'Kiribath', milk rice cooked with coconut milk and eaten on special occasions, is a traditional dish of:

"Kiribath" is a traditional Sri Lankan dish made by cooking rice with thick coconut milk.

About Kiribath:

• The name comes from Sinhala: "kiri" means milk and "bath" means rice.
• It is made by boiling rice (usually short-grain white rice) in water until cooked, then adding thick coconut milk and a little salt and simmering until the milk is absorbed.
• It is spread on a plate, flattened and cut into diamond or square shapes.
• It is usually served with "lunu miris" (a spicy relish of onions, red chillies, salt and lime) or with "katta sambol", or with sweet accompaniments like jaggery (kithul jaggery) or bananas.

Cultural importance:

It is considered an auspicious food and is traditionally eaten on special occasions: at the start of the Sinhala and Tamil New Year ("Aluth Avurudu", in April), on the first day of every month, on birthdays, weddings and when starting something new.

It is often the first solid food given to babies.

It is also offered at Buddhist temples on Poya (full-moon) days.

Variants include "mung kiribath" (with green gram) and "imbul kiribath" (with sweet coconut filling).

Other traditional dishes of Sri Lanka:

• "Hoppers" (appa): bowl-shaped pancakes made from fermented rice flour and coconut milk; "egg hoppers" have an egg cooked inside.
• "String hoppers" (idiyappam): steamed rice-flour noodles.
• "Kottu roti": chopped flatbread stir-fried with vegetables, egg or meat.
• "Pol sambol": a coconut relish.
• "Lamprais": rice and curries baked in a banana leaf; introduced by the Dutch Burghers.
• "Kavum" and "kokis": traditional sweets made for the New Year.
• Sri Lankan cuisine uses rice, coconut, spices, curry leaves and "Maldive fish" (dried tuna).
• Sri Lanka is famous for "Ceylon tea" and for cinnamon; it is one of the largest exporters of tea in the world.

Traditional dishes of other countries:

• Thailand: Pad Thai, Tom Yum.
• Indonesia: Nasi Goreng, Rendang.
• Maldives: Garudhiya (fish soup), Mas Huni.
• Myanmar: Mohinga (fish noodle soup).
• Nepal: Dal Bhat, Momo.
• Bhutan: Ema Datshi (chillies and cheese).

Why not the other options?

• ✗Thailand's famous dishes include Pad Thai and Tom Yum.
• ✗Indonesia's famous dishes include Nasi Goreng.
• ✗Maldives' famous dishes include Garudhiya.