• Toddy Festival at Cinnamon Lakeside to be held until 16 January

 Celebrating local heritage with the flavour of toddy in the spotlight, Cinnamon Lakeside launched a Toddy Festival at Colombar on Tuesday (10), which will take place from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. every evening until 16 January. The festival will celebrate the harvest and consumption of toddy.

Speaking at the pre-launch of the festival, Cinnamon Lakeside Colombo Food and Beverage Director Kamal Alahendra shared that guests can expect a variety of traditional food and drink, such as manioc with kochchi sambol, tempered chickpeas, and isso wade. The toddy will be served in a clay pot and coconut shells.

The flavour of toddy can vary depending on the type of palm tree it is harvested from and how long it has been fermented. Freshly harvested sap will have a sweet, slightly floral taste, while the taste turns sour with a little hint of alcohol the longer it ferments.

When we tried the toddy offered at Colombar, we found it to have a light, refreshing taste and a slightly effervescent texture. Some people describe it as having a slightly tangy or sour taste, similar to that of yoghurt or buttermilk. Others compare it to a milder version of beer or wine.

For those of you who don’t know, toddy, or “raa” as it is better known in Sri Lanka, is a fermented sap that is harvested from the flowers of various species of palm trees, particularly coconut palms. The sap is collected by tapping the flowers and allowing the sap to drip into containers. The sap is then fermented for a few days to create toddy, which has a slightly sweet and sour taste and an alcohol content of around 3-8%.

Sharing a few fun facts about toddy, Alahendra noted that one reason toddy is special is that it is a traditional and indigenous beverage in many parts of the world, particularly in Asia and Africa, where palm trees are abundant. 

“Toddy has cultural and historical significance in these regions, and has had a large impact on our island too – it is deeply rooted in the local way of life,” he commented, adding that sap collection and brewing is also a source of livelihood for people who collect the sap and make it into a fermented drink.

Alahendra also informed us that they want this festival to raise awareness of the multiple uses of toddy and how it has benefited locals in regions out of Colombo. On this note, he informed us that it’s also an important part of the agroforestry system in some regions where local farmers rely on it as an addition to their income.

One of the main reasons why toddy is so special to Sri Lankans is because it is such a versatile ingredient that can be used in a variety of food and drink, both sweet and savoury. It is used in dishes such as curries, stews, and pickles as well as in drinks like arrack, which is distilled from fermented toddy.

So head on over to Cinnamon Lakeside, and experience the unique taste and cultural significance of toddy at Colombar, where you can also sample a variety of dishes made with toddy. This is an excellent opportunity to initiate discussions about the traditional and indigenous culture surrounding toddy, which is deeply rooted in many parts of the world.