Pickles, Sambols and Preserves
Seeni Sambol
Onions cooked slowly with Maldive fish and jaggery until they go dark, sweet and sticky.
- Onions cooked down slowly, not fried quickly
- Real Maldive fish for the savoury backbone
- Jaggery and tamarind, so it is not just sweet
- The filling for fish buns and the topping for hoppers
- Saves an hour at the stove
Available to pre-orderSKU: CC-SAM-SEE
Size: 200g
- Carefully packed and shipped to your door
- 14-day replacement on damaged items
- Secure checkout
Description
Seeni means sugar, and seeni sambol is caramelised onion taken to a Sri Lankan extreme: kilos of onion cooked down slowly with chilli, Maldive fish, tamarind and jaggery until the whole thing turns dark, sticky and sweet-hot. This is the jar version of the one that goes into every bakery bun on the island.
Making seeni sambol at home means standing over a pan of onions for the best part of an hour while they go from raw to golden to properly dark. It cannot be hurried and it takes far more onion than seems reasonable.
The result is worth it and is why the jar exists. Sweet, hot, savoury and slightly sour all at once, thanks to jaggery, chilli, Maldive fish and tamarind pulling in four directions.
It is what goes inside a fish bun, on top of a milk hopper, and beside string hoppers at breakfast. Keep a jar and half of Sri Lankan breakfast becomes possible on a weekday.
How to Use
- On a milk hopper or a plain hopper
- Inside a fish bun or a bread roll
- Beside string hoppers with dhal
- On toast with a fried egg
Cook with It
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Frequently Asked
Seeni means sugar, and the sweetness is structural rather than decorative. Onions cooked for an hour turn sweet on their own, and jaggery pushes that further, which is what balances the chilli and the salt from the Maldive fish.
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