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Hello eKa CIRCLE

Yesterday I was given some lovely home grown birds eye chillies. Having lived in Indonesia for 7 years I decided to make some fresh chilli sambal; something I learnt to prepare for the time spent in Asia. It is so easy to make and keeps in the fridge for a few days in an airtight jar. This recipe (and variations) is an absolute staple in Indonesian cuisine and now in my household! We often cook Indonesian food as it is so refined, healthy and delicious. I have yet to meet someone that doesnt love it when they have tried home cooking.

The sambal is a quick boost to the metabolism and the palate with the added bonus of LOTS of vitamin C. When I lived in Asia I was able to eat whatever I pleased without weight gain and I do put that down to eating fresh food; all bought and cooked daily. It always included lots of raw foods, vast amounts of varied fruit and vegetables and  ample amounts of chilli; which has been shown to raise your metabolic rate.

So here is the recipe for the the basic sambal…remember as a rule of thumb the smaller the chilli the hotter it is. Some of them can really be like fire so assess that to see what you might add to the sambal. Tomato for example tones the fire down somewhat. You can make this recipe using any type of chilli though. I have included some common additions that you can try to blend with basic chilli paste. Enjoy experimenting.

Additions to the Basic Sambal Include:

• kecap manis – a sweet soy sauce
• lime juice
• terasi
• tomato
• eshallots
• ginger
• ikan bilis- very small dried fish

 

 

Basic Sambal Recipe

handful of fresh chillies, washed, stems removed

2 cloves garlic

generous pinch of salt

generous pinch of sugar

Blend the ingredients using a spice blender or grind using a pestle and mortar. Store in a recycled jar in the refrigerator for up to one week. Discard if any mould appears.

Try the addition of any of the variation ingredients if you like? Or you can cook the sambal in a wok in a few spoonfuls of vegetable oil. This will make the sambal mellow somewhat and it will keep for longer in the refrigerator. The cooked sambal is commonly used as a base for fried eggs or fried cubes of potato and is absolutely delicious.

 

 

love & light

M + E

 

 

 

Ceramics from GD clay with thanks.