Seeni Sambol

Ingredients

Onions

• 1 kgred onions, very thinly sliced

To cook

• 150 mlcoconut oil, or vegetable oil

Aromatics

• 2 sprigscurry leaves
• 1pandan leaf, cut in lengths
• 1cinnamon stick
• 4cardamom pods, bruised
• 6cloves
• 1thumb ginger, finely chopped
• 6garlic cloves, finely chopped

Seasoning

• 3 tbspchilli powder, or to taste
• 2 tbspMaldive fish flakes
• 3 tbsptamarind paste
• 80 gpalm sugar or jaggery
• 1 tspsalt

To finish

• juice of 1 lime

To serve

• milk rice, kiribath
• string hoppers
• bread
• as a bun filling

Directions

1. Slice them as thinly as you possibly can. Thick slices stay crunchy while thin ones burn. Cut the pandan leaf into short lengths so it can be removed later. Chop the ginger and garlic finely. Have everything ready before you start. Heat the oil in a wide heavy pan over a medium heat.
2. Add the curry leaves, pandan, cinnamon, cardamom and cloves. Fry them for thirty seconds until fragrant. Add the ginger and garlic and cook for a minute. Add all the sliced onions at once.
3. Stir them so they are coated in the oil. For the first fifteen minutes they will release water and collapse. Stir them every few minutes throughout. Do not raise the heat to speed it up. Stir in the chilli powder now. Add the Maldive fish flakes as well.
4. Cook them for two minutes so the chilli fries in the oil. Add the tamarind paste and the palm sugar. Add the salt to the pan as well. Stir it through the onions thoroughly.
5. Cook it for another ten minutes over a low heat. It should be sweet, sour, salty and hot all at once. Add more sugar if the tamarind is too sharp. Add more tamarind if it is cloying.
6. Taste it repeatedly as you adjust. Judging the texture tells you when it is done. Cook it down further if it is. Finishing it is done off the heat.
7. Take the pan off the heat entirely. Squeeze in the lime juice and stir it through. Remove the pandan, cinnamon stick and cardamom pods. Let the sambol cool completely. Pack it into a clean jar and press it down. The oil should cover the surface, which preserves it. Serve it beside kiribath, cut into diamonds.

Technique

• The onions need forty-five minutes to an hour on a low heat; raising the heat burns them.
• Slice them evenly and thinly, since thick slices stay crunchy while thin ones burn.
• It should be sweet, sour, salty and hot at once, with none of those dominating.

Substitutions

• Dried shrimp in place of Maldive fish.
• Vegetable oil in place of coconut oil, though coconut is better.

Variations

• Vegetarian, with the Maldive fish left out.
• Made hotter, with more chilli powder.
• Made sweeter, as the bakery bun filling usually is.

History

The standard partner to milk rice and string hoppers, and the filling of Sri Lankan bakery buns.

Frequently asked questions

What is Seeni Sambol?

Seeni Sambol is a sauce & condiment from Sri Lanka: onions caramelised with chilli, maldive fish and tamarind into a sweet-hot relish. The standard partner to milk rice and string hoppers, and the filling of Sri Lankan bakery buns.

How long does Seeni Sambol take to make?

Seeni Sambol takes 20 min of preparation and 1 hour of cooking. The recipe makes 1 jar. It is rated medium to make.

What can I substitute in Seeni Sambol?

Yes, within limits. Dried shrimp in place of Maldive fish. Vegetable oil in place of coconut oil, though coconut is better.

What is the most important thing to get right in Seeni Sambol?

Stir them so they are coated in the oil. For the first fifteen minutes they will release water and collapse. Stir them every few minutes throughout. Do not raise the heat to speed it up. Stir in the chilli powder now. Add the Maldive fish flakes as well.