Coconut Milk Rice (Paal Soru) and Sambal

I am not a great fan of regular boiled rice, so this simple variation really gets me excited! It tastes the best with maasi sambal, which is a Sri Lankan dish made using coconut and maasi karuvadu (a kind of dried fish). You can skip the maasi karuvadu if you need a vegetarian sambal, or you can skip the sambal altogether and serve this rice with some fresh hot chicken or mutton curry and it tastes just as delicious!

Ingredients:

For the Rice:

1 cup rice
2 cups thick coconut milk
A pinch of cardamom powder
2 cloves
1 tsp liquid ghee
1 1/2 tsp salt (to taste)

For the Sambal:

1 cup grated coconut
8-10 shallots
1-2 sprigs curry leaves
1/4 tsp jeera powder
1/4 tsp chili powder (can add more)
1/4 tsp salt

1/2 tsp maasi karuvadu powder
A pinch of turmeric
A pinch of mustard seeds
1 tsp oil

Method:

Cook the rice in the coconut milk over a medium flame.

When the coconut milk has thickened and the rice is almost cooked, add the cardamom powder, cloves, and ghee, and mix well. 

Once all the coconut milk has been absorbed, transfer the rice into a greased pan.

Press into the pan, spreading evenly across the base of the pan.

Cut into pieces.

Coarsely blend all the sambal ingredients (except the oil, mustard seeds and the maasi karuvadu) in a mixie blender till all ingredients reach bread-crumb texture.

Heat the oil in a non-stick pan and add the mustard seeds.

Once the mustard seeds have popped, add the sambal mixture to the oil and saute till the mixture heats up (about a minute). Do not allow the coconut to go dry by sauteing for too long. The coconut should still be juicy and fresh when the sambal is done.

Sprinkle the maasi powder and mix it into the sambal.

Serve as a side for the paal soru.