Terong Balado - Indonesian Style Eggplant in Chili Sauce

When I made my sambal oelek, I was actually wondering how it could be of more use to me. It appears now that I was wrong. I have started using it on a regular basis and keep on accidentally finding such recipes as well. One such was when I came across Terong Belado in a magazine. A little googling as always and there I  made it. The name is quiet interesting actually. Terong is for eggplants and Balado is the spicy chili sauce. The dish is quiet simple. Sauteed/pan fried eggplants served/stirfried  with balado sauce. The dish can be served as a dry side unless you really want a liquidy sauce. 

The balado sauce or sambal balado is another variety of sambal from Indonesia.It is also a ground/chunky thick paste of fresh red chilies along with tomatoes,shallots, garlic,sugar and salt.Now how does sambal oelek comes into play here? Instead of grinding chilies fresh use the sambal oelek and major part of the work is done. Read through the recipe..

Ingredients:

Eggplants: 2 -3 purple eggplants

Garlic: 2-3 small cloves finely minced

Shallot/small onions: 2-3 finely chopped

Tomato: 1 medium -big chopped 

Sambal oelek : 1-2 tbsp as per taste

Brown Sugar: 1-2 tsp as per taste

Salt: as per taste

Lime Juice: 1-2 tsp 

Preparation:

Chop the eggplants into small pieces and salt them and keep aside for atleast 15 minutes. This will remove bitterness from them if any. Saute them in little oil in a wok till they cook. Keep aisde. Instead of sauteeing you can grill/pan fry/fry/bake them.

In the same wok, sautee garlic and shallots till aromatic and then add in the sambal oelek and chopped tomatoes.Let it cook until the tomatoes start to become mushy. Add little water if  needed and simmer until it reduces down to a thick sauce.  Add and adjust salt,sugar and lemon juice to this. This is our balado sauce.

To the sauce add it the sauteed eggplants. Mix well and stirfry for another 12 minutes and its ready to be dished out with Nasi Uduk  aka coconut rice or even plain white rice.

An umami dish perfect with rice or breads. Make it to savour it. I am off to make another batch of sambal oelek.  If you do not have homemade or store bought sambal oelek, use fresh red chillies while making the sauce and grind the whole thing together into a paste before sauteeing with eggplants.

Curtido -El Salvador Fermented Cabbage Salad

Sometimes I am surprised how some dishes just come to me. I was searching for something else and then found this word 'curtido' and little more googling led me to several mouthwatering recipes of this El Salvador style coleslaw. This unless coleslaw is much lighter but equally tasty unless you do not mind the tanginess of the vinegar used. I had found that it traditionally uses pineapple vinegar which is fruity and tangy.  I had used regular white vinegar here though feel free to use a mix of vinegars. It is usually served with pupusas which is an El Salvador national delicacy. 

Ingredients:

Shredded cabage: about  2+ cups

Shredded Carrots: 1 cups+

Finely chopped Onion/white part of scallions: 1/4 cup +

Jalapeno/Green chillies : 1 finely chopped (optional) (as per taste)

Oregano: 1/2 tsp + as per taste

Boiling Water: 1.5 cups

White Vinegar: 1/4-1/2 cups as per tartness needed

Salt & Pepper : as per taste

Preparation:

Finely shred cabbage and carrot and add in a big bowl along with finely chopped onion. Pour about 1 cups of boiling water on top of this and let it steep for 5 minutes. Drain and mix in with remaining water,vinegar ,salt,pepper and finely chopped chiles. Adjust the salt and seasonings.

Chill in the fridge for atleast 4 hours or overnight for the flavours to mingle. Serve as a crunchy tangy side salad. 

A tangy dish that requires a complimentary spicy mains. I liked the dish as I like tangy tastes.You too might like it.