Servings 2-3 | Prep Time 10minutes | Total Time 20 minutes
Sundanese Spiced Coconut Salad or Urab as we call it in Indonesia is usually eaten as a side dish accompanied by steamed rice amongst others. My mum used to make it in big batches to be enjoyed by family and friends, typically sitting together on the floor on a large bamboo mat eating with our hands ! As a spice freak I would go much heavier on the chillies but I have made the recipe milder to cater for all tastes; increase the chillies if you dare !
It is a super light an easy dish to make perfect for Veganuary and low in calories ! Full of crunchiness and zesty aromatic flavours it is simple to make and rewarding on the taste buds.
Ingredients
100g grated fresh coconut (alternatively use desiccated coconut)
600g Mixed Vegetable (Carrot, Savoy Cabbage, beansprout, red onion, snake bean, red pepper, baby spinach) (Alternatively use a pack of ready mixed stir fried vegetable)
3 tablespoon vegetable oil
Spices to blend :
1 Medium sized red chili (deseeded)
3 Cloves of garlic
1 medium size Red Pepper
½ teaspoon Paprika powder
½ teaspoon Coriander powder
¼ teaspoon of turmeric powder
4pc Lime leaf (few extra for garnish- finely shredded )
1 tablespoon Palm sugar
1 tablespoon of tamarind
50ml water
Method
Using a hand blender or pestle and mortar, blend the spices until smooth.
Pour the vegetable oil into a pan and add the paste. Cook on a low heat for a minute until fragrant. Add the grated coconut into the pan and combine with the paste stirring occasionally. If you are using desiccated coconut add a few tablespoons of water to ensure the mixture is not too dry. Cook on a low heat for a further 5-6 minutes on a medium heat making sure the coconut is evenly coated with the spice paste. Add salt to taste and set aside.
Prepare all the vegetables. Bring some water to a boil in a medium size pan. Firstly add the Kenyan beans and carrots and blanch for about a minute. Take out immediately and put into cold water to ensure they don’t cook further. Blanch the other vegetables, ensuring that you only blanch briefly as we want the vegetables to retain their crunchiness.
Now to prepare the salad. Drain the vegetables and mix together. Toss them in the spiced coconut and serve in a bowl. Garnish with some finely shredded lime leaf; enjoy !
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