Rendang ( Spicy Beef Curry )

I was born in North Sumatra so im so fond with spicy taste of foods,,here i give you my favourite foods like Rendang or spicy beef curry, here the way to make it :


Ingredients :

* 2 lemongrass stalks
* 2 large red chillies, deseeded and chopped
* 6 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
* 5cm piece of ginger, roughly chopped
* 1 large onion, roughly chopped
* 1/2 tsp ground ginger
* 1 tbsp ground coriander
* 1 tsp ground cumin
* 1 tsp freshly ground black pepper
* 2 tbsp sunflower oil
* 2 cinnamon sticks
* 12 cloves
* 2 bay leaves
* 600ml canned coconut milk
* 1.5kg braising steak, such as chuck or blade, cut into 5cm pieces
* 1 tsp salt
* Walnut-sized piece of tamarind pulp or 2 tbsp lemon juice
* 1 tbsp Billington's Dark Muscovado Sugar

Directions :

1. Remove the outer leaves from the lemongrass stalks and reserve. Roughly chop the tender core and put into a food processor with the chillies, garlic, fresh ginger, onion, ground ginger, coriander, cumin, black pepper and 2 tablespoons of water. Blend to a smooth paste.

2. Heat the sunflower oil in a large flameproof casserole over a medium heat. Add the cinnamon sticks and cloves and allow them to sizzle for about 1 minute. Add the spice paste and bay leaves and fry gently for 2 minutes. Add the coconut milk, 200ml water, the beef, reserved lemongrass leaves and the salt and bring to the boil.

3. Meanwhile, if you are using the tamarind pulp, put in a small bowl with 120ml of warm water and work through with your fingers to release the seeds. Strain the syrupy mixture into a clean bowl and discard the seeds.

4. Lower the heat to a simmer, add the tamarind liquid or lemon juice and muscovado sugar and leave to cook uncovered for 21/2 hours, stirring more frequently as the liquid reduces, until the sauce is well reduced and quite thick and the beef is very tender. Serve with plain rice and a cucumber, tomato, red onion and coriander salsa.