Karan Gokani’s Pol Sambol Recipe Exclusive from Hoppers The Cookbook

Hoppers shares the love and passion for Sri Lankan cuisine in which is now being cherished throughout the three restaurants located around London: Soho, Marylebone and King’s Cross. The face behind the name is none other than Karan Gokani, co-founder and creative director of Hoppers…a huge advocate for this delicious cookery.

The name ‘Hoppers‘ itself derives from the common dish of a bowl-like pancake made from coconut milk and rice flour. Also known as ‘Appams‘ this dish is enjoyed by many Sri Lankan’s and Southern Indians for breakfast or even dinner time!

With seven years of great appreciation to the cuisine, Karan has finally released the debut ‘Hoppers: Cookbook’. Karan writes a story of personal memories, collections of the restaurant’s favourite recipes and stories through the many visits to Sri Lanka from when Hoppers was first conceptualised… Now, they get to share a little piece of this cuisine with you at home.

Within this cookbook, Maldon Salt is used for the creation of the deliciously good Pol Sambol. Sambols in general sit between a relish and a salad, where raw ingredients are pounded with chilli flakes to be served as a condiment.

Make sure to use a pestle and mortar for this dish, as the pounding of the ingredients will break up the cells and release intensified flavours!

Pol Sambol | Recipe

Ingredients:

• 1½ tsp Black Peppercorns

• 1½ tsp Chilli Flakes

• 1 tsp Maldive Fish Flakes

• 1 tsp Maldon Sea Salt

• 2 Green Chillies, Finely Chopped

• 80g (2¾oz) Thai shallots (or 50g/1¾oz Indian onion), Finely Chopped
• 100g (3½oz) Fresh Coconut, Grated
• Juice of 1 Lime

Method:

1. Grind the black peppercorns, chilli flakes, Maldive Fish Flakes and Maldon Salt in a pestle and mortar until you have a coarse red powder.
2. Add the green chillies and shallots and pound the mixture with the pestle until the ingredients start to break up into a rough paste.
3. Add the grated coconut and continue to pound and stir until everything is well mixed and bright red. Add the lime juice gradually and taste as you go, you might not need it at all. This is best eaten straight away, but any extra sambol can be stored in the fridge for up to 2 days.

Make sure to grab your own copy of Hoppers: The Cookbook at your nearest bookstore to enjoy the tastes of Sri Lankan goodness in the comfort of your home!

We love seeing your creations you dish up on Instagram! Tag us using #maldonsalt so we can see your culinary concoctions come to life when you add a sprinkle of our salt.