Chilli sambals

Whilst bumbu spice pastes provide the bass note for almost every Indonesian meal, sambal sauces bring the final spicy crescendo. The bumbu is cooked into the dish, its warm flavours developing and melding with the meat or vegetables. Sambal is served like a relish alongside, although it can also be the main event in itself. The simplest meal, and a fantastic one it is too, is fluffy steamed rice, salt, a slick of virgin coconut oil and a fiery red sambal to ignite the palate. Here are a few