Gulai Kambing

- Indonesian Lamb Curry -

Gulai was one of my favourite meals when I lived in Indonesia. Probably the most famous place to eat gulai is a place called Gultik Blok M Plaza Pak Agus Budi. Gultik, which is short for gulai tikungan translates to "Curry Junction:" gulai meaning curry, and tikungan meaning junction or bend in the road. Fittingly, Gultik Blok M is an evening street food cart set up at a certain street corner in Blok M, Jakarta. Always crowded, people come here anytime after sundown, especially on weekends, to enjoy the delicious, inexpensive plates of beef curry for just 10k a serving (the equivalent of $1 CAD). 

When I was in Jakarta, we used to drive down to Blok M on a Friday or Saturday night and first sit for a while in the kitch Jakarta jamu cafe, Suwe Ora Jamu (sells traditional Indonesian health drinks called "jamu"), and then drive over to Gultik in Blok M and have a few plates of Gultik and chat. It's crazy to think that we we would do this, because it was a full hour's drive to these places, and another hour back to the house afterward, but it was always well worth the drive. It made for a wonderful little evening adventure.

Needless to say, I do miss gulai and had always wanted to make it myself, so I was thrilled when I found a recipe for it which proved delicious and very similar to the gulai I loved from Jakarta on my favourite Indonesian food blog, Daily Cooking Quest. What follows is my slightly tailored version of the recipe. Instead of using goat meat (kambing), which is what is traditionally used, I used finely cut lamb, but for a version more similar to gulai tikungan you could also use beef.  If you are curious to try another gulai recipe, Kompas has also posted their recipe for gulai similar to that at gulai tikungan; however, I suggest the recipe posted below, which follows DCQ's version.

Gulai Kambing (Indonesian Lamb Curry)

Serves 4

Ingredients:

• 500g lamb meat, cut into small cubes
• 1 stalk of fresh lemongrass, bruised and knotted
• 2 kaffir lime leaves, dry or fresh
• 2 Indonesian or Indian bay leaves (daun salam) - these are different from Western bay leaves, and should be skipped rather than substituted if you can't find them
• 2 cloves
• 1 cardamom pod
• 1 inch cinnamon stick
• 200 ml coconut milk
• 2 cups chicken stock
• 1 tbsp palm sugar or light brown sugar
• 1-2 tsp salt, to taste
• 1 tsp white pepper
  
  For the spice paste:
• 100g shallot or red onion
• 5 cloves garlic
• 5-10 fresh red thai chilis or fresh green Indian chilis
• 4 candlenuts or macadamia nuts
• 1 inch fresh ginger
• 1/2 inch galangal
• 1/2 tsp coriander
• 1 inch fresh turmeric
• 1/4 tsp cumin
• 2 tbsp canola or sunflower oil
  
  To serve:
  
• Steamed short-grain rice, such as jasmine
• Garnish: fried shallots, lime wedges
• simple homemade sambal, or sambal oelek

Directions:

1. Gather the spices for the spice paste and grind them to a smooth paste in a food processor or blender, adding a little oil to help them grind fully
2. In a large wok or pot, fry the spice paste (including the 2 tbsp oil) over medium-low heat, stirring, until it doesn't smell raw, but rather smells fragrant (2-5 minutes)
3. Add the meat, lemongrass, bay and lime leaves, and whole spices, and continue stirring until the meat is no longer pink on the outside 
4. Add the coconut milk, chicken stock, sugar, salt and white pepper and bring to a gentle simmer. Reduce the heat to low or minimum, and leave this at a gentle simmer until the lamb is tender and the sauce has reduced by half, about 1 1/2 to 2 hours.
5. Serve hot over steamed rice and a little sambal, with a pinch of fried shallots and a lime wedge for garnish.
6. Enjoy!

To see the original recipe, click here.