Roasted eggplant topped with sambal

Ingredients for 2 servings:

• 2 m.-large eggplant(s)
• n. B. Salt
• 6 tbsp peanut oil
• 4 macadamia nuts
• 4 m.-large tomato(s), fully ripe
• 6 small onions, red
• 2 m.-sized garlic cloves, fresh
• 2 chili peppers, red, long, curled (cabe keriting merah)
• 15 g ginger, fresh (or frozen)
• 2 tbsp lemon juice
• 4 tbsp guava juice, alternatively orange juice
• 1 tsp honey, dark
• 1 tsp, leveled chicken broth, instant
• n. B. Salt
• n. B. Honey
• e.g. Dill, fresh

Instructions

Working time approx. 15 minutes; Cooking/baking time approx. 20 minutes; Total time approx. 35 minutes

Sambal Taruang Balado – a popular side dish for fish and meat dishes. Recipe from Padang, Indonesia.

Wash the eggplants, trim both ends, and halve lengthwise. Cut off about 5 mm of the underside, exposing the flesh on both sides. Salt each side and let it soak for 10 minutes, then rinse the salt and dry the eggplants. Meanwhile, quarter the macadamia nuts. Wash the tomatoes, peel two of them, remove the seeds, and cut into hazelnut-sized pieces. Halve the other two, remove the green and white stems, halve the halves lengthwise, and cut them into thirds crosswise. Blend together with the lemon and guava juice, honey, and chicken stock in a blender on high for 1 minute until tomato juice is obtained. Trim both ends of the small red onions and the garlic cloves, peel them, and quarter them. Wash the curly chilies and cut them crosswise into approximately 1 cm long pieces, leaving the seeds intact. Wash the fresh ginger, peel it, and cut it crosswise into thin slices. Heat a medium-sized (24 cm) frying pan, add 2 tablespoons of the peanut oil, and let it heat up. First, toast the macadamia nuts until they begin to brown, being careful not to use smaller pieces! Then add the chopped onion and garlic and toast until the onions are translucent. Add the chili pieces and toast for a minute. Then deglaze with the tomato juice from the blender, mix well, and cover and simmer over reduced heat for 3 minutes. Remove from the heat and let cool slightly. Then pour the mixture into the blender and roughly puree on the lowest setting for 30 seconds. Return to the pan and thicken to a paste. Transfer this to a shallow dish. Add the peeled and deseeded tomato pieces and mix in. Season with salt and honey. The sambal is ready. Fry the eggplant halves in the remaining peanut oil until browned on each side. Top with the sambal, garnish with dill, and serve hot as a side dish.