Gulai / Kare Kambing Berempah / Indonesian style Spiced Lamb Curry

First I'd like to say Happy Eid al Adha (feast of sacrifice) for all muslim readers. Bayramınız Mubarek Olsun.

Muslim’s today sacrifice a sheep or a goat, the meat of which is shared among friends, family, and the poor, with each receiving a third. People sacrifice animals but are required to make arrangements to ensure it is slaughtered humanely.
The Greater Eid also marks the end of Hajj, the five-day religious journey that takes Muslims to the Grand Mosque in Mecca, Saudi Arabia.

This year 2014 we celebrate Eid al Adha at Friday 3rd October. Eid al Adha is one of religious holiday that Muslims celebrate each year beside Eid al Fitr. For you who wants to know more about our Eid al Adha you can visit this page to have more knowledge.

Elhamdulillah, this year my husband's family sacrifice few goats. Beside we shared to whom in need, we also get some part of it. Unlike years before, this time I didn't make satay as my "a must food" in every sacrifice feast. But this food also mostly make and served during sacrifice feast in Indonesia together with satay. You can check my lamb satay recipe here.

For some Indonesian friends who visited us I made this Spiced Lamb Curry. If you search on google about this "gulai" you might find many kind of different recipe of it. Yes we have many kind of "gulai" some of them are in yellow colored and some of "gulai" have different spices and taste depends on local area. What I made here is spiced gulai cause I use some spices which is dry fried/ toasted (without oil) then grinded into fine powder. This recipe actually I copied from my mom. And as home "chef" she couldn't mentioned about how much exactly the ingredients being used.. She just said this A"about this much" or that B"more or less" bla..bla.bla..  So I must try to measure it by my self and adjust the taste exactly like my mom made :)

Make about 15 portions.

Ingredients:

• 800 gr lamb/ mutton meat (you can add some ribs and bones too) / daging kambing dengan tulang
• about 700 gr mix offal such as heart, tripe, lung (optional) / jerohan
• 1 tbsp tamarind water (dissolved a thumb of tamarind in 1/4 cup of water ) / asam jawa, larutakan dalam 1/4 cup air
• 1 stalk lemongrass, crushed / sereh digeprak
• 1 cinnamon stick (about 5 cm) / 1 (5cm)batang kayu manis
• star anise 4 ~ 5 / bunga lawang
• 2 Indonesian bay leaves /daun salam
• 2 cm fresh ginger / jahe
• about 1 1/2 tbsp sugar (to taste) / gula sesuai selera
• about 2 tbsp salt (to taste) / garam 2 sdt atau sesuai selera
• about 1/2 cup of cooking oil / minyak goreng
• about 500 ml thin coconut milk / santan encer
• about 1 cups dried / fresh grated coconut. Toasted and finely grind. Set a side / 1 cup kelapa kering (bisa juga yg segar), sangrai hingga kering dan kecoklatan, lalu haluskan dan sisikan.

Toasted coconut then grind it / kelapa yang disangrai dan ditumbuk.

Homemade Curry powdered spice mix (garam masala)/ rempah bubuk :

• about 2 tsp coriander seeds, toasted / Ketumbar, sangrai
• about 1  1/2 tsp caraway, toasted  / jinten, sangrai
• 3 ~ 4 cardamom, toasted  / kapulaga, sangrai
• 2 cloves, toasted / cengkeh, sangrai
• about 1 tsp peppercorn  / merica butir
• about 3/4 tsp cinnamon powder  / kayu manis bubuk

Mix all and finely ground into powder, set aside. Use mortar and pestle or spice grinder. 
Sangrai semua bahan diatas hingga aromatic tapi jangan sampai gosong. Lalu haluskan dengan coffee grinder atau ulekan.

Curry powdered spices / Bumbu kering

Paste ingredients / bumbu halus:

• 5~6 red chilly, boiled/ cabe merah, rebus
• about 10~13 red shallots (or you can use 1 medium red/ yellow onion), boiled/ bawang merah, rebus
• about 8~10 cloves garlic, boiled/ bawang putih, rebus
• about 2 cm fresh galangal, boiled / lengkuas
• about 7 pcs toasted candlenuts/ kemiri sangrai
• about 3 cm fresh ginger/ jahe
• about 3 cm fresh turmeric (or 1 tsp powdered one) / kunyit segar atau kunyit bubuk

⇒ with mortal and pestle (or blender) grind all ingredients to make a paste.
Haluskan semua bumbu diatas.

How to / Cara membuat:

1) Boil lamb meat (and bones) and offal in 1,5 lt water with 2 daun salam (Indonesian bay leaves) and 2 cm ginger until it gets tender. Strain and cut into a chunk. Discard the cooking water, and put back those meat chunks in pan, and add water again about 2 lt. Continue boiling in medium heat.

Masak daging dan jerohan dalam 1,5 lt air bersama daun salam dan 2 cm jahe sampai empuk. Saring dan buang air rebusan, potong daging sesuai selera. Masukkan potongan daging dan jerohan dalam panci dan tambah 2 lt air, masak hingga mendidih.

2) In a wok or big pan, heat cooking oil. Stir fry paste ingredients with lemongrass, star anise, and cinnamon stick until fragrant, pour into cooked meat in another pan. Stir it slowly, close the lid until it almost boils.

Tumis bumbu halus bersama sereh, bunga lawang, kayu manis sampai harum dan berminyak. Tuang bumbu tumis tadi kedalam panci berisi potongan daging yang dimasak tadi.

3) Mix in powdered spice, salt and sugar, and tamarind water, stir it gently.
Pour in thin coconut milk, continue to cook for a few minutes. Then it's time to add grind toasted coconut. Stir it gently and test the taste.

Campurkan bumbu bubuk, garam, gula dan air asam. Aduk rata. Masukkan santan dan masak hingga kembali mendidih sambil diaduk-aduk agar santan tidak pecah. Lalu campurkan kelapa sangrai yang sudah dihaluskan, aduk rata, cicipi rasanya sesuai selera.

4)Turn off heat after it start to boil. Serve hot with rice cake or steamed rice

Matikan api dan sajikan hangat dengan sambal, acar mentimun dan emping.

Usually we serve this Gulai together with Chilly sambal, cucumber pickled and also emping. give some lemon juice to make it even tastier.

To make Chilly sambal:

boil together some bird eye chilly and 3 cloves of garlic Then make them paste with a pinch of salt.