Coconut sambal 

                                       Coconut sambal - Home made

This is the, most common type of sambal made in Yarlpanam. This is an accompaniment and goes with any dish. This can be ground in a grinder or pound in a mortar using a pestle. (Smaller and table versions of mortar and pestle are available in Indian and Sri Lankan shops)

Ingredients:

Coconut scraped 2 cups
Dry chillies 12
Onions 1 medium
Tamarind paste 1 ½ teaspoon
Salt to taste
Mustard seeds 1 teaspoon
Onion small 1 (for garnish)
Curry leaves 6
Oil 2 tablespoons

Method:

Grind 10 dry chillies to a powder add salt, tamarind, onion and coconut scrapings and grind until well blended.

Add water if necessary to get a wet mixture.

Adjust dry chillies to suit your taste.

In a hot pan put the mustard seeds and heat until they pop, add little oil and fry the diced small onion, cut pieces of 2 dry chillies, pieces of cut curry leaves until onion turns golden.

Add this mixture to the sambal already prepared.

This garnish can be omitted if it is too much work.

Variation:

1) Dry roasted coconut sambal:

Dry roast dry chillies or fry them in little oil. Do this in low heat else the chillies will blacken and become useless.

Dry roast coconut scrapings and grind these with onion, tamarind and salt together until well blended.

In a hot pan heat little oil and fry some diced onions, ½ teaspoon of fennel seeds, pieces of curry leaves until the onion is golden brown.

Now add the sambal just prepared and in low heat keep stirring until the sambal is roasted, well blended dry.

Keep stirring and do not over roast.

This sambal has a different flavour and taste.

This can be pounded using a mortar and pestle

2) Some families add lime juice instead of tamarind.

3) Add small chips of Maldive fish when grinding and add lime juice instead of tamarind paste.

This has a different taste and not suitable for vegetarians.


Another way to make coconut sambal

In this method, you mix all the ingredients by hand or pound them in an Ural with no water added.

Ingredients:

Coconut scraped 2 cups
Red chilli Powder 2 Tablespoons
Onions 1 medium
Salt to taste
Curry leaves 6
Lime 1

Method:

Dice onion into very small pieces.

In a bowl add the coconut scrapings, chilli powder, salt, the finely diced onion and the juice of the lemon.

Mix well with hand well so that all the ingredients are mixed.

The Sambal should be moist but dry and reddish. Do not add water.

Add chopped up curry leaves and mix again.

The sambal is now ready.