One ingredient needed to prepare some Indonesian dishes is fried trasi (shrimp paste). One can stir-fry some thinly sliced shallots and garlic until aromatic then add 2 to 3 teaspoons red chili paste, 1/4 teaspoons of fried trasi, lime and salt.   

Cube the paprika of any color and add when the chili paste is aromatic. Continue cooking for several minutes until you get the desired consistency. Sambal paprika could be served with addition of shrimp, cuttlefish or squid. You can eat it with rice or cassava. Poured over fried or grilled fish such as snapper or Spanish mackerel, it will be equally delicious.  

One day, I was very surprised to see a vegetable stand offering plump paprika. The woman at the stall was dipping slices of paprika in a gado-gado sauce. When I asked her if it tasted good, she answered that in places where paprika is grown, it is a part of people’s daily diet.  

Paprika: courtesy of Suryatini N. Ganie

A paprika farmer from Sukabumi, West Java, said that of all the varieties she grows, the cheapest one is the green-colored paprika. Green paprika from Sukabumi is smaller than the red, yellow or even purple varieties and not as sweet.  

Some sweet varieties of paprika appeared in the middle of the 19th century. A process invented in 1859 separated out paprika’s pungent cores and seeds, which contained capsaicin, making it much more palatable.   

Commercial grades of paprika are ranked by Lang, and range from exquisite delicate (kulonleges), delicate, noble sweet (edelnemes), semi-sweet (feledes), rose (rozsa) and hot (eros).   

Those are Hungarian words. Hungary is renowned for producing the best variety of paprika. The two principal paprika-growing areas in Hungary are in the south, near the city of Szeged and in Kaloska, on the bank of Danube.  
People in South Sulawesi grow a paprika-like chili called cabe kotokan. This type of paprika is the hottest chili in the Toraja highlands. Some people say it is twice as hot as chili.  
Fifteen years ago another paprika variety producing a very small red or yellowish inedible fruit was used as a decorative plant. The variety is rarely seen now, perhaps because the availability of edible paprika.  
By the way, paprika-stuffed nasi goreng or nasi gurih can be an alternative for the tomato-stuffed versions and can be served with Areh sauce.  

How to make Areh: Chop 40 grams shallots and 30 grams garlic, mix with 400 milliliter thick coconut milk. Season with 1 teaspoon ground coriander, 1 teaspoon ground cumin, 10 grams bruised galangal, 2 salam leaves, 1 tablespoon brown sugar and 1/2 teaspoon of salt or to taste. Cook until thickened. Stir to prevent coconut milk from curdling.  

Some people say that paprika cannot be used to make chili paste as people stick to local cabai. This is true, but often, several varieties of the same vegetable or fruit requires different methods of preparation.  
Although Hungary is said to be the center of paprika and people there has vast knowledge about ways to prepare paprika, I think the sayur lodeh paprika and steamed paprika areh are comparable with paprika served in the region.  

Another vegetable which is also abundantly available now is onion, or locally known as bawang bombai. And it is always a good idea to mix onion with paprika. Serving them with white or red meat is preferable for those who can’t stand chili.   

Mixing and matching mild paprika and various hot chili can be very interesting and sometimes surprising. You can get the extra hotness from the extremely hot small chilly, paprika and onion.  

Well, perhaps, the cores and seeds could be used again to achieve pungency and paprika will be very suitable for hot Indonesian dishes.  

Last but not least, for vegetarians: cut paprika 1 centimeter below the stem and stuff with hot, soft rice, put a salam leaf on each paprika then put paprika in a pot with 250-300 milliliter coconut cream seasoned with salt, ground pepper and 1 teaspoon granulated or brown sugar. Close the lid and cook over low flame until the sauce thickens. Arrange hard-boiled egg halves in a deep dish, add the cooked stuffed paprika and pour coconut cream sauce over it. Sprinkle with crisply fried shallot slices.  

Compared to chilies, paprika is not popular in some regions in Indonesia that have a strong Middle Eastern influence, which instead opt for white or black pepper.   

In these places, people dislike paprika as it has a strong smell when eaten raw. But step by step, paprika is becoming popular in Aceh and acceptable in traditional Javanese cooking.  

In regions with Chinese influence such as Cirebon, paprika can easily be available at traditional markets.

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