🥔 SIDE
Gotu Kola Sambol (Sri Lankan Pennywort and Coconut Salad)
Finely shredded pennywort leaves mixed by hand with fresh grated coconut, red onion, green chilli and tomato, sharpened with lime juice and salt, a raw green side for rice and curry.
Sri Lankan · easy · serves 4
prep 20 min · cook 0 min
~97 cal · 2g protein · 7g carbs · 7g fat · 3g fiber · 3g sugars · 7g sat fat (estimated, per serving)
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Gotu kola is Indian pennywort, a small, round-leaved plant that grows in damp ground all over Sri Lanka and is prized there as a healthy green. Gotu kola sambol is the simplest way to eat it: raw, shredded very finely and mixed with coconut, as a fresh side on the rice and curry table.
The leaves, with the tender part of their stems, are washed, rolled up and sliced as thin as possible, then mixed by hand with freshly grated coconut, finely chopped red onion, green chilli, sometimes tomato, and a good squeeze of lime with salt and a little black pepper. Many cooks add a pinch of Maldive fish, the dried and flaked tuna that seasons so much Sri Lankan food.
The sambol is made just before the meal, so the leaves stay bright green and crisp, and it cools the heat of the curries beside it.
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Make it yours
✓ Naturally gluten-, dairy-, egg- and pork-free. No swaps needed.
Toggle a diet and the ingredients rewrite themselves with regional substitutes.
🥕 Vegetarian
🌱 Vegan
🌾 Gluten-Free
🥛 Dairy-Free
🥜 Nut-Free
🥚 Egg-Free
🐖 Pork-Free
Dietary labels are a cooking guide, not allergen-safety advice. We track dairy, egg, gluten, tree nuts and peanuts (we count coconut as a tree nut, following FDA labeling), fish, and shellfish; we do not screen for sesame, soy, mustard, celery, or sulphites. If you have a food allergy, read the label on every product you use, and note that a kitchen can cross-contaminate in ways a recipe cannot control.
Ingredients
US
Metric
Serves 4
- 2 large bunches (about 100 g picked) gotu kola (Indian pennywort) leaves and tender stemsHard to find? 100 g curly kale, stripped from the stalks - the usual stand-in outside Asia; sturdier and less herbal, so shred it extra fine
- 1 cup freshly grated coconut
- 1/2 small red onion, finely chopped
- 2 green chillies, finely chopped
- 1 small tomato, seeded and finely chopped
- 1 tbsp Maldive fish flakes (optional)
- 2 tbsp (about 1 lime) lime juice
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp ground black pepper
Instructions
- 1Wash the gotu kola well in several changes of water and pat or spin it completely dry. Pick off any tough stems.
- 2Gather a handful of leaves into a tight bundle and slice them as finely as you can with a sharp knife, working through the whole bunch.✎ Chef’s noteThe finer the shred, the better the sambol. Dry leaves cut cleanly; wet ones bruise and turn dark.
- 3In a bowl, mix the shredded leaves with the coconut, onion, chillies, tomato and Maldive fish, if using, rubbing it together lightly with your fingers.
- 4Just before serving, add the lime juice, salt and pepper, mix again and taste. Serve at once alongside rice and curries.
Sri Lankan home tradition.
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🌏 While it simmers, know your destination
📍
Southern Province. The southern signature is ambul thiyal, which is closer to a drying method than a curry. Fish is rubbed with salt, pepper and goraka, a sour dried fruit, then cooked in a covered clay pot until the liquid has gone entirely, leaving it keeping for days in a cupboard with no cold at all.
🗺️
Sri Lanka. Sri Lankan cooking is fiercely aromatic, built on roasted curry powders, coconut, and pandan, with rice and curry at its heart. Hoppers, sambols, and fiery fish curries reflect an island spice trade centuries in the making.
🌍
Asia. A grain line runs across the continent. Rice dominates the wet south and east, wheat the drier north and west, and the tools follow it: the wok and the steamer where rice is milled, the tandoor and the griddle where wheat is ground. Tea travels the other way, drunk green, black, salted, buttered or with milk depending how far it got from China.
The story behind this dish is up top, worth a read while the pot works.
More from Sri Lanka
Parippu & Pol SambolCreamy coconut-milk red lentils with a fiery fresh coconut-chili relish, the twin pillars of a Lankan rice table.
Fish Ambul Thiyal (Sour Fish Curry)Sri Lanka’s dry sour fish curry: firm fish coated in a jet-black paste of goraka and black pepper and cooked down until every piece wears a tangy, peppery crust.
Kottu RotiChopped flatbread stir-fried with curry, vegetables, and egg on a clanging griddle, Colombo’s midnight anthem.
Browse all Sri Lanka recipes →
Good to know
Storing it: Best assembled just before serving. Prep the components ahead and dress at the last moment so it stays crisp.
Make it a Sri Lanka meal
Kiri Te (Sri Lankan Milk Tea)Drink
WatalappanDessert
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Cuisine
Diet
Frequently asked questions
What is Gotu Kola Sambol (Sri Lankan Pennywort and Coconut Salad)?
Finely shredded pennywort leaves mixed by hand with fresh grated coconut, red onion, green chilli and tomato, sharpened with lime juice and salt, a raw green side for rice and curry.
Where does Gotu Kola Sambol (Sri Lankan Pennywort and Coconut Salad) come from?
Gotu Kola Sambol (Sri Lankan Pennywort and Coconut Salad) is a Sri Lankan dish from Southern Province, Sri Lanka.
Can Gotu Kola Sambol (Sri Lankan Pennywort and Coconut Salad) be made vegan, gluten-free, or dairy-free?
This Gotu Kola Sambol (Sri Lankan Pennywort and Coconut Salad) recipe includes substitution suggestions for vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, dairy-free, nut-free, egg-free, and pork-free versions. Treat the substitutions as a starting guide rather than a guarantee, and see the allergen note below.
Is Gotu Kola Sambol (Sri Lankan Pennywort and Coconut Salad) safe for people with food allergies?
Our dietary labels and substitutions are a cooking guide, not medical or allergen-safety advice. We track dairy, egg, gluten, tree nuts and peanuts (we still count coconut as a tree nut to be cautious, although the FDA stopped listing it as one in 2025), fish, and shellfish, but we do not screen for sesame, soy, mustard, celery, or sulphites. If you have a food allergy, always read the label on every product you use, and remember a home or commercial kitchen can cross-contaminate ingredients in ways a recipe cannot control.
How long does Gotu Kola Sambol (Sri Lankan Pennywort and Coconut Salad) take to make?
About 20 minutes total (20 minutes prep, 0 minutes cooking), serving 4.
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