Sri lankan seeni sambol(spicy caramalized onion relish)
A sweet and spicy onion relish. Make a jar of this condiment to make your meals enjoyable and add flavour to anything from crackers to plain bread.
- Prep time
- 30 min
- Cook time
- 1 hr
- Yield
- 4 servings
- Difficulty
- MEDIUM
Ingredients
- Ingredients mentioned below use standard measuring cups and spoons.
- 5 tbsp oil( increase if required)
- A sprig of curry leaves
- 2 inch pandan leaves
- 5 cardamom pods
- 1 inch piece cinnamon
- 1 tbsp red chilli powder(increase if you need the seeni sambol to be spicy)
- 1-2 kg Bombay onions sliced fine
- 2 tbsp Sugar
- 3 tbsp tamarind juice(if you are using tamarind paste 1 teaspoon should do)
- salt to taste
Instructions
- 1
Heat a pan that is large enough to hold 1-2 kg of chopped onions.
- 2
Keep the heat low and pour in the oil.
- 3
Add curry leaves, cinnamon, cardamoms, and pandan leaf.
- 4
Cook the ingredients for 1 minute over low heat.
- 5
Then add the red chilli powder. Sauté for a few seconds to avoid the chilli powder from burning.
- 6
Add the chopped onions to the spice mix and stir gently to combine all the ingredients.
- 7
Keep the heat steady while making sure the onions don’t burn, and continue to cook the onions.
- 8
Make sure to constantly stir to avoid the onions sticking to the pan.Stage 1. onions are cooked for 2-3 minutes.Stage 2. onions are cooked for 3-5 minutes.Stage 3. onions are cooked for 5-7 minutes.
- 9
Stage 4. onions are cooked for 7-10 minutes.
- 10
Leave the onions to cook for 10 minutes and add the tamarind juice.Stir to combine well and season with salt.
- 11
Cook down the onions over low heat for another 3-5 minutes, check for seasoning and taste.
- 12
Once done, remove the pan from the stove and let the seeni sambol(onion chutney)cool completely.
- 13
Meanwhile, have a dry glass bottle ready.
- 14
Once the sweet and spicy onion chutney is cool, spoon it into the bottle and refrigerate.
- 15
When you need to use this sweet and spicy Seeni sambol, take a few tablespoons and microwave it for a few seconds.
- 16
Make sure to always use a dry spoon.