BM # 44
International ABC Cooking
Cooking with Alphabets : I
Category : Lunch / Dinner with Curry
Indonesia
Country
Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a sovereign state in Southeast Asia and Oceania.
The alphabet I and I am cooking from Indonesia. Indonesia takes me back to my college days where I had a friend from this country. She was the daughter of a top official of Indonesia, and would invite us to her place very often and treat us to this cuisine.That was way back I don’t even remember what we ate but I remember we used to enjoy the meals.
The foundation of an authentic Indonesian meal is rice (nasi). In fact, rice is such an important part of an Indonesian meal that all other foods served with it are simply seen as an accompaniment. Rice is usually boiled or steamed, or is sometimes cooked with coconut milk and spices. Traditionally the rice is served in a cone shape.
They have plenty of vegetables and these are eaten in curries; used to make soups, salads and flavorsome side dishes; or added to fried rice and noodle dishes.
Since Indonesia is made up of over 13,000 islands, fish and sea food are eaten regularly. They also eat chicken but are not very fond of red meat.
Legumes (beans, peas and lentils) are used regularly in Indonesian cookery. Tofu which is made from soy beans is used in a variety of traditional dishes. Tempehâmade from fermented, coagulated soybeansâis also popular. It has a nutty flavor and a firm meaty texture, and it soaks up the flavors of the foods it’s cooked with.
So I have made stuffed tofu. These are ready tofu pockets which have been stuffed I got these pockets from Japan , though if one wants to make them you have the recipe here.
Green beans are a popular addition to salads, vegetable dishes and curries. Bean sprouts are also eaten regularly and are commonly added at the last minute to hot dishes for a contrasting crunchiness. I made Rujak which had these crunchy sprouts .
Peanuts are typically used as a garnish (either crushed or whole) or ground into a paste and mixed with spices and coconut milk and water to make peanut sauce.
Traditional Indonesian cuisine relies on hot, salty, sweet and sour flavors. Soy sauce and sweet soy sauce add richness to hot and cold dishes, and are used in marinades and as a condiment.
I have prepared a complete meal with salad, appetizer, rice curry and a side dish. I also served some rice crackers on the side as these crackers are very popular with their meals.
Sayur Lodeh ( Curry)
Spice paste
2 onions, roughly chopped
2 cloves garlic
1 big red chilly
1 tsp coriander
1/2 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp turmeric
Grind all ingredients to a smooth paste
2 bay leaves
1 stalk lemon grass
3 tetra packs coconut milk
1 cup vegetable stock
1/2 cup broccoli
1/2 cup French beans
1/2 cup tofu
1 tbsp sugar
Heat oil in a pan.
Cook the spice paste for two minutes.
Add the coconut milk and vegetable stock.
Add bay leaves and lemon grass.
Simmer and cook on slow fire for about 5-7 minutes.
Add the vegetables and further cook till tender, alternatively MW the veggies till tender
Add the tofu and then cook for a few minutes.
Add salt and sugar.
We all loved this meal, except for the tofu pockets. Everyone liked the stuffing but the pockets..well we need to adapt some tastes. Right?
very very beautiful meal spreada the choice of recipes, the presentation and the garnishes are all amazing
Nice presentation and curry looks rich and creamy.
You have put together an awesome meal Vaishali! Simple awesome!
Oh god, wish i live near you, very hard to resist to those dishes, especially those eye catchy potatoes, my mouth is watering here.
What an amazing Indonesian treat you put together Vaishali. Everything looks so so good, I've to make all of these dishes SOON. Thank you for sharing so many beautiful dishes.
Everything looks so nicely done, awesome job Vaishali!
Very interesting presentation! My older one was eyeing those potatoes đ
Wow please parcel all this to me. I could do with a decent meal right now fedup of sweet corn soup everyday that to takeaway brought. Please…
wow once again a ricking platter from Indonesia đ very well done on the choices of recipe di ,so deliicous tofu pockets,and Indonesian potato looks so yummy đ Irresistible platter there !!
You introduced some new dishes to me, despite me having Indonesian family as my fam are more meat eaters…although we accompany our meals more with fried shrimp crackers than rice crackers
That is an awesome spread Vaishali.Those pics look so delicious…
That was looking so delicious specially that potato bowl yumm
super spread !
That is one super spread and those potatoes must be the winner. đ
Delicious spread, i m so attracted to those potatoes and rice crackers look very cute!!!