Rating: 5 out of 5.

The pol sambol is the queen of accompaniments. A truly Sri Lankan staple dish, this bright orange grated coconut sensation is a quick fixer at breakfast with string hoppers, roti or bread or even with rice at lunch. Most preferred for lunch would be a spicier version where the hotness of the chilli and the rich smoothness of coconut blend into the mildness of steamed rice.

Jennifer Paldano Goonewardene – Read More

Sri Lankan Deviled Coconut Salad - Pol Sambol

  • Cook Time: 15 minutes
  • Persons: 6
  • Difficulty: Easy

  • Ingredients
  • 1 fresh coconut or pre-separated coconut flesh sometimes found at Whole Foods
  • 1/2 red onion finely diced
  • 2 limes
  • 8 dried red chili
  • 2 tsp Maldive fish flakes (Amazon link below). Don’t skip this – the flakes last for years in the fridge.
  • 1 tsp white sugar
  • Salt to taste
  1. Instructions
  2. Crack the coconut open and grate. Alternately, if using pre-separated coconut flesh chunks, put in food processor and pulse for 30-60 seconds to create a coarse mixture.
  3. Crush the dry red chili peppers in a mortar and pestle. Alternately, you can toss the chilis in to the food processor with coconut chunks. I do suggest the mortar and pestle approach over food processing.
  4. Combine grated coconut and all ingredients. Grab yourself some food gloves and go at it – mix, squeeze, and break apart to maximize flavor infusion. The mixture should become pink from the color of the chili. Traditionally this is mixed on a wet griding stone to crush the ingredients and infuse the flavors.
  5. Add salt to taste and serve. Pol Sambol can be frozen for 3 months, or refrigerated for up to 3 days.

Where to Get the Ingredients

  • Coconuts – Whole Foods, Marianos, Jewel, pretty much any asian grocery store. Make sure you are buying the hard nut (usually light brown and “furry”) and not the “young coconut” that is meant for drinking (usually wrapped in plastic).
  • Dried Red Chili – CeylonFlavors Spices and Herbs – Amazon Link
  • Maldive Fish Chips – MD Brand (from Sri Lanka) – Amazon Link

Selecting the right Coconut

Good coconuts are usually available in the US. Most a products from Mexico. But you will have to do that thing weird people do that the grocery store to make sure you are getting a good nut. Shake! you should hear water splashing inside. The coconut should have some weight to it. The shell is almost always even in thickness between coconuts. The difference in weight comes from the meat on the inside. Also, coconuts that are too “young” wont work well, as they have wet mushy meat and very little of it. Splash and weight will save you!

Cracking Coconuts Open

Crack the coconut open – ideally into two halves. This can be tricky, but back at home, my family would take the back of a heavy knife and knock firmly around the “equator” of the coconut till cracks eventually form. Then pry the two halves apart making sure to catch the liquid that will spill out. The liquid is drinkable, so save and sip it if you like. If you don’t manage to get two even halves, you may need to get creative when shaving the coconut meat from the shell – watch your hands!

Shaving the Coconut

Traditionally, we shave the coconut flesh off the inside of the shell using a coconut grater. I usually try to get the most out of each coconut. Its ok to get a little bit of brown bits from the shell into the coconut shavings.

There are the old school fixed shavers that I’ve grown up around in the village, or the more modern hand cranked grater that I personally use today. The hand crank as well as a hand held scraper option are available from Amazon (photos and links below).

Traditional scraper – you sit on the base and shave the coconut into the bowl
This is the exact one from Sri Lanka that I use. It has to be mounted to a table, but easily tucks away after use – Available at Amazon
This is another option. I have never used one of these, but I assume it requires a bit more elbow grease to get the job done – Available at Amazon