Sri Lankan Seeni Sambol (Caramelised Onion Relish)

Seeni sambol — literally "sugar sambol" — is Sri Lanka's answer to onion jam, but with far more going on. Sliced onions are cooked down low and slow until deeply caramelised, then balanced with chilli, tamarind, a little sugar and warm spices into a sticky, sweet-sour-spicy relish. It's a fixture inside seeni sambol buns, alongside milk rice, spread on pol roti, or served as one of the little dishes on a rice-and-curry plate.

The whole flavour comes from patience: give the onions time to soften and brown properly before you build in the sweet and sour. It keeps for a week or more in the fridge and, like most good relishes, tastes even better after a day.

Ingredients

• 4 large onions (or 3 cups sliced red shallots), thinly sliced
• 1 sprig curry leaves
• 1 piece pandan leaf (rampe), optional
• 1 small cinnamon stick
• 2 cardamom pods
• 1 tbsp chilli powder (or to taste)
• 1 tbsp Maldive fish flakes, optional
• 1 tbsp tamarind paste (or 1 tbsp lime juice)
• 1–2 tbsp sugar (or jaggery)
• 3 tbsp coconut oil
• Salt, to taste

Method

1. Heat the coconut oil in a wide pan over medium heat. Add the curry leaves, pandan, cinnamon and cardamom and let them sizzle for 30 seconds.
2. Add the sliced onions and a pinch of salt. Cook, stirring often, for 20–25 minutes, until the onions are very soft, deeply golden and reduced right down. Don't rush this — the colour is the flavour.
3. Stir in the chilli powder and Maldive fish (if using) and cook for 2 minutes.
4. Add the tamarind paste, sugar and a little salt. Stir well and cook for another 8–10 minutes, until the mixture turns dark, glossy and jammy, and the oil starts to separate at the edges.
5. Taste and balance: it should be sweet, sour, salty and hot all at once. Adjust sugar, tamarind, salt and chilli to taste.
6. Cool and store in a clean jar in the fridge. Serve at room temperature with pol roti, bread, milk rice or rice and curry.