Gulai Kambing-Javanese Cooking

Delicious curry Javanese style or gulai kambing, it is a goat meat curry.   Australia has the best lamb meat in the world, to celebrate a lot of dishes are cooked in my kitchen, and of course, the gulai is one of them.  Using the lamb shanks for the gulai is so perfect, the long braising with complex spices and creamy coconut milk made the meat deliciously flavoursome.


GULAI
A type of food containing rich, spicy, curry-sauce.

Herbs and Spices for Gulai

Garlic, onion, lemongrass, lime, kaffir lime leaves, salam - leaves, ginger, galangal, tamarind, turmeric, cinnamon, cloves, coriander seeds, nutmeg and nuts (candlenuts)

Grind those herbs (except the lemongrass, kaffir lime leaves And salam-leaves) and spices to make a very smooth paste.  Use a mortar and pestle or a food Processor.  To keep it better, place the paste in a jar, top it up with oil, refrigerate!

Other ingredients: stock, water, coconut milk, sugar, and salt.   Fried shallot to garnish.

To use the spice paste.

Pan fry or sauté the paste with oil until fragrant, add some sugar (coconut sugar) or brown sugar and also some salt. 

(It has to be cooked for a few minutes, so all the spices release the flavour, and then you could add the main ingredients;  vegetables (for vegetarian gulai) or any meat, which has been sealed properly.  Stir and add stock or hot water, braise at least for one hour (half of the cooking time), then add the coconut milk, continue braising over a very low heat.

The meat for gulai: is goat meat, but you can have chicken or lamb.

Traditionally the gulai used all the cuts of the goat and braised for a long time until it is tender.

Any cut of the lamb can be braised for the 'gulai', but I prefer using the leg of lamb, it is very delicious food to be shared for a special occasion.  Recently I cooked lamb shanks for the curry (gulai), and it worked beautifully, the recipe is here for you.

The Recipe.

Gulai Kikil (Lamb Shanks Curry)

Ingredients:
4-6 lamb shanks, 2 tablespoons tamarind juice
(rub the lamb shank with the juice, keep aside)
2 cups water or stock
1 tin coconut milk (400 mils)
1/4 cup vegetable oil (for sauteeing the spices and herbs and also for pan frying the shanks)

Herbs: 5 kaffir lime leaves, 1 lemongrass.  Juice of a lime.
Spices: 3 cloves garlic,  2 large shallots (or a small onion), a slice of fresh ginger and galangal, some kencur (can be purchased in Asian grocery stores), 1 heaped  tablespoon of turmeric powder, 1 teaspoon coriander seeds, *1 teaspoon ginger powder, 1 teaspoon chilli powder, 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon, 1/2 teaspoon cloves powder, 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg, 6 candlenuts.
Grind the coriander seeds, and mix with all spices, put in the grinder or food processor, process them to make a smooth paste.
* I use both ginger powder and also fresh ginger, you cannot omit the fresh ginger, but you can go without the ginger powder.

Salt, sugar (brown sugar or coconut sugar) about 2 teaspoons each.

Fried shallot and fresh chopped parsley or coriander leave to garnish.

Method:
In a heavy-based pot, fry the spice paste with oil until fragrant, add in the fresh herbs, the juice of a lime and the shanks, stir and let it cook for a few minutes.  Stir in the water or stock, and add in salt, sugar, cover the pot and cook to braise for one hour over medium heat.  At this point, add in the coconut milk and continue cooking for one hour over low heat.
The shanks are very tender and juicy in a vibrant and golden spiced coconut sauce.

To serve the dish, only with steamed white rice, acar and krupuk udang (prawn crackers) for its accompaniments.

Herbs and Spices

The Lamb Shanks

Pan frying the spices and braising the shanks

The lamb shanks are cooked

Serving

Left: Acar
- Slice 1 cucumber, one sliced shallots, a teaspoon white sugar, 1 tablespoon white vinegar and a pinch of salt.  Mix them together, keep aside for five minutes.  Acar is ready to serve.  It keeps well refrigerated



Cooking lamb shanks with Javanese spices is easy enough, and it is delightful for cold winter time.

Use the spices paste above for lamb curry, instead of shanks what you need is about 1 - 2 kg lamb meat.

I think it is an excellent introduction to start cooking Javanese curry with a little difference that you could easily prepare in your own kitchen.




Happy Cooking
Until Next Time
Susy

Javanese Food

It is all about Javanese food, and it's cooking.  Most dishes here are traditional cooking, but some of them may be my own interpretation; however, the flavour is the same, as I will use all the authentic herbs and spices.
I noticed nowadays people in Java present the food differently compared to the olden days. For example, a rice cone used to be offered only for white or yellow rice with traditional garnishes, but now the rice cone would be the core of the presentation and surrounded by all variety of dishes including, lumpia, kroket, meat, savoury and vegetables.  It looks so good, and I am for it, I will try my best to do so.
I am proud of my Javanese cooking, and I will share the recipes with you.


Rice or Nasi
Rice is the main staple food for Javanese people,  there are two types of rice, glutinous rice, which is commonly used for sweet preparations, and plain rice which is served with its companions.  The way they cook rice is by steaming and also boiling.  Other rice preparation is as porridge, it is popular for breakfast.

Glutinous Rice

black glutinous rice

glutinous rice in a packet

Two types of glutinous rice are white and black.

Black glutinous rice comes in 1 kg packet.

white glutinous rice

a packet of white glutinous rice

White glutinous rice comes in 1 kg packet or more.

Plain Rice
 Plain rice is white and brown and also short and long grain. 

white long grain rice-jasmine

jasmine rice in packet

Rice Dishes
Yellow Rice - Nasi Kuning
White Rice - Nasi Putih
Nasi Goreng - Fried Rice

Yellow Rice- Nasi Kuning
Nasi Kuning or yellow rice is savoury fragrant rice with turmeric, it is traditionally served with a few side dishes, such as opor Ayam (mild chicken curry), acar (pickled cucumber/ or vegetable salad with coconut dressing) and krupuk udang (prawn crackers).

Other companions of nasi Kuning;  serundeng (savoury and crispy desiccated coconut), telur Dadar iris - (shredded omelette), Ayam goreng (fried chicken) and perked or (fried potato dumplings).  Also  a salad (fresh vegetables-cucumber and young cabbage), sambal pedals (chilli paste) and krupuk udang or emping (mlinjo nut crackers)

For the everyday meal, the white rice is served. But occasionally yellow rice is cooked and served with simple garnishes, but for a special occasion or a party, elaborate garnishes are added.

A sample of nasi kuning for everyday meal

Yellow rice is served with sauteed broccoli, fried chicken, spicy meat ball
and semur telur- braised egg with soy and potato.

White Rice - Nasi Putih
Steamed or boiled white rice is the most popular food in Java, weather for everyday meals or for special occasions.

A rice dish for an everyday meal: steamed white rice with garnishes, meat or egg, lalaban- (fresh vegetables) and crackers- (krupuk) and keringan (spiced.crisps desiccated coconuts and nut with tempeh or without).  Tea is served with the meal,  no dessert, but fresh fruits instead.

Steamed White Rice with Garnishes

For Daily Meals

Steamed white rice, dendeng daging basah(moist and sweet spicy beef)
 serundeng -mede (hot and spiced decicated coconuts and cashews) and lalaban
fresh vegetable salad (lettuce, or young cabbage, shredded and dressed with lime juice)

White steamed rice with garnishes

Fried Rice-Nasi Goreng
What about 'nasi goreng' or fried rice?

Nasi goreng is a favourite dish to be served for breakfast.  It does make sense that the family serve nasi goreng for breakfast, the idea is using the left over rice from the day before.  What they need is only preparing the spices and the simple garnish.  The spices are garlic, chilli, salt and sweet soy, and the simple garnish is fried egg or shredded omelette.

Javanese Nasi Goreng

Nasi Goreng often garnished with krupuk (crackers)

True Javanese nasi goreng does not contain any meat, especially no bacon or ham, and the garnish is shredded fried egg (complete).  Nasi goreng istimewa (special supreme fried rice) has unique garnishes of the whole fried egg (telur ceplok) and shredded omelette.

Nasi Goreng Istimewa

Nasi Goreng Istimewa (Special Supreme Fried Rice).  It has
special garnishes - fried whole egg, prawns and prawns crackers.

Rice Porridge or Bubur
Bubur is rice porridge, made of boiled white rice with coconut milk, the process is easy enough, but it takes a long time to get a perfect and silky porridge how bubur should be.  It is served for breakfast, for toddlers and children.  Sometimes grown up enjoy the bubur garnished with spiced braised meat, tofu, and tempeh.



Cooking Rice

Steamed White Rice
I don't have a steamer instead I do it in a pot with a very heavy based.

Recipe:
1 cup heap full of long grain white rice (Jasmine)
2 cups of water
Place the rice and water in a heavy based pot
Cook over medium heat, uncovered
Bring the rice to boil, stir and cook until the liquid is absorbed
Cover the pot, reduce the heat to low
Continue cooking over the low heat for 9  minutes
Take it off the stove, uncover the pot, fluff the rice.
The rice is ready and serves with garnishes.







Yellow Rice
(More recipes for yellow rice and this is one of them)

Recipe
2 cups long grain white rice
2 cups and a half water
2 cups of coconut milk
Fragrant herbs
1 daun pandan - pandan leaf (available in the Asian grocery store)
1 lemon grass and 1 salam leaf
2 kaffir lime leaves
1 piece galangal ( about 20 g)
1 tablespoon turmeric powder

1 tablespoon oil to saute the spices.
Salt to taste
Method
In a heavy based pot, saute the turmeric and all herbs with the oil until fragrant.
Add in the water, and the rice, stir, mix and cook over medium heat until the water is almost absorbed (stir it from time to time)
Stir in the coconut milk and cook uncovered until the rice is consuming the coconut milk.
Cover the pot, lower the heat and cook for another 12 to 15 minutes
Take it off the stove, uncover the pot, fluff the rice.
Keep the rice in the pot until serving time.
(Cook the rice prior serving the food, keep the rice hot in the pot)


Now you have recipes for cooking rice, next post will be the garnishes.  Stay Tuned.



Thank you for visiting.
Susy