Egg Rendang / Famous Indonesian Savoury Egg Dish With Very Thick Gravy

As a food Blogger I am always on the look out for nouvelle recipes, everyday begins with a quest to first learn about new ingredients, then incorporating those ingredients in a dish, making the dish a number of times, till I have almost total control over those ingredients. It is only after that, I will cook that dish, capture it's steps, photograph the main dish and then publish it here in my Blog, so that all the lovely wonderful readers of my Blog can prepare the dish without having to go through any difficulty. No dish which is being cooked for the first time in my kitchen, will be published in my Blog, after the first attempt, even if the very first attempt has yielded the perfect result. It will only find it's way into my Blog after it has been made with that same flawless result at least a number of times. 

By saying flawless here doesn't mean that there would be no room for improvement or this is the ultimate dish, no never. Every time each of us make a dish there will always be a way to better it in the next time of cooking it. Similarly that same dish, the same recipe can be made by some other with astonishing result. Here flawless defines, my satisfaction at whatever sensory knowledge I have developed as a passionate foodie over the years. It also means, the feedback that comes, unbiased both verbally and me gauging visually by the expression of my diners, makes me think that now this dish is good enough to be shared widely with discerning food readers.

I have always that my Blog should be able to infuse enthusiasm into people who do not like to get into the kitchen and cook yet have to do it out of compulsion. So here is where I wanted to come in, introduce you to ingredients, which never have made their way into your kitchen till date, bring to you recipes from across the length and breadth of the Globe. I am sure that most of us get pepped up at the thought of trying a new kind of cuisine, when we venture out to a restaurant. It is that excitement of something new, something different that gets us eager. Though some dishes are totally different from the food we have known, yet there are plenty out there which though had very different, aroma, taste and flavours comes across as something we have known closely. It is these dishes that delight me more and are actually my favourite.

So today's dish is one such dish which has it's roots in Indonesia. It's called Rendang, looks, tastes like a curry, that we Indians are so familiar with, but the locals would tell you otherwise. In Indonesia a curry is considered to have gravy with a runny consistency. In Rendang there should be no liquid in the gravy. So in Indonesia, Rendang is not a curry but the word Rendang is actually derived from Merendang which is word used to describe a cooking technique. In this technique the food is slow cooked on a simmering heat, continuously being moved around in the vessel of cooking, to prevent from sticking to the bottom. This process is continued till there is no liquid left in the gravy and the meat is fully cooked.

Rendang is characterised by the spices used, which are indigenous to this dish. It is the spice mix comprising of Galangal, Lemon Grass, Fresh Turmeric and a secret ingredient called Kerisik which is coconut toasted golden brown and then whizzed to get brown sugar like consistency. It is important that you get the perfect Kerisik as this adds a whole new dimension of flavour to this dish. Also the use of Turmeric leaves in the gravy gives the Rendang it's distinct flavour and taste. 

In my Blogging journey the role of Azlin Bloor has been pivotal. Azlin is an adept chef, a culinary instructor and a food blogger who blogs at LINS FOOD . You can go to her blog by clicking on --> LINS FOOD <--right here. Her Blog is a treasure and a food lovers delight. Not only is it full of decadent dishes but has an in-depth repertoire of ingredients from different corners of the Globe, with their use in dishes, their history, etymology etc. You will not find many Blogs like her which are impregnated with Culinary Knowledge. I have and am still learning a lot from her Blog. You can check out her Blog and will be glad that I told you about LINS FOOD .

The recipe of the Rendang is from her Blog the Link of which is given right here --> Rendang Recipe ~ the way my MUM made it  . The instructions as always are clear, crisp and very easy to follow. Also if you want to find the right way of making Kerisik please click the link --> KERISIK 

I am however not sharing any Meat Rendang here, cause I had made this dish as an accompaniment with my Chicken Nasi Biryani / Nasi Beriani . Hopefully I will share Chicken or Mutton Rendang , someday soon. One little note from me for my valuable readers, this dish doesn't taste the same without it's indigenous ingredients, so please do not replace any ingredient used here. Asian stores throughout the world stock almost all the ingredients used in making this dish. I am sure if you look out you will find all of them. Also since this is an egg curry there are variations in the quantity of ingredients used from the original recipe. Also I have added Tamarind paste for an extra zing to suit my family's palate unlike Lins Recipe. So let's take a look at the ingredients.

Egg Rendang Recipe ~

Author ~ Piyali Sekhar Mutha

Serves ~ 4

Cuisine ~ Indonesian

Type ~ Main Course Served As An Accompaniment With Rice Dish / Gravy Dish

Time ~ 30 Minutes Preparation + 30 Minutes Cooking

Ingredients ~

For Kerisik~

3 ~ 4 Tbsp Coconut, Fresly Grated or Defrosted frozen grated 

For the Rendang Paste ~ 

1 Stalk Lemon Grass (Use Only the White Portion)

1/2 Inch Piece Galangal

1 Inch Piece Ginger

6 Cloves Garlic

10 Dry Red Chillies (de~seeded) 

1 Large Red Onion (Cubed)

3 Tbsp Kerisk

1/2 Inch Piece Fresh Turmeric

1 Tsp Coriander Powder

For the Egg Rendang Gravy~

6 ~ 8 Eggs (Chicken)

1 Tbsp Oil 

Rendang Paste from above

400 ml Coconut Cream

1 Lemon Grass, white portion bruised

1 Tsp Tamarind Paste

1 Turmeric Leaf OR 2 ~ 3 Kaffir Lime Leaves, I used the latter

Salt to taste

Let's Cook Egg Rendang In Easy Steps ~

STEP ~ 1

* Boil the Eggs covered with water. Once done, remove them, cool them and shell the eggs. Keep aside.

* De ~ seed the Dry Red Chillies. Soak them in hot water for 20 minutes. After 20 minutes, you will see the chillies soften.

NOTE ~ Depending on the type of chillies used your gravy will get its colour. So please don't bother if your gravy does not look similar to that of mine. As the Chillies have had their seeds removed so they will not have ant heat in them, thereby imparting only colour and aroma to the dish.

To Make Kirisk ~

STEP ~ 2

* Dry Toast the grated Coconut in a pan. 

NOTE ~ You will have to manage the heat as the smaller pieces of Coconut burn easily. Once the smaller pieces of the grated coconut turn golden brown, remove from heat. The bigger pieces in the grated coconut will still be white. But when you leave it to cool, you will notice that in the heat remaining in the utensil used to toast the grated coconut, the bigger pieces have also turned golden brown.

* Cool & transfer to a coffee grinder / grinder. Grind it to the consistency of brown sugar / coarsely. Set aside.

To Make Rendang Paste ~

STEP ~ 3

* Take all the ingredients listed under "For the Rendang Paste" in a grinder and grind using a little water to a smooth paste.

To Make The Egg Rendang Gravy ~

STEP ~ 4

* Take a pan / wok / kadai . Pour Oil. Add Rendang Paste to the oil.  Cover and simmer to cook the paste, till oil starts oozing from the paste. Keep moving the paste to & fro with a spatula from time to time, so that it doesn't stick to the bottom.

* Add Coconut Cream. Throw in the Lemon grass & Kaffir Lime Leaves OR Turmeric Leaf. Simmer and Cook till the Coconut Cream dries up completely and there is no liquid left in the pan.

* Add Tamarind Paste & Season with salt. Mix well.

* After a minute a add the Eggs.

Serve with Hot Rice. I served this with Nasi Biryani / Chicken Nasi Beriani  . In Nasi Biryani since the Chicken Gravy is served on the side & unlike most Biryani, Chicken Curry & Rice are cooked Separately, therefore the Egg Rendang Curry compliments it very well.

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