Beetroot Sambola, Sri Lankan Beet and Onion Salad
Beetroot is usually cooked down into a dark, spiced curry in Sri Lanka, but it also turns up raw and grated as a bright pink sambola, crushed with onion, chile, and lime. Without coconut and without salt, the beet itself has to carry the plate, so grate it raw for crunch and dress the onion in lime first to tame it. Massaging the bowl by hand, the way any sambola is finished, bruises the beet just enough to bleed its color and juice into the acid. It is best fresh, within the hour, while the onion is still crisp.
Ingredients
- 1 lb Beets, peeled and grated raw
- 1/2 whole Red onions, sliced paper-thin
- 1 whole Indian green chile, minced
- 1/4 tsp Black peppercorns, cracked
- 2 tbsp Lime juice
- 6 leafs Curry leaves, sliced thin
Method
- Slice the red onion as thin as you can and drop it into a bowl with the lime juice while you grate the beets. A few minutes in the acid takes the raw bite off the onion and softens it, the same trick that starts most Sri Lankan sambols.
- Peel the beets and grate them on the coarse side of a box grater. Grating them raw keeps the earthy crunch that a boiled beet gives up, and it lets them soak up the lime directly.
- Add the grated beet, minced green chile, cracked pepper, and thin-sliced curry leaves to the onion. Massage the whole bowl with your fingers for a few seconds until the beet begins to weep its color into the lime. A sambola is crushed together by hand, not just stirred, so the flavors run into one another.
- Let it stand 5 minutes and taste: it should be sharp with lime and pepper, with the sweetness of the beet behind it. Serve within a couple of hours, while it still has crunch, alongside rice and curry.
Nutrition
Estimated per serving: 45 calories, 2 g protein, 3 g fiber, 55 mg sodium. Computed from USDA FoodData Central reference values for the main ingredients. This is an approximation, not a laboratory measurement. How these are computed.
Cost per serving is estimated from US national-average retail prices for cheap staple forms, using BLS dried-bean prices and USDA produce prices. Prices vary by store and season, so treat it as a guide, not a receipt. How this is computed.
