Coconut sambol or pol sambol(පොල් සම්බෝල) in Sinhalese is your quintessential dish to serve with rice, bread, and string hoppers.

Recipe summary at a glance.

• Serving size – for 4 individuals.
• Prep time is 20 minutes. extra 15 minutes if you are scraping fresh coconut.
• Cooking time: no cooking time.
• Cooking method– Mixing or pounding.
• Cooking difficulty– easy
• Access to ingredients is easy. available in Asian shops.
• Flavour profile – zesty, creamy, and spicy.

Ingredients to make coconut sambol(pol sambol).

• Freshly scraped coconut.
  • You can use freshly scraped coconut or frozen scraped coconut, which is now available in supermarkets.
• Shallots or medium-sized onions.
  • For authentic flavour, use shallots, but you can substitute with a medium-sized regular onion. If you are using a mortar and pestle, cut the onion into wedges so you can crush it easily.
• Tomato.
  • Optional ingredient, but preferable.
• Fresh lime juice.
• Green chillies.
  • They add heat to the pol sambol. You can use a small piece of scotch bonnet to ramp up the heat. Use the scotch bonnet with caution, as too much will make the pol sambol too spicy.
• Maldive fish– adds a mild umami taste to the sambol. optional ingredient.
• Black pepper powder.
• Red chilli powder.
• Salt to season.

What to serve with coconut sambo(pol sambol).

• Serve pol sambol with roast paan or pol roti, or string hoppers..
• Serve with regular white rice, yellow rice or ghee rice.
• Serve with a mild curry. dhal curry, potato curry,
• If you want to serve the sambol with a meat or seafood dish, try out the following.
  • Sri Lankan chicken curry.
  • Slow-cooked beef curry(like my grandmother makes).
  • Beef coconut curry- Sri Lankan style(village-style, naattu aviyal).
  • Minced beef curry(ground beef curry).
  • Jack mackerel pepper fish curry(Sri Lankan).
  • Sri Lankan Fish curry with coconut milk(thalapath fish curry).

Tips, variations and questions to cook Sri Lankan pol sambol.

• Questions.
  • Can I use desiccated coconut to make pol sambol?
    • The sambol always tastes better with freshly scraped coconut.
    • But for anyone living overseas, I understand the difficulty in finding fresh, scraped coconut. So the next option would be dessicated coconut.
  • What is the difference between scraped coconut and dessicated coconut?
    • Keep in mind that scraped coconut is different from desiccated coconut because there is a difference in flavour and texture.
    • The latter is hydrated and quite dry, whereas the first has a wet consistency and is much creamier in flavour.
  • How to prep dessicated coconut to make pol sambol.
    • Dessicated coconut is dry and dehydrated for a longer shelf life. If you are using dessicated coconut to make pol sambal, you will need to hydrate the dessicated coconut to remove its dryness.
    • This naturally happens with the sliced onions, tomato and lime juice you add to the sambol.
    • Mix well, and after a few minutes, you’ll realise that the dessicated coconut sambol will look somewhat similar to pol sambol.
  • How long does pol sambol stay fresh?
    • Keep in mind that this is a raw sambol, usually mixed with your fingers.
    • Unless the leftover is refrigerated, the Sambol can spoil easily, especially in the summertime or on very hot days.
    • To keep the pol sambol longer, try making the kalupol coconut sambol, which I have given below.
  • How much fresh coconut should I use for 2-3 individuals?
    • The following recipe uses a whole coconut; the amount is more than enough for 5-6 individuals.
    • If you are making the coconut sambol for 2-3 individuals, use 1/2 a coconut, which will yield 1 cup and maybe a little bit more. 
    • Reduce the rest of the ingredients mentioned in the ingredient section in half for 2-3 individuals.

What is Pol sambol(පොල් සම්බෝල)?

If you are not familiar with the term, pol sambol, it is a coconut-based sambol made with a handful of ingredients.
It’s one of the most popular Sri Lankan dishes you need to try.
Pol sambol is a spicy coconut sambol made with freshly scraped coconut, black pepper powder, red chilli powder, shallots, and green chillies as key ingredients.
Gluten-free, vegan, vegetarian, and absolutely delicious. Coconut is an essential part, if not a key ingredient, of Sri Lankan cooking.
We use the thick, thin coconut milk to make gravies for our curries, and freshly grated coconut is used to make a spicy coconut sambol.

More recipes with coconut.

Kalupol coconut sambol.
Sri Lankan yellow coconut sambol.
Carrot-coconut stir-fry
Green beans and coconut stir-fry.
Cabbage and coconut mallung

Step-by-step photo tutorial

What you will need from the kitchen.

• Chopping board and knife.
• Grinding stone or mortar and pestle.
• Large bowl if you are making the pol sambol by hand.
• Spoon.
• Medium-sized serving bowl with serving spoon.

3 ways to make the pol sambol

Prepwork befor you begin making the coconut sambol.

Soak the shallots in water for 10 to 15 minutes and remove the skin.

Pound the Madive fish and set aside. The Maldive fish is available in powder form as well. if this ingredient is not available, make the coconut sambol without it.

First method:
Grinding stone, also known as the “mirisgala” (මිරිස් ගල).
Just like the mortar and pestle, it is a traditional Sri Lankan tool used to make spice pastes and condiments like pol sambol.
Add the scallions or medium-sized onion cut into wedges, green chillies(substitute with a piece of scotch bonnet chilli, tomato, pepper powder, red chilli powder.
Grind the ingredients for a few minutes until you have a coarse paste.

Now, add the scraped coconut with the Maldive fish powder and grind all the ingredients.
As you grind, squeeze in the lime juice and season with salt.
Use a spoon to collect all the ingredients in the middle of the grinding stone as you grind.
Taste and season with salt, lime juice and red chilli powder.
Once done, transfer to a large bowl and serve.

Second Method.
Using a Mortar and pestle(check out the video guide on my islandsmile YouTube channel).
Similar to using a grinding stone,

Add the cleaned shallots to the mortar, followed by the green chillies. You can substitute the green chillies with a small piece of scotch bonnet only if you are into a spicy coconut sambol.

Add the chopped tomatoes, black pepper powder and half of the red chilli powder.

Pound the ingredients well with the pestle.

Add the scraped coconut, Maldive fish powder, and continue to pound.

Add the rest of the red chilli powder.

Pound well to mix in the ingredients. Use a spoon to scrape the sides and mix the ingredients.

Season with salt and squeeze in the lime juice.
Make sure to remove the lime seeds before you continue to pound the pol sambol.
Taste and adjust seasoning as you need.

Third Method.
Hand mixing(included in the video guide on my islandsmile YouTube channel.
This is the easiest way to make the pol sambol in a rush.
Place the scraped coconut in a large bowl, add the chopped shallots or chopped regular onions and chopped green chillies to the coconut.

Add the red chilli powder and black pepper powder to the scraped coconut. You can add the maldive fish powder as well.

Use a spoon or wear a disposable glove to mix all the ingredients.

As you combine, taste and season with salt and more red chilli powder if necessary.

Remove seeds and squeeze half a lime juice. taste and continue to adjust the taste until you have the perfect Sri Lankan coconut sambol.

Storage, Freezing, and Reheating Guide.

Storing.
Refrigerate within a few hours of making the pol sambol. consume within 24 hours.
Freezing.
Avoid freezing.
Reheating.
Once refrigerated, you can reheat the pol sambol to consume within 24 hours.
Reheat the coconut sambol by adding the sambol to a frying pan and reheating over low heat.
For best results, heat until there is no moisture left and slightly toasted.
Stop food wastage by
Only make as much as you need, as coconut sambol is a dish best eaten when made fresh.
Any leftovers can be made into sandwiches, butter the bread, add the sambol and a slice of cheese(optional).

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Each recipe on this blog has been written with great care and love to the best of my ability, with you in mind.
It’s free and on the blog, for you to try anytime.
Each recipe on this blog has been written with great care and love to the best of my ability, with you in mind.
It’s free and on the blog, for you to try anytime.
All I ask is that you do not save it in any apps, recipe boxes, or online groups, as this would affect me as a food blogger and the growth of this blog.
I would appreciate it if you could share only the link rather than the full recipe. 
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