Growing up in Malaysia, nasi lemak was something Helen ate a lot of. Wrapped in banana leaves and day-old newspaper, the little packs of coconut rice, spicy sambal, egg and cucumber are sold on nearly every street corner. While this recipe is very much not nasi lemak, it is nevertheless inspired by it. The egg and tomato sauce mingling in the pan reminds us, at the same time, of the Middle Eastern shakshuka which Yotam grew up eating. Serve with rice, flatbread or any bread you like.
Getting ahead: This can be made in advance, up to the point just before the eggs are cracked into the sambal. The sambal lasts well in the fridge for up to 3 days.
1½ tsp | fennel seeds |
2 | whole cloves |
2 | cardamom pods' seeds |
½ tsp | ground cinnamon |
1½ tbsp | medium curry powder |
60ml | olive oil |
½ tsp | black mustard seeds |
20 | curry leaves |
1 | red onion, halved and thinly sliced (160g) |
10g | ginger, peeled and finely grated |
5 | garlic cloves, crushed |
10g | coriander, stalks finely chopped and leaves to serve |
150g | datterini (or cherry) tomatoes |
2 tsp | sambal oelek |
1 x 400g | tin of crushed tomatoes |
100ml | Thai tamarind concentrate |
300ml | water |
15g | palm (or light soft brown) sugar |
5 | eggs |
salt and black pepper |
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hello, i have one question about tamarinde ( paste - concentrate). i had cooked the sambal- shashuka. in the ricept stood that you need 100 ml tamarind concentrade. i had only tamarinde paste ( these is also a little bit liquid) but i have taken like in the recipt wrote 100ml. for my opinion it was very sour. because of that my question, is there a difference between paste vs. concentrate. i hope you understand my question. thanks for all these super recips!
Thank you for your feedback and we're sorry to hear that.
In the creation and testing process we've used Thai tamarind concentrate which is a lot milder than the Indian varieties. 100ml is correct but if you find a stronger brands, use a third/half the amount and taste before adding any more. We hope that's helpful!
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