No-Cook Sri Lankan Coconut Sambol Rice Bowl with Cucumber, Lime and Cashews

Place the grated coconut in a wide bowl. Add the red onion, chili powder and salt, then work everything together with your fingertips for a full minute — this bruises the onion and turns the coconut a warm pink.

Serves 4

Ingredients

• 4 cups cooked rice, cooled to room temperature
• 1 1/2 cups freshly grated coconut (or unsweetened desiccated coconut rehydrated in 3 tablespoons warm water)
• 1 small red onion, finely chopped
• 1 to 2 teaspoons Kashmiri chili powder
• 1 teaspoon flaked sea salt
• 3 tablespoons fresh lime juice, plus wedges to serve
• 1 large cucumber, shaved into ribbons
• 1/2 cup roasted cashews, roughly chopped
• 1/2 cup fresh cilantro leaves
• 12 fresh curry leaves, thinly sliced
• 1 teaspoon Maldive fish flakes or 1 teaspoon soy sauce (optional)
• 2 tablespoons coconut oil, melted

Instructions

1. Place the grated coconut in a wide bowl. Add the red onion, chili powder and salt, then work everything together with your fingertips for a full minute — this bruises the onion and turns the coconut a warm pink.
2. Stir in the lime juice and the Maldive fish flakes or soy sauce, if using. Taste and adjust the chili and salt; the sambol should be bright, salty and assertive.
3. Toss the cooled rice with the melted coconut oil and a pinch of salt so the grains separate.
4. Divide the rice between four bowls and spoon a generous mound of coconut sambol over each.
5. Arrange the cucumber ribbons alongside and scatter the cashews, cilantro and sliced curry leaves over the top.
6. Serve at room temperature with lime wedges, letting each person stir the sambol through their rice to taste.
7. Pol sambol is the backbone of the Sri Lankan table, appearing at breakfast beside hoppers and at dinner beside rice and curry alike. Because nothing here needs a stove beyond the rice you have already cooked, it becomes an ideal hot-weather lunch — the chili heat and lime acidity are precisely what island cooks rely on to make food feel refreshing rather than heavy in the middle of the day.

Nutrition (estimated, per serving)

• Calories: 512 kcal
• Protein: 10g
• Fat: 26g
• Carbohydrates: 63g
• Fiber: 7g
• Sugar: 5g
• Sodium: 620mg