However scenes like this are becoming more rare as the tradition of Sri Lankan families gathering at home to make sweet treats like 'Kokiss', biscuit-like sweets made from rice flour, and 'Athiraha', fried dumplings made from treacle and rice flour, is dying out as mass-produced products become increasingly popular.

Sri Lankans today are more prone to buy sweet pastries like fried 'Mung Eta Kevum', a confectionery made of roasted mung bean, cane sugar and shredded coconut, rather than make them at home, with young people in particular reportedly less interested in spending time cooking sweets with hot oil.

The delicacies are consumed over the Sri Lankan New Year, known as Aluth Avurudda in Sinhalese and Puttantu in Tamil, which follows the harvest of the season's main rice paddy.

As the island nation becomes more urbanized, the recipes for the sweets that were passed down from generation to generation are being forgotten as city dwellers turn to shops and supermarkets instead.

(laht.com)