- 3 tablespoons virgin coconut oil
- 24 fresh curry leaves
- 8 Baraka Cardamom pods, lightly crushed
- 4 whole Kandyan Cloves
- 1 3-inch Wild Cinnamon Quill, broken in half
- 1 6-inch fresh pandan leaf, tied in a knot, optional
- 2 red onions , thinly sliced
- 1 teaspoon fine sea salt, plus more
- 2 to 3 teaspoons red chili flakes
- 1 teaspoon tamarind concentrate
- 4 oil-packed anchovy fillets, roughly chopped
- 2 teaspoons lime juice (about ½ lime)
Ingredients
Methods
- Heat the coconut oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the green cardamom, cloves, cinnamon stick, and pandan, if using, and cook until fragrant, 45 seconds to 1½ minutes. Add 12 curry leaves—be careful, these crackle and pop!—and cook until bright green and translucent, 10 to 30 seconds.
- Stir in the red onion and fine sea salt, and cook, stirring occasionally, until the onions soften and start to brown around the edges, about 12 to 16 minutes.
- Add the red chili flakes, tamarind concentrate, anchovy fillets, and the remaining 12 curry leaves and ½ teaspoon fine sea salt, and continue to cook, stirring frequently, until the tamarind concentrate has coated the onions and the anchovies start to break down, 2 to 3 minutes. Turn off the heat and stir in the2 teaspoons lime juice. Taste and season with more salt or lime juice, if necessary.
- Let the sambol sit at room temperature for at least 30 minutes to let the flavors marry. If serving more than 2 hours later, refrigerate until 30 minutes before serving and let come back to room temperature.
