Eggplant Balado

I often get asked by people if I know how to cook Indonesian. I said, I probably don't. The thing is, it takes hours to prepare Indonesian food, and some of the ingredients are not even available here. On top of that, I really am a lazy cook and most of the time I rely so much on the pre-packed spices that I can easily get from the Asian groceries...

This one though, Eggplant Balado, is possibly the easiest Indonesian food to cook from scratch, and it really is one of my favourite. And even better,  this sauce is only made from shallots, garlic, red chillies, a bit of ginger, lime leaves, and tomatoes. It's so simple yet, it's so full of flavour, it's sweet, it's a little bit spicy and sour at the same time. Not to forget, the lime leaves make it really fragrant too. And of course there's a million other variations to this sauce, but for now, I'd like to keep it simple and affordable, trust me these simple ingredients are more than enough to make a beautiful dish...

I used char-grilled eggplant here because I love the texture and the distinct flavour. There's something about the slight bitterness of the eggplants that work really well with the spices. But if you're not a fan of eggplant, you can always cook it with deep-fried fish, chicken, prawns, hard-boiled eggs, and many other things you can think of.

This is all I need to get from the supermarket;

4 red chillies (big long ones. Don't worry it's not that spicy)
2 shallots
2 medium size tomatoes.
tiny bit of ginger, around the size of a teaspoon.
A large eggplant, cut into long strips, about 1.5 cm thick.

And I've got in my pantry;
4 cloves of garlic
2 lime leaves.
some oil
salt and sugar to taste.

Now, here is how you cook it;
1. Using a blender or food processor, blitz the chillies, shallots, garlic, and ginger into paste. Stir fry it on a frying pan with a little bit of oil, on medium heat, for a few 2 to 3 minutes until it becomes more fragrant.
2. Blitz the tomatoes and add into the pan. Cook for another 5 minutes.
3. Add in the lime leaves, and a glass of water, turn the heat to low. Cook for 30 minutes, and let it reduce until it turns into pure'e. You might need to add some water if it becomes too dry. And add some salt and about 2 teaspoon of sugar to taste.
4. Meanwhile, place the eggplant strips on a plate and sprinkle with some salt. This would draw the bitter liquid out of it. Use paper towel to dry it.
5. Brush eggplant with oil or you can use oil spray if you have it.
6. Cook on char-grill pan for around 3 minutes on each side, or until it's half cook.
7. Once your Balado sauce is ready, add in the eggplant and cook until it softens. And that's all, serve it with rice.

I calculated how much I spent on this; 80 cents for the chillies, $2.50 for the eggplant, 40 cents for the shallots, 30 cents for the ginger, and $1.80 for the tomatoes. That all adds up to $5.80, and makes 2 meal... I've still got some sauce leftover, I'm gonna keep it a jar and store it in the fridge. I'm gonna use it to cook with hard-boiled eggs sometimes this week... Yummm...