There’s a saying that the best way of knowing a country is to know its cuisine. The difference lies in the way of their cooking, and Indonesian style of cooking respects the secret of marinades.

Apart from the application of usual spices and herbs like galangal, lemon grasses, tape cassava or Indonesian round-shaped cardamoms procured from their place of origin makes the flavour of the traditional ‘Gule’ power.

Starting with traditional and aesthetic Indonesia-themed dances, the Indonesian food fest ‘Take a bite out of Indonesia’ is on at the Chap Chay restaurant of The Raintree hotel, St. Mary’s Road for lunch and dinner till April 10 and covering the people’s food habits from about 6,000 islands.

Indonesia boasts of a vibrant and colourful cuisine amongst pan-Asian cuisines. Containing all the varieties picked up from Indian, Chinese, Thai, Portugese and Spanish styles over centuries, the Indonesian infusion of ‘Umami’ (together with sweetness, sourness, bitterness and saltiness) makes the final cuisine quite different from the others.

Chef Sukarno Wibowo from Bandung city of Indonesia’s West Java province brings a taste of its western parts. The rock star of the fest, chef Faisal Martadinata from Surabaya city, brings the flavours of East Java. Sakarno emphasises on the spicy, tangy taste of Indonesia. Chef Sukarno brought some typical area specific taste from his own place like Soto Padang, a variety of rending, and the unique ‘Petis’, shrimp paste (used in Sambal and many dishes). Chef Martadinata’s expertise seemed to lie in seafood.

 Chefs Sukarno and chef Martadinata share an array of exclusive recipes from their authentic Indonesian cuisine with DC.

Sate padang kambing (Lamb satay from the land of padang)

ingredients:
Lamb (1 inch cube) 500gms
Rice flour 50 gms
Lime leaf 5pcs
Turmeric leaf 1pc
Lemongrass 65gms
Spring onion 50gms
Chicken powder 150gms
Red chili (blended) 150gms
Salt a pinch
Gule powder 50gms
Red chili powder (blended) 50gms
Shallots 100gms
Garlic 100gms
Turmeric 30gms
Galangal (crushed) 1pc
Ginger 30gms
Salt & pepper as per requirement
Coriander powder 20gms
Cumin powder 15gms
Fried onion (for garnishing)

Method:
Blend the onion, garlic, turmeric, ginger, coriander powder, cumin powder, salt and pepper well in the blender, until smooth paste.
Sauté the mixture until the flavor comes out. Add water, kaffir lime leaf, turmeric leaf, and lemongrass. Add the gule powder.
Add the lambto it and cook it well, until the meat is tenderand set aside.
Make the skewer with the lamb cubes, grill the skewers and prepare for the sauce.
Stain the stock above and cook well, add the rice flour, and let it thicken like sauce consistency.
Serve hot.

Ikan Kakap Gule (Pan seared red snapper in spicy gule sauce)

ingredients:
Fillet Red snapper 5slices
Turmeric leaf 6pcs
Asam kandis 3pcs
Lemongrass 2pcs
Sugar 50gms
Chicken powder, salt & pepper as    per requirement
Coconut cream

For the paste:
Red chili 50gms
Red shallot 80gms
Garlic 30gms
Coriander powder 10gms
Turmeric 20 gms
Ginger 20gms
Galangal 10gms

Method:
Blend the garlic, turmeric, ginger, coriander powder, red shallots, galangal, salt and pepper well in the blender, until smooth paste.
Marinate the fish in the blended herbs.
Pan seared until it gets crispy and cooked well.
Further, sauté the marinade. Add some water, asam kandis and coconut cream and adjust the seasoning.
Serve the fish with the sauce and garnish with fried onions, chillipady.

Colenak Kelapa Parut (Gula Aren and Chantilly  Coco Pandan)

ingredients:
Tape cassava 500 gms
Rice flour 10 gms
Brown sugar 100 gms
Grated coconut 50 gms
Tempered dark chocolate com pound/couverture 50 ml

Ingredients for Chantilly coco Pandan:
Granulated sugar 100 gms
Heavy whipped cream 150 ml
Pandan essence + coconut cream 1tsp
Gelatine (steam) 10 gms

Method:
Discard the steam of the fermented cassava (tape singsong).
Add the rice flour little by little and mix well.
Make a round shape with the above mixture and grill it on top of the pan.
Mix the heavy cream and sugar well until it whipped with the high speed.
Add the gelatine that already melted and also add the essence, mix well and give a shape. Refrigerate it until its ready to serve.
Serve the colenak with the Chantilly cream, grated coconut and gula aren. (A little bit of tempered dark chocolate as well)