Rujak Medan (Sumatran Spiced Fruit Salad)

Cayenne is a red or green hot chili pepper used to flavor chile food dishes and is also used for medicinal purposes. Named for the city of Cayenne in French Guiana, it is a cultivar of Capsicum annuum related to bell peppers, jalapeños, and others.

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Ingredients:

Salad:

1 small cucumber, sliced thin
1 cup thinly sliced jicama
1 cup cubed firm ripe papaya
1 star apple (carambola) or red delicious apple, sliced
1 to 2 cups cubed fresh or canned ripe pineapple
1 firm Bosc pear, cubed
1 firm tart Granny Smith apple, cubed

Sauce:

3 Tbsp. dry roasted peanuts
1 long red cayenne chile, stemmed, seeded and sliced thin
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 Tbsp. tamarind paste, dissolved in 1/2 cup water and strained
1 small green banana, sliced (optional)

Instructions:

Arrange the cucumber and any 3 or more of the fruits in separate heaps on a serving platter.

In a food processor finely chop the peanuts, then blend in the chiles, brown sugar, tamarind liquid and the banana (if used) to form a paste. It is traditional to serve the sauce and fruit separately; each diner may then select the fruit they want and dip it into the thick sauce.

The modern method is to toss the fruit and sauce together and serve the salad at room temperature.

Recipe from the International Vegetarian Union.