Opposed to mallungs of my previous post, sambols are usually not cooked. They are typically made from raw ingredients or does not involve cooking during assembly. Let me explain. One could make a tinned fish sambol; while the fish is not raw, the preparation does not involve any cooking. And sometimes sambols do include cooked ingredients like dried prawns or Maldive fish. There are always exceptions to the rule. The most famous of Sri Lanka’s sambols is the coconut sambol, although traditionally made fresh from raw ingredients, can be cooked in order to keep it longer. Still, for the most part, sambols are raw preparations that are used as a condiment or side dish for Sri Lankan meals.

Sambols may or may not contain grated coconut. Many raw leaf sambols contain coconut. Cucumber sambol on the other hand, does not contain grated coconut but may contain coconut milk.  Modern science has proven how these centuries old  traditional cooking methods have ensured the absorption of micronutrients into the body. By not using heat (or very little heat as in the mallungs), you are ensuring the nutrients are not destroyed by heat, the finely shredding and use of lime juice breaks down the cell walls to release nutrients, and coconut helps with the absorption of fat-soluble vitamins such as Vitamin A, D, E, & K.

A popular raw leaf sambol is the gotukola sambol. Gotukola, Centella asiatica, or Indian/Asiatic pennywort, although native to Asia, Africa, Australia and islands of the western pacific, is not incorporated into all local cuisines and therefore may not be commercially available. This has been the bane of the Sri Lankan expat! And thus the struggle to procure a suitable substitute is a never ending one. From personal experience, though parsley and celery leaves have managed to somewhat fit the bill, they do not quite match up.

For those of you who are diabetic, there are a few leaves are reputed for having sugar reducing qualities. One example being the crepe-ginger, Costus speciosus or thebu (Sinhala). However these leaves should be consumed with caution as it should not be over eaten.

Raw Leaf Sambol

Ingredients

• 1 bunch fresh leaves (gotukola, parsley, or celery)
• ½ red onion finely chopped
• 1 green chili finely chopped
• Salt to taste
• 1 tbsp lime juice (or to taste)
• ½ cup grated coconut
• ½ tomato finely chopped (optional)
• ½ – 1 tsp pounded Maldive fish or dried shrimp powder (optional)

Method

Place all ingredients in a bowl and mix well. Don’t hold back from using your hands and giving the contents and good squeezing to ensure mixing of all flavours.