Sweet, spicy, tangy bread

Okay so this focaccia is not your average Italian bake—it’s a full-on Sri Lankan fusion moment. Think: fluffy, olive-oil drenched bread layered with seeni sambol, that sticky-sweet onion mix that hits you with spice, tang, and just the right amount of caramelized depth. Then, because I clearly don’t know when to stop, I went ahead and topped it with fresh pol sambol after baking. That’s coconut, lime, chili, and onion all coming together for a punchy, fiery finish. The combo is sweet, smoky, spicy, tangy—it’s basically every bold flavor I love crammed into one loaf. Honestly, it’s chaos on bread in the best way possible, and I regret nothing

Seenie Sambol Focaccia Bread

Courses:Appetizers

Difficulty:BeginnerTotal time:3 hours Servings:10 servings

Description

Fusion focaccia topped with spicy-sweet seeni sambol and fiery pol sambol—Sri Lankan flavors meet Italian bread!

Ingredients

Seenie Sambol (Spicy Onion Relish)

• 3 medium white onions
• 1 tbsp tamarind paste
• 3 curry leaves
• 1 tsp curry powder
• 1 ½ tsp chilli powder
• ½ tsp chilli flakes
• 1 tbsp sugar
• 1 tbsp water
• Salt & pepper to taste

Pol (Coconut) Sambol

• 100g of grated frozen coconut 
• 1/2 medium onion 
• 1 green chili peppers 
• 3 curry leaves 
• 1 tbsp of maldives fish (optional) 
• 1 lime 
• ½ tbsp of cooking oil
• 1 tbsp of chili flakes 
• 1 tbsp of chili powder 
• ½ tsp of pepper 
• ½ tsp of salt

Focaccia Bread

• 1¾ cups warm water
• 2 tsp sugar
• 2 tsp salt
• 2 1/2 teaspoons active yeast
• 4 cups of flour
• 1/3 cup of oil + 1/3 cup for drizzle

Instructions

1. In a bowl, mix warm water, sugar, and yeast. Let it sit 5–10 min until foamy.
2. Add flour, salt, and 1/3 cup oil. Knead until smooth (8–10 min). Place dough in an oiled bowl, cover, and let rise 1 hour until doubled.
3. In the meantime, let’s prepare the seenie sambol. Thinly slice the onions.
4. In a pan, cook onions with curry leaves until softened. Add curry powder, chili powder, chili flakes, tamarind paste, sugar, water, salt, and pepper.
5. Stir and cook down until sticky, dark, and jam-like. Set aside.
6. Spread dough in an oiled baking tray. Dimple the surface with your fingers and drizzle with the remaining 1/3 cup oil.
7. Spread the seeni sambol evenly over the dough. Bake at 400°F (200°C) for 20–25 minutes, until golden.
8. While that bakes, we’ll prepare the pol sambol. In a pan, heat oil over medium heat and add the curry leaves, green choli, curry leaves and onions.
9. Toss in the shredded coconut and the remaining spices.
10. Remove from heat, let it cool to room temperature and squeeze some lime over top.
11. Once focaccia is baked, spoon the pol sambol on top. Drizzle with mayo and honey. Cut into squares and enjoy.

Video

Keywords:Appetizer, Bread, Spicy, Sweet

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