Recipe Ingredient
- 1kg Australian beef topside, cut into fairly large cubes
- 1/2 cup grated coconut
- 2 coconuts, grated and squeezed for thick coconut milk then add 2½ cups water to the residue to mix and squeeze out for general santan
- (A) Finely pounded and mixed:
- 10 fresh chillies, seeded
- 10 dried red chillies, seeded
- 4cm galangal
- 1 tsp fennel powder (jintan manis)
- 1 tsp cumin powder (jintan putih)
- 1 tsp turmeric powder
- 1 tsp ground white pepper
- 1/2 tsp ground black pepper
- (B) Spices:
- 4cm cinnamon stick
- 7 cardamoms (buah pelaga)
- 6 cloves
- 2 star anise
- (C):
- 2 stalks lemon grass, smashed
- 3 pieces dried tamarind skin (asam keping)
- 1 pandan leaf, knotted
- 1 turmeric leaf, slightly shredded and knotted
- Seasoning:
- 1 tsp salt or to taste
- 2 tsp brown sugar or palm sugar (gula Melaka)
- 4 kaffir lime leaves (daun limau purut), torn
Instructions
- Marinate beef cubes overnight with 2 tbsp of the ground ingredients (A).
- Fry the grated coconut till golden, then pound finely (the result is called kerisik).
- Heat coconut milk with the pounded ingredients (A) and spices (B) in a deep pot or earthen pot until mixture comes to a boil.
- Add the marinated beef and ingredients (C) and simmer over low heat for 1½ to two hours.
- Stir occasionally to prevent the meat from sticking to the pot. Add the kaffir lime leaves.
- When the gravy becomes thick, add the kerisik and lower the heat. Stir briskly until mixture is thick and gravy coats the meat evenly.
- Add seasoning to taste, then dish out and serve with rice.
