Rendang has its roots in Indonesian and Malaysian cooking, the recipe will vary from region to region. It has a wonderful aromatic flavour and a richness from the coconut milk. A versatile dish that works with chicken, pork, beef or goat and benefits from slow cooking. This is my take on the dish.

Rendang paste
10g fresh ginger grated
10g galangal grated
4 sticks lemongrass grated
2 shallots peeled and roughly chopped
2 cloves of garlic peeled
10g fresh turmeric grated or 5g turmeric powder

3 cardamom pods

5g cumin seeds

5g coriander seeds

Roast the cardamom, cumin and coriander seeds in a heavy bottomed pan for 5 minutes and then grind into a fine powder in a mortar and pestle
Place all the ingredients in a food processor and blend until you have a paste
You can also grind these in a mortar and pestle if you wish and grind that way, its the more traditional approach, but I find for larger amounts, the food processor is much easier
You can store the paste in an airtight container in the fridge for up to a week or in the freezer for a couple of months

This makes enough for two portions

Curry
50g curry paste
500g goat shoulder cubed
400ml coconut milk
10ml fish sauce
5g palm sugar
1 green chilli finely chopped (optional)
5 lime leaves

5cm stick cinnamon

2 star anise
10 ml oil for frying
50g toasted grated fresh coconut

10ml lime juice

In a wok or heavy based pan add the oil, cinnamon stick, star anise and curry paste and fry on a medium heat for 2-3 minutes
Next add the goat, coconut milk, lime leaves, chilli, and toasted coconut

Place a lid on the pan
Simmer on a low heat for 3 hours until the goat meat becomes tender (start to test the meat after a couple of hours)

Keep an eye on the liquid level throughout the cooking, the rendang should be thick and not too loose, if it gets too dry, add a little water
To finish stir through the lime juice, fish sauce and palm sugar

Serve with steamed rice