My mother or her trustworthy Kussi amma (literally translated as Kitchen Mother or maid) would have laughed their heads off if they saw me publishing a for a very common Sri Lankan dish - Katta sambola or Katta sambal.
A woman who couldn't make a simple Katta sambal would not be considered to be a woman in their book I guess.
If you ask any Kussi Amma worth her salt or any village housewife or even a young girl in a village, they would tell you how to make a decent Katta Sambal, a ground concoction made with a couple of red onions, salt, fresh chillies and with the addition with Maldive fish or Umbalakada, ground on a grinding stone and mixed with a little lime juice.
Katta sambal is served with rice, rotis, hoppers or Aappa or eaten with bread. It is a food of the humble poor man. Rice and sambal is meant to be the ultimate poor man's meal.
I craved for a decent Katta sambal when I moved out of Sri Lanka. However, I lived in a place where there were no grinding stones, no hot chillies and certainly no Maldive fish. My parents used to send me care packages of Sri Lankan spices and ones I received a small packet of Maldive fish and I managed to mix it up with sliced white onion, a bit of chilli powder sent from home, ground on a stolen mortar and pestle from the Chemistry laboratory at university and added some lemon juice and made my first sambal. Many years later I still remember how it tasted with some kiribath (milk rice) I made with fresh milk eaten with a few friends in my student hostel.
Living overseas now is not as lonesome as it was when I moved out of Sri Lanka in my late teens. Now I can buy most Sri Lankan food at one of three Sri Lankan shops in Auckland and even in my local Indian shops. One day, a lady in my local Sri Lankan shop was telling me how she marvelled at a nice white man who comes to her shop and calls her auntie and buys bottles of Katta sambal among other things. When she tried to tell him that it was really hot, he had said that he can eat hot food as his mother in law cooks Sri Lankan food. On questioning him, she found that the young white man was my son in law who has a penchant for Katta sambal who even keeps a bottle at work to eat with his lunchtime sandwich.
I still like to make my Katta sambal at home although I can easily buy it over the counter mainly as I don't like anything with preservative in it. All the brands of Katta sambal contains "preservative" but I don't know if it is natural, manmade or unnatural. So despite the other half and son and heir wagging their heads and rolling eyes skyward and wonder why I cannot buy this delicacy like other normal people, I continue to make my own Katta sambal which they devour without hesitation by the bottle.
The other day, a few people who tasted my Katta sambal wanted to know where I bought it so decided to share the recipe particularly for those like me who may be out of their homeland and are craving for Sri Lankan food.
I use the food processor to make my Katta sambal and it is really easy. Here is the recipe.
1 medium red onion chopped roughly
2 tsps. salt
10 tsps. chilli pieces or keli miris
5 tsps. Maldive fish flakes
juice of a small lime or half a lemon
Process the salt and red onion for a few seconds, add the chilli pieces and process for a couple of minutes.
Lastly add the Maldive fish flakes and process until well mixed and you cannot see the chilli seeds. Lastly add the lime juice and mix.
Store in a dry bottle and keep in fridge.
Makes one jam jar.
Should last for a couple of weeks in fridge.
Hint: - if Maldive fish is not available, you can substitute dried prawns which you can buy in Asian grocery shops but it alters the taste.
If you don't have a food processor, you can make it with a mortar and pestle with a lot more elbow grease.
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| My home made Katta Sambal |
A woman who couldn't make a simple Katta sambal would not be considered to be a woman in their book I guess.
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| Various brands of Katta sambal available for sale to us now |
If you ask any Kussi Amma worth her salt or any village housewife or even a young girl in a village, they would tell you how to make a decent Katta Sambal, a ground concoction made with a couple of red onions, salt, fresh chillies and with the addition with Maldive fish or Umbalakada, ground on a grinding stone and mixed with a little lime juice.
Katta sambal is served with rice, rotis, hoppers or Aappa or eaten with bread. It is a food of the humble poor man. Rice and sambal is meant to be the ultimate poor man's meal.
I craved for a decent Katta sambal when I moved out of Sri Lanka. However, I lived in a place where there were no grinding stones, no hot chillies and certainly no Maldive fish. My parents used to send me care packages of Sri Lankan spices and ones I received a small packet of Maldive fish and I managed to mix it up with sliced white onion, a bit of chilli powder sent from home, ground on a stolen mortar and pestle from the Chemistry laboratory at university and added some lemon juice and made my first sambal. Many years later I still remember how it tasted with some kiribath (milk rice) I made with fresh milk eaten with a few friends in my student hostel.
Living overseas now is not as lonesome as it was when I moved out of Sri Lanka in my late teens. Now I can buy most Sri Lankan food at one of three Sri Lankan shops in Auckland and even in my local Indian shops. One day, a lady in my local Sri Lankan shop was telling me how she marvelled at a nice white man who comes to her shop and calls her auntie and buys bottles of Katta sambal among other things. When she tried to tell him that it was really hot, he had said that he can eat hot food as his mother in law cooks Sri Lankan food. On questioning him, she found that the young white man was my son in law who has a penchant for Katta sambal who even keeps a bottle at work to eat with his lunchtime sandwich.
I still like to make my Katta sambal at home although I can easily buy it over the counter mainly as I don't like anything with preservative in it. All the brands of Katta sambal contains "preservative" but I don't know if it is natural, manmade or unnatural. So despite the other half and son and heir wagging their heads and rolling eyes skyward and wonder why I cannot buy this delicacy like other normal people, I continue to make my own Katta sambal which they devour without hesitation by the bottle.
The other day, a few people who tasted my Katta sambal wanted to know where I bought it so decided to share the recipe particularly for those like me who may be out of their homeland and are craving for Sri Lankan food.
I use the food processor to make my Katta sambal and it is really easy. Here is the recipe.
1 medium red onion chopped roughly
2 tsps. salt
10 tsps. chilli pieces or keli miris
5 tsps. Maldive fish flakes
juice of a small lime or half a lemon
Process the salt and red onion for a few seconds, add the chilli pieces and process for a couple of minutes.
Lastly add the Maldive fish flakes and process until well mixed and you cannot see the chilli seeds. Lastly add the lime juice and mix.
Store in a dry bottle and keep in fridge.
Makes one jam jar.
Should last for a couple of weeks in fridge.
Hint: - if Maldive fish is not available, you can substitute dried prawns which you can buy in Asian grocery shops but it alters the taste.
If you don't have a food processor, you can make it with a mortar and pestle with a lot more elbow grease.
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