This is one of my favourite alternatives to a regular pol sambol (a spicy chili coconut sambal). Green pol sambol is delicious and totally vegan; the traditional recipe calls for kochchi miris (green habanero) that is pickled and then crushed with the scraped coconut. However, green habanero can be difficult to come across in London all the time, so I have developed an alternative recipe that uses green fresh chilli. Pair this with stringhoppers or rice as a zesty side dish.
Serves 4
Ingredients​
- 15g of fresh green birds eye chilli, sliced in half lengthwise
- 1 cup boiling water
- 100g desiccated coconut
- 1 cup (240ml) tinned coconut milk
- 1/2 tsp turmeric powder
- 1 tbsp water
- 10g of shallots, largely diced (2 shallots)
- 10g of garlic , largely diced (2 cloves)
- 6-8 curry leaves, remove the stalks
- 1 tsp of sea salt
- juice of 1 lime
Method
In a bowl, mix all the desiccated coconut with all the coconut milk and set aside. The texture of the desiccated coconut should change having absorbed all the coconut milk and should be wet to the touch.
Next take the fresh green chilies and steep them in the boiling water for a minimum of 5 minutes. This will take the sting out of them and make the heat more palatable. Drain the fresh chilies and set aside.
In a food processor, add the diced garlic and onion, the green chilli, curry leaves, the turmeric, tbsp of water and soaked desiccated coconut. Blend until the coconut starts to change colour and it turns bright green. Once all the ingredients are half blended, add in the lime juice and sea salt and blend till all the ingredients are thoroughly combined and all the onion, fresh chilli, and garlic is disintegrated.
Serve as a side to stringhoppers, hoppers or rice at room temperature. Happy eating!