Seeni Sambol is a classic Sri Lankan sweet, sour & spicy caramelized onion relish (or condiment! One of the delicious side dishes that you’ll find on just about every Sri Lankan table, whether it’s breakfast, lunch, or dinner time.
What is Seeni Sambol?
Seeni Sambol (Sinhala: සීනි සම්බෝල) is a traditional Sri Lankan caramelized onion relish or condiment with a perfectly balanced flavorful mix of sweet, sour, and spicy as well as aromatics.
In Sinhala ‘seeni‘ means sweet or sugar and ‘sambol‘ means relish.
Seeni Sambol is typically made with thinly sliced onion, chili powder, tamarind, sugar, salt, herbs (curry leaves, pandan leaves, lemongrass) and whole spices (cinnamon, cardamom, cloves).
Easy to make and super delicious. It goes well with hoppers, string hoppers, chapati, bread, milk rice, crackers, flatbreads, etc. Perfect on toast, in sandwiches, or on pizza- it goes great with anything!
More Sri Lankan Relish Recipes to Try
Ingredients
Srilankans usually prefer a very hot and spicy seeni sambol. however, if you can’t take too much spice, just decrease the amount of chili powder to your liking. On the other hand, if you love hot relish just add more chili powder.
Adding Maldive fish (crushed or pounded dried tuna fish pieces that add an umami flavor) is optional. For making a vegan/vegetarian version, just skip the fish.
- Onion-Thinly slice onion
- Chili Powder-
- Chili Flakes
- Sugar
- Tamarind
- Salt
- Whole Spices (cinnamon, cardamom, and cloves)
- Curry leaves
- Pandan Leaves
- Lemongrass
Preparation
Sauté thinly sliced onions with curry leaves, pandan leaves, lemongrass, and whole spices (cardamom, cinnamon, cloves) in coconut oil until they start to caramelize.
Add chili powder, chili flakes, Maldive fish, tamarind paste, and sugar, and continue to sauté until the moisture evaporates and the onion becomes golden brown.
Adjust the salt to taste and then allow the seeni sambol to cool completely before storing it in an airtight container. Before serving, remove the pandan leaves, lemongrass, and whole spices.
Useful Tips
- You can make a big batch and then divide it into small portions and freeze them for later use. Then just reheat and you’ll have a delicious side dish that’s ready in minutes.
- The finished dish should be thick and jammy and it taste better after resting or the next day. So if you’re not in a hurry, let it sit for a few hours or so as it helps the onions to absorb the flavors and thicken.
- The dish tastes best when all the flavors (sweet, sour, spicy, and aromatic) are well-complimented.
- Do not fry onions. Sauté till soft and translucent on low heat for a perfect texture.
- After slicing the onions, spread them in a single layer on a paper towel and let them dry for about 2 hours before starting cooking. It helps to evaporate the extra water in onions so you do not have to wait for the water in the pan to dry up too long.
- Sautéing the onions until soft and translucent takes a bit of time. You can minimize the cooking time by microwaving thinly sliced onions for about 5 minutes before you start sautéing them.
What to Serve With
It is mostly served as an accompaniment to milk rice (kiribath), indiappa (string hoppers), appa (hoppers), biththara appa (egg hoppers), and roast pan (coconut bread). It is also used as a filling in the buns locally known as Seeni Sambol Buns and an essential part of classic Lamprais (festive rice dish).
However, it goes well with naan, dosa, chapati, crackers, flatbreads, etc., and is perfect on toast, in sandwiches, or on pizza- You can also use it to stuff samosas or buns. it goes great with anything!
More Sri Lankan Recipes to Try
Here are a few great food recipes to try and serve with your Seeni Sambol!
Seeni Sambol (Sri Lankan Onion Relish)
Step-by-Step Recipe
Prep Time 10 Mins
Cook Time 15 Mins
Ingredients
4 tbsp cooking oil, preferably coconut oil
2-inch piece cinnamon
4 cardamoms
5 cloves
10 curry leaves
2-inch piece of Rampe
300g onions, peeled and finely sliced
2 tbsp chili powder
1 tbsp chili flakes
1/2 tsp salt (or to taste)
2 tbsp Maldive Fish, crushed
1 tbsp tamarind pulp, soaked in water
2 tbsp sugar
Instructions
Preparation
Slice the onion thinly.
Chili powder, chili flakes, cinnamon, clove, curry leaves, pandan leaves, salt, and oil (not in the photo).
Soak the tamarind pulp in warm water for about 10 mins to make a thin paste.
Using Maldives fish is optional. Skip it for making vegan/vegetarian versions.
Heat the oil in a frying pan. Add the cinnamon, cardamom, clove, curry leaves, and pandan leaves. Sauté till fragrant for a minute.
Add sliced onions. Sauté till translucent on a very low fire, stirring frequently.
Continue stir-frying until the onions become a bit translucent and start browning. Do not fry onions.
Add the chili powder, chili flakes, and salt and keep stirring until well mixed. And then add Maldives fish if using, and stir well.
Add the tamarind paste, and the sugar and keep stirring for a little while longer. Taste and adjust salt if required.
Remove from the heat and let cool.
Seeni Sambol (Sri Lankan Onion Relish)
Printable Recipe
Easy! Seeni Sambol (Sri Lankan Onion Relish)
Ingredients
- 4 tbsp cooking oil preferably coconut oil
- 2- inch piece cinnamon
- 4 cardamoms
- 5 cloves
- 10 curry leaves
- 2- inch piece of rampe
- 300 g onions peeled and finely sliced
- 2 tbsp chili powder
- 1 tbsp chili flakes
- 1/2 tsp salt or to taste
- 2 tbsp Maldive Fish crushed
- 1 tbsp tamarind pulp soaked in water
- 2 tbsp sugar
Instructions
- Heat the oil in a frying pan. Add the cinnamon, cardamom, clove, curry leaves, and pandan leaves. Sauté till fragrant for a minute.
- Add sliced onions. Sauté till translucent on a very low fire, stirring frequently.
- Continue stir-frying until the onions become a bit translucent and start browning. Do not fry onions.
- Add the chili powder, chili flakes, and salt and keep stirring until well mixed. And then add Maldives fish if using, and stir well.
- Add the tamarind paste, and the sugar and keep stirring for a little while longer. Taste and adjust salt if required.
- Remove from the heat and let cool.
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More Recipes to Try
Try these recipes to serve your Seeni Sambol
