Tag: #peanuts

NASI KUNING JAWA

main meal

NASI KUNING JAWA

Nasi kuning(or yellow rice) comes from the regions of jawa. Traditionally made during festivals and especially birthdays.
In case it is made for a birthday, rice cooked with turmeric, herbs and coconut milk will be packed into a cone shaped mould and then inverted onto a base of rice in the form of a circle . The rice is then surrounded by various other food items, such as tempe( fermented soya cake), chicken, fish, fresh basil and cucumber. The person whose birthday it is slices off the top of the cone onto a plate without the rice disintegrating.. I  have done a miniature nasi kunning plate to show you all.

Normally at home, we just put the  rice, sprinkle some fried peanuts and fried onions, and surround with tempe, chicken in red sauce or tofu potato in red sauce, and sayur acar.( pronounced achaar) Fresh sweet basil is a must along with cucumber slices. Best eaten with hand.
We can call this an Indonesian thali. Recipe is slightly long, but fairly easy to make. Do try it and enjoy.

YELLOW RICE
Soak 2 cups of jasmine rice for 30 mins.
Drain.
Heat 1 tbsp oil in a pan and add 1 stick cinnamon, 2 fresh bay leaves, 4 kaffir lime leaves, 1 stalk of lemon grass( only bottom white part, bashed)
.
#( incase you don’t gave fresh herbs, use star anise, tej pata and cinnamon)

Saute for a few mins and add drained rice.
Add 100 ml thick coconut milk
And  100ml of water
Mix well, add 2 tbsps grated fresh turmeric and salt to taste.
When liquid dries up, transfer rice to a steamer and steam for 15 to 20 mins. Done. Keep warm.

AYAM MERAH( RED CHICKEN)
300 gms of boneless chicken..cubed
2 tomatoes .. cut into quarters
12 shallots
4 garlic pods..do not cut
4 garlic pods cut fine.
4 red chillies.
2 kaffir lime leaves
Lime juice
Salt and sugar to taste.

Take a pan, add chicken, tomatoes, whole shallots, whole garlic, and red chillies. Add 1/4 cup of water, cover and cook till everything is soft.
Remove chicken and keep aside.
Coarsely grind the cooked tomatoes, onions, garlic and red chillies.

Heat 2 tbsps of oil
Add chopped garlic and 2 kaffir lime leaves. Saute for few mins
Add the red paste and cook till oil seperates.
Add the chicken back, season with salt and a little sugar.
Lastly add  a tbsp  of lime juice.
Keep aside.

TEMPE ORIK
300 gms tempe, cut into small batons
( can use potato or paneer)
Deep fry and keep aside.
Heat oil in a pan
Add 6 sliced garlic pods( slice, do not chop)
10 sliced shallots
1 inch bashed ginger
2 green chillies, cut at a slant
2 red chillies cut at a slant
Saute for few mins, till onions turn golden brown.
Add the fried tempe( or potato or paneer)
Stir fry
Add 2 tbsp of kecap manis( or honey)
1 tbsp tamarind paste.
Salt to taste
Stir quickly and shut flame.
Keep aside.

SAYUR ACAR( VEGETABLE ACHAR)
1 carrot.
5 french beans
1 cucumber, unpeeled and seeds removed
( cut all 3 above mentioned vegetables into medium batons)
10 shallots cut into 2

Grind together with little water
3 roasted candlenuts or 4 cashews
1 inch pc  fresh turmeric
1 inch ginger
4 garlic pods
4 shallots.

Heat oil in a pan, add paste and saute well.
Add carrots, french beans, shallots, and cucumber…saute well, add 1/4 cup water and cook till vegs are done,and no water remains. Vegs should retain  a bite. Shut fire and add salt, 1 tsp sugar, and 1 tbsp of vinegar.  mix well.
Done. Keep aside..

OTHER INGREDIENTS
sliced cucumbers
Thai basil leaves
Dried or roasted peanuts
Fried onions.

Assembling
Take a plater, line with a  banana leaf.
Pile rice in the center.
Surround with tempe orik, cucumber slices, red chicken,  sayur acar, basil leaves, sprinkle peanuts and fried onions . And serve.
Can serve red chillie sambal too with some fryums.

Ketoprak..

main meal

Ketoprak..
( pronounced KAT..O..PRAAK)

This dish is a sibling of the more famous INDONESIAN GADO GADO.
You can say its a filling salad which can be had hot, cold or at room temperature.
We prefer it at room temprature.
Unlike the gado gado, which is mostly all steamed vegetables, KETOPRAK consists of potato, tofu, rice vermicilli, bean sprouts , cucumber and sometimes  LONTONG( rice cake) .
Today I will share the recipe of  LONTONG,  Aka rice cake. Easy to make and very satisfying. A complete meal on its own and delicious. So basically we make the lontong first as it needs a good one hour boil on the fire.  And while thats being done we prep the other ingredients. Here in Jakarta we sometimes buy the lontong from the wet markets. Readily available. And sometimes when time permits, we make them at home. Lontong keep well in the fridge for upto 2 days. Do try the recipe.
Have included the photos in the comment section.

For lontong
1 or 2 cups of starchy jasmine rice.
Wash and soak for 2 hours.
Drain.
( we dont add salt or oil)
Cut softened banana leaves into squares, take 2 squares one on top of the other and form a cylinder. Secure one end with toothpick.
Fill  the drained rice with a spoon in the banana leaf rolls., half way. And secure with a toothpick.
Now fill a good sized pan with a lot of water, and submerge the rolls in it.
Water should fully cover the rolls. Depending on the size of the rolls, and the size of the pot, you can boil them in upright or horizontal position.
Cover and cook on medium heat for a good one hour. The rolls will be cooked by then. Remove and keep aside to cool.
The size of banana leaf roll can be adjusted.
( picture in comments section)
(Apologies for one photo which got deleted by mistake, the one with the rolls in the pan)

Preparation..
2 big squares of tofu..soak in salted water, drain and deep fry whole.
2 to 3 boiled potatoes peeled and deep fried whole.
2 cucumbers, peeled
1  big bowl of beansprouts ..blanched and drained.
1 big bowl of  boiled rice vermicilli.
Some fried onions
Khaffir lime or normal lime halves.

Peanut sauce..

100 gms fried peanuts with skin or without
4 kaffir lime leaves ( middle stock removed)
1/2 tsp white pepper
Salt to taste
Veg stock powder, or msg 1/4 tsp
3 bird chillies, 3 red chillies
3 pods of garlic
30 gms palm sugar( I have boiled the palm sugar with little water , and strained to get rid of impurities.)
3 tbsps tamarind pulp

. Saute the red chillies, bird eye chillies and garlic in 2 tbsps oil.
2. In a mixer jar, add fried peanuts, chillies and garlic. Add salt, pepper and veg stock powder., the kaffir lime leaves. Add some water and blend to a thick paste.
3. Heat 2 or 3 tbsps oil, and put the peanut paste. Saute for a while, and add palm sugar and tamarind water. Also add about one cup water and let it cook till oil starts seperating.
Keep aside.

To serve..
In a platter, arrange the rice vermicilli, sprouts,  cut the tofu , potatoes, and cucumbers ( at an angle)  and lontong cut into thick discs.
Top with  peanut sauce and lime juice.
Sprinkle some fried onions.( pls do not omit).
Enjoy.

Soaked and drained rice
Make the roll

Martabak Manis aka Sweet Indonesian Pancake.

dessert

MARTABAK MANIS
Indonesian sweet Pancake.

This is a very very popular street food, loved by one and all. Available in 2 forms, one sweet and one savoury, .
The savoury nartabak is more like the baida roti we get in India.
Using eggs, and spices, in a square paratha.
Today, I will share the sweet Martabak recipe.
Through evenings and way past midnight, one can stop by and get martabak to round off the night.
It is made on order, as its best eaten warm. Fillings such as grated cheese, condensed milk, nutella, chocolate rice, groundnuts etc go into it, in combinations as you want or all in one.
Normally the vendor will cut the martabak into squares and put some toothpicks into the squares.
Cheese and chocolate is a very popular combination on most bakery products here in Indonesia. Try it and love it😊
This homemade version is as delicious as the street ones, and more controlable where calories are concerned. The vendors are truly generous with lashings of butter etc.😊

This is a decadant dessert. Easy to make. Just a little tricky. The texture will be spongy and with visible strands.
But satisfaction is guaranteed 😊
Be generous with the fillings.
The trade mark strandy texture, comes from cooking at right temperature.
Hope you all will like it and try making Martabak Manis.

Ps..Ignore the calories and try it.

Ingredients for 3 Pancakes ( I used a 18 cm NONSTICK PAN)

225gms flour
20 gms cornflour
30 gms sugar
250 ml water
1 egg
3/4 tsp baking powder.
2 tsps vanilla essence or paste.

Mix together flour, sugar, cornflour and water. Mix well for 5 mins using a hand held whisk . Once mixed well, add an egg and baking powder, and the vanilla essence.. Mix gently and keep aside covered for 1to 2 hours

Just before making the martabak, , add 3/4 tsp of baking soda to 50 ml water, mix and add to the martabak mix. Mix gently.

(Note.. I poured one cup of batter for each martabak.
I added green colour in one and yellow colour to another.
Its flexible. Can omit colours too.)

Method.
Heat a medium 18 cms size thick nonstick pan.
Once Pan is hot, test by sprinkling a few drops of water. If water sizzles, its ready.
IMPORTANT..PAN SHOULD BE HOT, on medium to high heat.
DO NOT GREASE THE PAN AT ALL.
Pour one cup of batter and swirl once to get a edge of batter on the sides. The heat will push bubbles to the surface.
Bubbles will start appearing, once the surface is full of bubbles, lower the heat.
Sprinkle about one tsp of sugar all over the surface. By now it will appear to be all most cooked, NOW cover the pan for a few mins.
Remove cover, and start loosening the pancake gently.
Remove onto a cutting board
Immediately apply butter all over.
Sprinkle chocolate rice generously AND or cheese . Drizzle condensed milk and top with roasted chopped groundnuts.
Cut into 2 and stack with both the inside parts facing one another. The shape will be like a half moon

Cut into wedges. And enjoy.

Toppings..choose any or mix and match
Nutella
Jam
Chocolate rice
Grated cheese
Crushed roasted peanuts
Biscoff…
Anything goes😊
I have used cheese and condensed milk with chocolate rice and crushed peanuts
Nutella.

EGGLESS VERSION OF MARTABAK

170 gms flour
2 tbsps milk powder
3 tbsps sugar
1/4 tsp salt
250 ml water
1 tsp vanilla or pandan essence.

Mix together flour, milk powder, sugar, salt, water and essence. Keep aside for 1 hour.

Now take 3 tbsps water and add 1/4 tsp baking soda and 1/2 tsp baking powder.

Add to the batter.

Immediately start making the martabak.

Heat a medium 18 cms size thick nonstick pan.
Once Pan is hot, test by sprinkling a few drops of water. If water sizzles, its ready.
IMPORTANT..PAN SHOULD BE HOT, on medium to high heat.
DO NOT GREASE THE PAN AT ALL.
Pour one cup of batter and swirl once to get a edge of batter on the sides. The heat will push bubbles to the surface.
Bubbles will start appearing, once the surface is full of bubbles, lower the heat.
Sprinkle about one tbsp of sugar all over the surface. By now it will appear to be all most cooked, NOW cover the pan for a few mins.
Remove cover, and start loosening the pancake gently.
Remove onto a cutting board