cycas, fresh scraped coconut, salt, water.

- Portions of wet dough form into a flat circle and bake directly on a heated solid surface made of clay, metal or stone.

- Use banana (Musa spp.) or Macaranga peltata (Kenda) leaves to cover roti surface that controls scorching and provides roasted green leafy aroma and taste.

- Lunumiris

- Curried vegetables, fish or meat.

- Variations; mixing other additives such as finely chopped green leaves, green chilies, shallots or sugar to give savory or sweet notes.

- Kee Roti is a fermented product. Prepared in a special vessel that provide, roasting and steaming capability, coconut milk is added during cooking. Then soak in sugar syrup soon after cooking.

- Koththu Roti is a modern day popular street food, made with a wheat flour-based oil impregnated roti, cut into pieces, mixed and cooked in a heated metal platform with curry gravy, vegetables such as carrots, leeks and tomato, eggs and/or meat. The roti is thin and roasted separately before mixing, and believed to be of Malay origin.

Indiáppa/string hoppers (Fig. 2f)

Flour of rice, finger millet, or wheat (fine particles), salt, water.

- A paste of steamed or roasted flour is prepared with near boiling water.

- Extrude the paste to make fine continuous strands into a circular mound. Use a special press and a raised circular mat made of bamboo strips (now plastic).

- Steam till flour paste strands becomes semi-vitreous, cooked, and the product holds together.

- Kiri hodi; a thin to medium thick mildly spiced gravy of coconut milk.

- Sambōla; a spiced grated fresh coconut.

- Curried vegetables, fish or meat.

- Direct heating of wet flour batter (25–30% moisture) with moist heat (steaming) cause complete or partial denaturation of starch and protein.

- Modification of starch properties such as stabilizing granule swelling, controlling the release of soluble starch, and pasting properties leading to control gelatinization may occur at the stages of flour, paste and final product preparation.

- Laveriaya (Fig 2g) is the sweet form made with grated coconut and palm treacle filling using rolled string hopper as the cover.

Āppa/hoppers (Fig. 2h)

Rice flour, coconut milk, salt, sugar.

- Thick flour batter is naturally fermented and then made thin with coconut milk for cooking.

- Batter is spooned into a small heated wok and rotate to coat the pan.

- Final product is a form of pancake with a crispy, lacey outer fringe and a spongy middle.

- Lunumiris,

- Curried vegetables, fish or meat.

- The crispy outer fringe is a thin layer of roasted, and browned starch and protein of rice and coconut milk together with its oil. The spongy structure in the middle is created by trapped air in the heat denatured/gelatinized starch and protein of fermented flour and coconut milk.

- Addition of treacle, milk or eggs to the center during cooking or sugar to the batter enhances the taste and nutritional value.

Pittu/steamed rice cake (Fig. 2i)

Flour of rice, finger millet or other, fresh grated coconut, water, salt.

- Flour particles coat small coconut pieces and make small beads.

- Flour-coconut beads are steamed.

- Steaming as a mound or in a long (15-25 cm) cylindrical mold (bamboo or metal).

- Lunumiris

- Heated coconut milk.

- Curried vegetables, fish or meat.

- Starch and protein of the flour coating are gelatinized during moist heat treatment and holds the bead structure without disintegrating.

- Addition of finely chopped green leaves enhances fiber and micronutrient level.