Coconut is referred to as the "jewel of the tropics" as it plays a large role in a Sri Lankan's daily diet. The fruit finds its way to about every meal in some form. Pol Sambol(coconut relish) is a traditional condiment prepared with freshly grated coconut and a few spices. The minimalism of this dish and the raw coconut taste make it an easy condiment to prepare and is usually part of the daily meal plan in Sri Lanka.
Ingredients:
1 cup grated coconut
4 dried red chilies (if you are using the big, dried chilies, use only two)
1 teaspoon chili flakes
1 teaspoon chili powder (I am using 3 types of chilies to show that we can use either, but you can stick to one kind of chilli - either chili flakes, dried chilies, or only chili powder by increasing the quantity)
½ tbsp of whole pepper or 1 ½ tsp of crushed pepper
1 ¼ tsp of salt
¼ cup of chopped shallots or onions
2 green chilies finely chopped
2 tsp of lime extract
Directions:
1: Add the 4 dried chilies, chili flakes, chili powder, salt, and whole pepper into a mortar. Lightly pound it until all the ingredients are adequately crushed, and everything is well combined.
2: Next, add the onions and crush them until it looks like a paste. Then gradually add the grated coconut into the mortar and pound again to mix it with the rest of the ingredients. Mix well until the coconut turns evenly red.
3: Transfer the coconut sambal into a bowl and mix in the chopped green chilies. Mix in 2 tsp of lime juice extract right before serving. Check for salt and adjust if necessary. Serve with rice and curry, bread, or as a condiment!
TIPS
Instead of using a mortar and pestle, you can directly add all the ingredients into a food processor and mix well. Or you can also mix everything by hand by chopping all the ingredients into small pieces.
You can reduce the heat in the coconut sambal by decreasing the amount of chili flakes or chili powder. If it is too spicy you can add extra coconut to balance the spice level.
I am using 4 types of chilies in my recipe (chili flakes, chili powder, dried chilies, and fresh chilies), whereas you can stick to one kind and increase the quantity to adjust the spice level.
You can also add ¼ tsp of sugar to enhance this recipe.
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