Kenda is the Sinhala name for rice soup or rice porridge. It’s made by cooking rice in a large amount of water/or coconut milk for a long time so that the grains lose their structure, soften and distribute their starch throughout the mixture. It may be cooked as sweet or savory soup and can contain ingredients as basic as rice and water or as complex as spices, marinated meat, nuts, fresh herbs, and other garnishes. The ingredients in a particular type are really what make up its nutrition facts; rich ingredients equal a high-calorie and high-fat bowl of porridge, but keeping the dish simple also keeps the calorie and fat counts low.

Generally, it is;
✓ Low Cholesterol
✓ Low Fat
✓ Good Source of Fiber
✓ High Protein
✓ Very Low Sodium
✓ Sugar-Free

There are hundreds of known traditional rice varieties cultivated in Sri Lanka. These varieties possess nutritional and medicinal qualities unique to them. Due to this, farmers were engaged in cultivating these varieties from generation to generation, thus conserving the gene pool. Some of these traditional rice varieties are cultivated more widely than others. History has recorded more varieties, but throughout generations, Sri Lanka has lost many of these since they were not cultivated.