Pol Sambol

The dehydrated shredded flesh of coconut, known as desiccated coconut is often used as a substitute to grated coconut in food preparations like curries, cakes, sweets and chutneys. Desiccated coconut powder can be obtained by drying ground / shredded coconut kernel after the removal of brown testa.

Sri Lankans love their food to be hot & spicy. Pol (coconut) Sambol is another favourite dish prepared from desiccated / grated coconuts mixed with chillies.

I wrote about SriLankan traditional rice recipe (Kiribath) in my earlier post, which I served with Pol Sambol. Here is the recipe...

Ingredients:

• 2 cups desiccated coconut / grated fresh coconut
• 2-3 tbsp hot milk
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 medium lime / 2 tsp lemon juice (to taste)

To grind:

• 2 small onions, finely chopped
• 1 clove garlic
• 1 small green chillies, finely sliced
• 2 tsp dried shrimp powder
• 1-2 tsp red chilli powder
• 1 tsp black pepper powder

Procedure:

1. Grind all ingredients as mentioned in �to grind� to form a coarse mixture.
2. Take the desiccated coconut in a bowl, add the milk and mix well. Add the blended spices on top. Mix well with hand so that the coconut is evenly coated with the spices.
3. Add salt and lemon juice. Mix well.
4. Transfer into a serving bowl. Garnish with chopped chillies & coriander leaves and serve with rice & curries.

This is my second entry to AWED-Srilanka event, guest hosted by Siri of Siri's Corner, event started by DK...Check out my first entry for the event, click here.

Kiribath

SriLankan cuisine mainly consists of boiled / steamed rice served with curry. A popular rice dish in every SriLankan household is Kiribath. Kiribath (milk rice), is a traditional Sri Lankan dish prepared by cooking rice with coconut milk. In the Sinhala language, kiri means "milk" and bath means "rice".

More on Kiribath: Kiribath is an essential dish for any auspicious moment. It is very commonly served for breakfast on the first day of each month and is a very important aspect for the Sinhalese in celebrating the Sinhala and Tamil New Year. Kiribath is cooked and served as the first meal after the dawn of the new year.

The recipe for Kiribath is very simple. After the rice is cooked in boiling water for about 10-15 mins, the coconut milk is added and cooked again until the liquid is absorbed. Often other ingredients like sesame seeds / cashew are added. Kiribath is usually served with Lunumiris (a mixture of red onions and spices). It is also consumed with jaggery and bananas. On the Sinhala and Tamil New Year or other special occasions, it is served alongside traditional sweets like 'Kevum', 'Kokis' and 'Athirasa'.
The common & standard method of serving Kiribath is placing it on a flat plate and leveling the top and sides. Then it is cut into diamond shaped pieces (Source: Wikipedia)

Ingredients:

• 2 cups short grain white rice
• 3 cups water
• 2-1/2 cups coconut milk
• 2 tsp salt (to taste)
• 1" stick cinnamon

Procedure:

1. Soak and wash rice. Put rice and water into a pan / handi and bring to the boil. When the water starts to boil, reduce flame, cover and cook over medium heat for 15 minutes.
2. Add coconut milk, salt and cinnamon, stir well with a wooden ladle.
3. Cover pan and simmer on low heat for further 10-15 minutes, when all the coconut milk should be absorbed.
4. Remove cinnamon, slightly cool the rice and transfer to a flat plate.
5. Mark off in diamond shapes (with a knife / wooden ladle) and serve with coconut sambol (I'll state the recipe in the next post).

Sending this traditional SriLankan rice recipe to AWED-Srilanka guest hosted by Siri of Siri's Corner, event started by DK...