A Sweeter Life

Make sure you bring me back some milk toffee,’ says my friend Sumithra when she finds out I’m going to Hulandawa, near Monaragala. I discovered Sumith’s milk toffee on my previous visit to Sri Lanka, and despite having visited more kitchens than tourist sights, I still haven’t found anyone who can make better milk toffee than Sumith. I’m not sure why his tastes so good, but it does. And this time I’m back to learn his secret.

Sumith, a humble and softly spoken man, greets me with ‘ayubowan’, meaning ‘welcome’ in Sinhala, as he opens the doors to his factory at the back of his house. It is like travelling back in time: wood fires heat vats of milk and sugar for the toffee; on a nearby table, glass bottles are used to roll out dough for the chilli bites, which are then cut into crescent shapes using old bottle tops.