Opor Ayam // Chicken cooked in coconut sauce

Some people call this dish as Indonesian chicken curry which is "not". According me Indonesian chicken curry is called Gulai (gule) Ayam. They both are almost similar, except the gulai (gule) ayam has more spices such as cardammon, cloves and nutmeg... in fact, it contains almost all spices in the ingredients. I've posted gulai ayam previously, so now you have a chance to try cooking and comparing both of them. Trust me, they're both delicious... >_<

But Indonesian cuisine is very rich and created by people throughout Indonesian islands. It's hard to find similar recipes across the country. The food would have the same name, but the ingredients quite vary and sometimes depends on its location and natural resources, not to mention influenced by India, the Middle East, China, and Europe. So is with this opor ayam dish, if you're googling, you'll find hundreds varieties of recipes and will cause you headache. It happened to me too when I started learning cooking. Don't worry, at the end you'll find the best recipe that suits you the most. Bon appétit...

Opor Ayam

Ingredients:
1 kg chicken, cut in pieces
2 salam leaves
1 stick lemon grass
1 cm fresh galangga (laos)
4 cm cinnamon stick
750 cc coconut milk

Fine grinded:
10 small shallots
4 cloves garlic
1 tbs coriander
1/2 tsp cumin seeds
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
2 cm fresh ginger
2 cm fresh curcuma (1 tsp curcuma powder)
salt & pepper to taste


Directions:
- Fried the chicken in little oil until both side colored, set aside.
- Heat oil in a pan, add grinded ingredients, salam leaves, lemon grass, laos and cinnamon. Stir fry until fragrant.
- Add the coconut milk and chicken. Season with salt & pepper.
- Cook until the chicken done.

Martabak Tahu // Soybean Curd In Folded Pastry

According to Wikipedia Martabak, or Murtabak, is an Indian Muslim (Mamak) dish commonly found in Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore, Brunei and Yemen where it is called Motabbag (Arabic: المطبّق) which means "The Folded" so the name could be of Arabic origin. It is made from a thin dough filled with minced meat, usually mutton, and fried on a griddle until it turns golden brown. The fillings also include garlic, egg and onion. Martabak is served with slices of cucumber and onion, and a bowl of curry sauce. In Indonesia, Martabak also tends to be served with some kind of dark brown sauce made of vinegar and palm sugar.

Ingredients:
4 cloves garlic, peeled and sliced
250 gr minced or ground beef
1 medium-sized onion, halved and sliced
2 Tbls. chopped Chinese celery leaves
1 Tbls. curry powder
2-3 eggs
1/2 kg tofu (firm soybean curd), flatten
1 stalk green onion, finely sliced
Salt, white pepper, broth powder to taste
20-30 spring roll sheets

There are two ways to make the filling. Either you cook the ingredients first before folded or you can also saute the filling then folded into the spring roll sheet.

To make the filling:
1st way:
1. In a large bowl put all ingredients together. Season with pepper, salt and broth powder.
2. Fold in the eggs and mix all thoroughly.
3. Take 1 tablespoon filling, put it at the center of spring roll sheet, then folded like an envelope, or rolls to taste.
4. Deep fry over medium heat. Remove & drain.

2nd way:
1. Heat oil, saute onion and garlic until fragrant fine.
2. Enter the ground meat, stir until meat changes color.
3. Add the curry powder and pepper, pour 1 / 2 cup water / broth.
4. Cook until the spices to infuse.
5. Add the tofu, green onion and green pepper slices and stir well.
6. After all ingredients cooked, turn off heat, set aside.
7. Put the eggs in to the filling, mix thoroughly.
8. Take 1 tablespoon of egg mixture at the center of spring roll sheet, then folded like an envelope, or rolls to taste.
9. Fry over medium heat until the sheet golden brown. Remove and drain.

Serve with tomato sauce or chili sauce or soy sauce & pickles.