Pedis Panas — West Nusa Tenggara, Indonesia

Pedis panas - literally "spicy hot" in Indonesian - names a fiery chili preparation built around bird's eye chili, shallot, garlic and tomato, pounded or ground together and served as a condiment alongside rice and grilled or fried dishes. The preparation is reported from West Nusa Tenggara, in Indonesia, home to the Sasak repertoire of Lombok, a cuisine noted more widely for the intensity of its chili-based sambals and side dishes served with steamed rice. According to sources, the chilies, shallot, garlic and tomato are pounded in a mortar or ground fine, sometimes briefly cooked in oil with a little shrimp paste and salt, until the mixture turns into a thick, deep-red, very hot paste that is spooned onto the plate rather than mixed through the whole dish. Within the wider family of Indonesian sambals and chili condiments, this version is set apart chiefly by its heat, built almost entirely on bird's eye chili with little of the sweetness found in some other regional sambals. Cooks vary the ratio of raw to cooked chili and the presence of shrimp paste, tomato or lime to soften or sharpen the result.