Nasi Lemak Sambal

Original recipe from May's Awesome Mother, who weighs ingredients while making traditional recipes so May can make them too 

Ingredients: 
40g Candle nut
210g fresh Red Chillis
10g Chilli Padi
20g Belacan
100g Shallots -- small purple ones if possible, banana shallots are not the same
1/2 tbsp Tamarind paste
Limes -- only if you can find mini limes, like limau kasturi, otherwise double the amount of Tamarind paste
100ml oil
Salt -- to taste
Sugar -- to taste

Peel the shallots, and chop them up roughly.

Put them in the bottom of the blender, and puree them.

Cut off any bad bits and remove the top of the chillis. Cut them up roughly, and add them to blender a bit at a time. If you have to, you can add a bit of water.

When this finishes blending, do the same with the chilli padi, and then add all the belacan and candlenuts.

At this point, you can freeze the paste for a few months. When you're ready to use it, take it out of the freezer and defrost in the fridge over night.

Prepare the tamarind water: mix the tamarind paste with three times as much water. Push through a sieve to remove the bits, squeezing to get as much out as possible.

Heat half the oil in a wok or a medium size saucepan. When it is hot, add in all the paste and stir fry over medium heat for 15-20 minutes until aromatic, and no longer 'green tasting'. The oil should also 'release' from the paste. If that does not happen, add more oil and keep frying. You may need the full 100ml.

Add some salt and sugar to taste, and then add the tamarind water / lime juice a bit add a time until the flavors are to your taste.

To serve: 
Coconut rice, deep fried little Asian anchovies (can add peanuts if you like them), sliced cucumbers and hard boiled eggs. You can add a beef rendang or other meat curry too if you like, or a deep fried turmeric chicken wing (that's what my favorite place in Singapore does).

Notes: 
The limau kasturi juice makes the sambal more fragrant.
You can add small prawns (I mean in the 22-25 per kilo range), peeled, to the sambal after the last step.
The candlenuts are illegal in the USA, so you can substitute macadamias. I'm not sure what they add to the flavor/aromas, but they add creaminess to the sambal. I am not sure how much macadamias you will need, but you can probably start with the same amount and see.
Do the frying outdoors if possible, because the smell is very strong.
If you deep fry chicken, shallots or the little anchovies yourself, you can use the left over oil for the sambal.
In theory, you can grind this with a mortar and pestle, but it will take you a long time unless you have been trained by a grandma. Even my mom uses a blender.