There are a lot of flavours in common when it comes to
Mexican and Indian cuisine. Yes the extensive use of cumin, coriander, chilli
and tomato come to mind but there are some lesser known ones like tamarind that
feature regularly in both the cuisines. I was fascinated and looked into this
and learnt that when the Spanish colonized Mexico, they introduced flavours
like tamarind, sesame through the Moorish / African influence.
INGREDIENTS
For the filling
400 grams paneer, grated
1 x 400 grams tin of black beans, drained, rinsed and mashed
lightly
Laksa is a spicy noodle soup,
generally with wheat noodles, that is very popular all through South East Asia.
I have done my version with buckwheat noodles and yes there are quite a few
steps but the end result is flavour packed and well worth making it from
scratch. You wouldn’t want to use the readymade sachet mixes anymore.
Ingredients
400 grams salmon fillet, bones
removed, skin removed but saved
Traditionally the term rendang
does not refer to a type of dish. It actually refers to a method of slow
cooking; stir-frying or mixing the ingredients continuously on a very slow fire
for number of hours until they are devoid of any liquid. It was the judicious
use of spices plus the cooking method that made the dish popular during
celebrations and festivities. While rendang originated in West Sumatra, Indonesia
it has spread throughout South East Asia. You can use meat, duck, chicken and
even jackfruit to cook this way. This recipe is for chicken and thankfully my
recipe does not cook for hours on end!!
5-6 shallots peeled and chopped
4-5 cloves of garlic chopped
5 centimetre piece of fresh
ginger
5 centimetre piece of galangal
7-8 dried red chillies cut into
3-4 centimetre piece, seeds partially removed and soaked in hot water for half
an hour
2 stalks of lemon grass (better
to get fresh, if frozen thawed) outer sheaths peeled off and just the white
inner core
100 grams grated coconut (fresh
or thawed if frozen)
165 ml coconut milk
100 ml water
3 Kaffir lime leaves – remove the
rib for one of the leaves and finely chop. Set aside for garnish
1 spoon of jaggery or brown sugar
1 teaspoon ground turmeric
500 grams skinless, boneless
chicken thighs cut into about 4 centimetre pieces
1 tablespoon of vegetable oil
Salt to taste
METHOD
Using a food processor, grind
together to a fine paste the shallots, garlic, ginger, galangal, red chillies
and the lemon grass. Add a couple of tablespoons of water as needed.
In a large wok, roast the grated
coconut until golden brown and set aside. This will take ten minutes. If you do
it on high, you will burn the coconut so best over moderate heat frying
regularly.
Heat the oil in wok and brown the
chicken lightly in batches. You only need to oil the first batch as the fat
from this is sufficient for the remaining pieces. Set aside.
Put the spice paste in a wok along with coconut milk, turmeric, the two Keffir lime leaves, jaggery or brown sugar and the water. Bring it to a boil and allow to simmer for 20-25 minutes, stirring intermittently until the liquids have reduced to half the original amount. Now add the chicken and continue cooking uncovered for a further 10 minutes. Add the toasted coconut, stir and allow to cook for a further 3 minutes. Sprinkle the finely chopped Keffir lime leaf and serve with rice or Malaysian roti. Serves 4.
Cooking tips: The flavours
develop the next day, so may pay to have it the next day. You can also double
the spice paste and freeze one lot to make a different type of rendang later
on.
This is typical Malaysian street food and for best results you need to cook individual serves. I normally prepare the tofu and have all my ingredients portioned out and ready to go, so cooking becomes a coordinated effort and is a breeze.
I suggested using fresh rice noodles but you can also use dried rice noodles about 1cm wide. Cook them first in boiling water for 2 or 3 minutes (refer to instructions on the packet) and refresh them several times in cold water so they don’t clump up together.
You can use any combination of protein – Chinese sausage, squid, prawns or just egg and tofu.
