Padang green chilli sambal

Preparation info
    • Difficulty

      Easy

Appears in
Fire Islands: Recipes from Indonesia

By Eleanor Ford

Published 2019

  • About

Not blitzed to smoothness, rather the green chillies slump down to a silky, army green relish. Despite the scary quantity of chilli seeds it is the flavour, not the heat, from the chillies that shines through. Sometimes teeny salted fish are added too.

Ingredients

  • 5 large green chillies
  • 1-2 green bird’s eye chillies (optional for extra heat)
  • 3 small red Asian shallots, peeled

Method

Chop the chillies, shallots, garlic and tomato. Simmer in a pan with a large glass of water to soften the vegetables.

Drain and transfer to a mortar. Use a pestle to smash and grind the vegetables, just to encourage their flavours out, not to create a smooth paste.

Heat the oil in a frying pan over a medium heat and scrape in the pounded chillies. Add the lime leaves and season