Sri Lankan "Kottapol Sambol"
What is "Kotta Pol Sambol"
Hello everyone, how are you all doing? So today, I have something special for you guys. It is called “Kotta Pol Sambola”. This was made by our grandma when we were really small. Most people don’t know about this dish because this dish is really old, the recipe comes from our great-great-grandparents. But I love to hear and learn about these dishes because it is really interesting and I am very curious about this stuff. It doesn’t have to be always related to food, there are numerous things that we can learn from our parents, our grandparents, and even our great-grandparents. You really can’t add value to the things that we learn from them. They are that precious.
Not only that, with our Sri Lankan Tradition and with the history we have in our small country, there is a lot to learn. Even though our country is so small, we have a lot of diversity. It might be between the cities or provinces, but as Sri Lankans, we love that diversity because we learn a lot from each other. So this Dish is also something like that which got passed down between different generations in our country. Some may have not even heard of this.
So when it comes to this dish, the main ingredient that we use to make this dish is dried coconut. What I mean by dried coconut is that, have you ever seen the inside of a coconut? It has that brown outer shell thing after you break into that hard outer shell right? so if you let it dry it will peel off of the hard shell and will separate inside the coconut. So that is what we are going to use to make this Sambol.
"Koppara"
You might have seen this type of coconut being used to make coconut oil or to make something called “Koppara”. I remember my mom used to take this dried coconut and cut it into small pieces and let it dry under the bright sun for 4-5 days before taking it to the shop to extract oil from them. Those oils are 100% natural and they smell really good. So earlier I mentioned something called “Koppara” and let me give you some information about that as well. It's the same thing, to be honest. Have you seen the “Perahera”? and in those “Perahera” they have lanterns right? So people use that as the flammable part in those torches because those dried coconut burn well and burn for a long time. Not only that, these “Koppara” are used in Kovils and Churches as well.
How to make this Sambol?
Alright, that’s enough about “Koppara”, now let's see how we can make this delicious “Kotta Pol Sambola”.
Alright, how do I explain the taste of this dish? It is somewhat similar to the Pol Sambol that we make and especially the tempered version that we make when we need to keep it for a longer period. It is not the exact same thing, but it is somewhat similar and tastes way better. I am saying that because the coconut that we use is dried and has oil in it. Okay, so how do we make it?
Methods of making Kotta Pol Sambol?
First, take the dried coconut from the hard shell.
It should separate with ease since it is well-dried. So break that in half and cut that into small pieces because that will help us when it comes to pounding and grinding the Sambol.
After that, pound those pieces well using a mortar and pestle.
Note: If you guys have a food processor, you can use that as well because it will be much faster and easier.
Also, no need to rush through this process because if you guys only have a small mortar and pestle you can do this slowly by adding small pieces at a time.
After that take those pounded coconuts out of the mortar or food processor and add 5 garlic cloves
Next add 2tsp of black pepper, ½ large onion, 1tsp of chili flakes, and 1sp of salt and pound or grind them well.
Note: So I should note that, when making this, it is important to bring out the taste of black pepper and garlic more than the chili flakes. So because of that make sure not to add too many chili flakes.
Then add those pounded coconuts and pound even more until everything is mixed well.
Here’s the super delicious and super flavorful “Kotta Pol Sambol”.
