Katta Sambol / Lunumiris

I like to plan the menu for the next day so that I can check my pantry and stock up if required. But this applies to lunch and dinner only. Breakfast at our house is mostly on-the-go. Its what we feel like having in the morning and the decision is not even on what we should eat, but if we should have sweet or savory. Sweet breakfast always includes pancakes, bread and spreads, cereal and fruits. Savory could be anything from baked beans to palaya soru. However, we try to keep it as simple as possible. On days when we have a typical Srilankan breakfast, it includes puttu, idiyappam, paan, appam, or pol roti. The main is difficult enough and therefore I try to keep the sides quite standard and simple – Katta sambol.

This is a very common side for breakfast and dinner and is typically served with kiribath. Kiribath is like the national food of Srilanka (if I can name one!). These are rice cooked in coconut milk and cut into cakes. My personal favourite is Katta sambol and boiled kappa/tapioca. It’s a feast on its own. I have tried it with unconventional dishes like bajji, dosa, idly and it works too well. This is extremely spicy, a good kind of spicy though, and flavourful. This again is a very simple no-cooking-process involved recipe.

I have used Maldives fish or maasi in this recipe. You can accordingly omit it if you cannot source it and would still taste as good. Maasi is dried and cured tuna that is readily available in stores. I’m sure this is one of a kind chutney variety for my non-Lankan friends to try.

Ingredients

• Shallots – 10 to 15 (peeled and washed)

• Red chillies – 6

• Lemon – half

• Maasi/Maldive fish chips – 1 tsp

• Salt – to taste

Method

1. In a motor and pestle, grind red chillies to coarse bits.

2. Add shallots and grind. Add lemon juice, salt and maasi and combine.

3. Alternatively, you can also use a mixer grinder to coarsely grind them all together.