Han's Sambal

Sambal - An Indonesian condiment made of crushed chillies

Sounds dangerous - so beware:

My Indonesian friends, Hadjiwibowo and wife Widji, living in Jakarta, visited us several times and invariably brought along their own sambal (chillie).
I loved the taste but could not eat it, it being too bloody hot.
So in several sessions Widji helped me to modify the recipe to the extent that also people without leather tongues could enjoy it.
You'll find the resulting recipe below. As Hadji and Widji only visited us every few years and I wanted to make sure I had enough of the stuff to last for years, the quantities are enough to fill some 30 smallish jars. That's
OK because a) you can give half to me b) it will keep and c) making it is a real pain but the result is well worth it.

1 very big pan
8 medium large onions chopped
1 complete bunch of garlic cloves
12 small pots of sambal oelek (Waitrose)
5 lbs of tomatoes
3 1/2 blocs of coconutcream
2 kg of demerara sugar

Blanch the tomatoes and chop them. Keep around.
Fry the chopped onions and all the garlic cloves till done. (leave windows open)
Add all the sambal from the little pots to it (open more windows)
Add the chopped tomatoes.
Boil the lot up. Put in 3 coconut cream blocs and let them melt down while stirring,
Add the sugar. Stir it in gradually.
Now keep it simmering for hours occasionally stirring till it has the right consistency, roughly equivalent to a soft cowpad.
Cool down and taste. I suggest tasting it on a bit of cucumber, it should be hottish and sweetish and if necessary add the remaining 1/2 bit of coconutcream.
When cooled down transfer the lot to lots of jars.

When the sambal is fresh in the pots it is still very hot but it will gradually simmer down over the months.