Name: Samphire and sea beet sambol
Total time: 15 min
Yield: Serves 2 as a side
Cuisine: Sri lankan
Ingredients: 2 tsp dried chilli flakes; ½-1 lime juiced; 5-6 curry leaves; 2 round shallots peeled and roughly chopped; 50g fresh coconut finely grated (or defrosted frozen grated coconut); a small handful samphire; a small handful sea beets roughly chopped; 1 green chilli roughly chopped (optional); 1 small carrot grated; roughly chopped to make 2 tbsp coriander leaves; ground to make ½ tsp black peppercorns

Close up of a bowl of sambol with samphire, sea beets and chilli

2 tsp dried chilli flakes
½-1 lime
juiced
5-6 curry leaves
2 round shallots
peeled and roughly chopped
50g fresh coconut
finely grated (or defrosted frozen grated coconut)
a small handful samphire
a small handful sea beets
roughly chopped
1 green chilli
roughly chopped (optional)
1 small carrot
grated
roughly chopped to make 2 tbsp coriander leaves
ground to make ½ tsp black peppercorns

Method

step 1
Use a large pestle and mortar to thoroughly bash ½ tsp of salt and the chilli flakes, adding a little squeeze of lime juice. Once the chilli flakes have turned into a bright red powder, add the curry leaves and shallots, and pound a few times to break them up and release their juices – you just want to bruise them, as opposed to turning them into a paste.
step 2
Add the coconut and the juice of half a lime. Pound a few more times to bruise the coconut, then stir everything together.
step 3
Tip the mixture into a medium bowl, add the remaining ingredients and stir to combine. Check for seasoning and add more salt or lime juice, if you like. This sambol is best enjoyed at room temperature or slightly chilled. It will keep for up to 3 hours but is best assembled at the last minute and eaten fresh.