Sambal Hitam

Since my Belimbing Buluh tree is heavy with fruits....I began harvesting it early in the morning....using a ladder with the help of my pet sister Norehan Nor.

When I posted my belimbing tree on Facebook....there were plenty of comments suggesting that I cook Sambal Hitam and making belimbing pickles.

Even my dear cousin kak long Nor Chahaya gave me the Sambal Hitam recipe for me to try cooking it.

Here is the recipe which kak long shared on my FB wall....

After washing the belimbing boil it in a saucepan filled with water.  Cook it until the water dries up and the belimbing turns brown in colour.

Blend bird eye chillies with onions and garlic.

Fry ikan bilis until crispy and then pound it coarsely.

Use the oil from frying the ikan bilis to fry the blended ingredients until aromatic.

Then add the belimbing and gula melaka and salt to taste. Lastly add the pounded ikan bilis. Stir well until dry and crispy.

When cooked, scoop into containers and store in the freezer.

Sambal Hitam is delicious when eaten with rice.  If travel overseas....can bring some also. Heheehe....

NatGeo Cover

Hehehe..... I posted a picture of me climbing the belimbing tree on FB. Then my Monkshillian schoolmate Ishak Rashid put it on the cover of NatGeo......

Belimbing Buluh Tree

Our belimbing tree which hubby planted at our rear gate twenty years ago has borne fruits again.  The belimbing fruit itself is very very sour if eaten raw. 

The fruits hung like grapes on the belimbing tree branches.  The fruits are in abundance especially during the hot season here in Malaysia.  It can be found all year round, Alhamdullillah.

The belimbing leaves, when combined with other herbal leaves, then boiled in water, can be use for bathing every morning during confinement.  Hubby did that for me after the deliveries of all our six children.  Hubby learnt this from his late sister Kak Ngah Mariam.

One of my neighbours use the leaves to increase her hair volume when she shampoos her hair. 

As for the fruits.....we usually cook it with duck eggs, coconut milk, bird eye chillies and fresh turmeric pounded together.   So......delicious when eaten with rice.