Eons ago when I lived in Stoke Newington, even before it was desperately hip, there was a Malaysian restaurant on Stoke Newington Church Street which was cheap and popular. I didn't really know much about Malaysian food then but I did know that I converted from being a coriander despiser on the basis of their coriander and coconut chutney which was served with some deep fried mushroom deliciousness. I've been waiting for 30 years to find something that matched that and I think I've done it.
I was given Diana Henry's From the Oven to the Table for Christmas and last night I made the spicy roasted eggplant and she recommended serving it with coconut sambal. The recipe called for a block of creamed coconut which is not really the common way to buy coconut here - we're more used to cans of coconut milk or cream but I persevered and went to the little asian grocery in the market and found it. I made it in my little food processor, my most loved kitchen gadget, and it was green and fresh and spicy. I am already trying to work out what else to eat it with (grilled chicken?). My daughter pronounced it as good as any sambal she ate in Sri Lanka.
If you like spicy stuff here goes:
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- 50 g coriander (I found this was about half a bunch, stalks, roots and all)
- 15g mint (this is about 4 generous stalks)
- 25g baby spinach (big handful)
- 100g creamed coconut from a block
- 1 green chilli, deseeded (I used a long green chilli, not a jalapeño)
- 3 cloves garlic
- 2.5 centimetre of fresh ginger (that's about half a thumb)
- finely grated zest of a lime and juice (recipe calls for 3 limes but I only had one left)
- salt to taste
- 100ml of cold water
I just whizzed it all together in the mini food processor - I would add the water bit by bit depending on how loose you want it. You can add a teaspoon of sugar if you want it a bit less spicey. I reckon it was the creamed coconut which gave it a lovely paste structure. It does go hard in the fridge but just leave it out for a bit to soften. Delicious.
This is part of my eat less meat dinners...
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