Sri Lankan Eggplant Sambol

Unlike the Malaysian and Indonesia style sambals that are made with ground red chillies simmered for a good while to get its strong flavours, the Sri Lankan style sambol is almost akin to an Asian salad. It is light and refreshing and makes a great side dish to a rice spread.

If you discount the amount of time taken to fry to eggplant, it is actually a quick dish to assemble.

I personally don't like frying eggplant, as it soaks up way too much oil and turns my kitchen into an oil slick. So, if you are making this dish for a party, consider baking the eggplant instead.

Ingredients (for 6-10 pax)

2 large eggplants (get the long and big variety) - cut into small cubes

1 medium size onion - chop

4 big red chilies -remove seed and chop

a bunch of fresh coriander - chop finely

salt and sugar to taste

juice for 1/2 to 1 lime (to taste)

Method:

Make sure that the cubed eggplant is dry before you deep fry it until it turns golden (cooked but not burnt). Drain well on kitchen towel.

Cut eggplant before roasting in oven

(If you are toasting it in the oven, then lay the cubed eggplant on a oven tray and sprinkle / spray a little bit of oil. Bake for 45 -60 mins at 200 Celsius. Toss 1-2 times.

Be warned that eggplant shrivels up when cooked.

Cut eggplant after roasting in oven

Remove from the oven and let it cool down before adding the onions, chilli and coriander. (There is no further cooking involved.) Toss well.

Season with salt and sugar.

Drizzle some lime juice and give it a final toss.

You can prepare the cooked eggplant in advance and keep it in the fridge, but don't mix in the other ingredients until you are ready to serve, to maintain its freshness.