Fried Bananas ( Pisang Goreng )

4 bananas, medium sized one which are fairly ripe

90 g (3 oz) rice flour

30 g (1 oz) melted butter

1 cup santen (coconut milk)

pinch of salt

clarified butter for frying

Fried Bananas ( Pisang Goreng )

Mix the flour, butter, santen and salt into a smooth batter. Cut the bananas lengthwise down the middle, then cut each piece across into two. Coat well with the batter and fry in clarified butter until golden brown.

The bananas can also be cut into round slices, which are fried in the same way, 4 or 5 at the time. One banana is enough for two helpings.

To serve four.

Sweet Corn Fritters ( Perkedel Jagung )

In Indonesia these are made of fresh corn on the cob, and if you can buy your corn fresh then there is no doubt that the perkedel look authentically Indonesian. However, I have also made them with canned sweet corn, and although they look rather like ordinary corn fritters they do taste like the real thing. Here i give the recipe for making perkedel with fresh corn. If you use canned corn, then a 326 g can (11 1/2 oz) will be right for these ingredients, all you need to do is to mix its contents with the spices.

Sweet Corn Fritters ( Perkedel Jagung )

6 fresh corn cobs (not too young and not too old)

1 red chilli or 1/2 tsp chilli powder

4 shallots

2 cloves garlic (optional)

90 g (3 oz) prawns, fresh or frozen (optional)

1 tsp ground coriander

salt

1 large egg

vegetable oil

Grate the corn off the cobs. Put the prawns, peeled shallots, chilli and garlic all together through a mincer. Mix them well in a bowl with the corn, and season with coriander and salt. Break the egg into the mixture and whisk quickly. Heat about 5 tablespoonfuls of oil in a frying-pan. Drop a heaped tablespoonful of the mixture into the pan and quickly flatten it with a fork. You should be able to fry 4 or 5 perkedel at a time, giving each one about 2 1/2 minutes on each side and turning once only. Serve hot.

Perkedel Jagung can be frozen. Thaw them completely before you re-fry them or heat them in the oven at gas mark 4 (about 350 F) for 30 - 40 minutes.

Aubergine Relish ( Sambal Terong )

This is a relish which can be used hot or cold

2 small aubergines or 1 big one

1 big Spanish onion

4 cloves garlic

1 tbs vegetable oil

2 tsp chilli powder

1 slice terasi 

1 tsp brown sugar

2 big tomatoes

Aubergine Relish

Slice the aubergine and sprinkle it with salt, leave to stand for half an hour. Cut up the tomatoes and remove the seeds.

Crush the terasi and garlic together. Slice the onion thinly, andfry until slightly brown. Add the garlic and terasi, the sugar and the chilli powder. Put in the aubergine, and mix well. Add the tomatoes, cover the pan, and continue cooking gently for 5 minutes. Taste, and add salt if necessary. Then put the mixture into a pudding basin and steam it for 20 minutes.

If you want this relish to be really hot - spicy hot - then take 4 green chillis, seed them and chop finely, and put them into the frying-pan at the same time as the onions. Alternatively, use dried red chillis, soak them for at least 15 minutes and out them into the mixture, whole, when everything goes into the basin for streaming.

Bean Curd in Soya Sauce ( Semur Tahu )

4 pieces of bean curd

30 g (1 oz) so-un (vermicelli made from bean starch)

1 small onion

2 cloves garlic

4 tbs dark soya sauce

1 tbs tomato ketchup

fried onions and parsley for garnishing

1 cup water

vegetable oil or butter

Semur_Tahu

Cut each piece of bean curd in half. Soak the so-un in cold water for 30 minutes. Slice the onion finely and crush the garlic.

Put 3 tablespoonfuls of oil or butter in the pan, and fry the onion for about 2 minutes. Add the garlic, soya sauce and tomato ketchup. Put in the bean curd and water, and simmer slowly for 4 minutes. Then add the so-un and turn the heat a little higher; go on cooking for 3 minutes more. Serve hot, garnished with chopped parsley and fried onions.

To serve two to four.

Spinach Soup ( Sayur Bayam )

This is an excellent soup, especially if the spinach is fresh and young. It can be made with either corn on the cob or sweet potatoes. You will need :

500 g (1 lb) young spinach leaves

2 young corncobs, or 120 g (4 oz) sweet potatoes

2 shallots

1/2 green chilli, or a pinch of chilli powder

a pinch of ground ginger 

a small slice of kencur

1 salam leaf or bay-leaf

salt

Wash the spinach and chop it coarsely. Cut each corncob into three piece; or peel and cut the sweet potatoes into small cubes.

Sayur-Bayam

Slice the shallots and chilli finely and put them into a sauce pan with 1 cup of water. Add the ginger, kencur, salam and salt, and bring to the boil. When the water boils, put in the corn or sweet potatoes, cover the pan, and simmer for 15 minutes. Uncover, add the chopped spinach and another half cup of water. Taste, and add more salt if necessary. Cook until the spinach is tender (about 5-7 minutes), remove the kencur and the leaf and serve hot.

To serve six

Duck in White Coconut Sauce ( Opor Bebek )

Roast a small duck in the oven at about 400 F (gas mark 6) until it is golden brown. This should take a little over an hour, depending on the size of the duck. Then it in half lengthwise. 

Meanwhile you will have been at work on the numerous other ingredients, listed below. The last of these, rhubarb, may be a surprise. In Indonesia we would use about 6 cerme or 3 belimbing wuluh, but a stick of rhubarb is a highly satisfactory alternative.

4 shallots

1 slice terasi

4 cloves garlic

4 kemiri (candlenuts)

salt

1/2 tsp chilli powder

1/2 tsp laos (galingale)

1/2 tsp powdered, or 1 blade fresh, lemon grass

1 tsp ground coriander

1 tsp ground ginger

2 tbs vegetable oil

2 cups santen, made from 1 fresh coconut or 350 g (12 oz) desiccated coconut

1 bay leaf

1 stick rhubarb about 10 cm (4") long

some melted butter

Opor-Bebek

Pound the shallots, terasi, garlic, kemiri and a pinch of salt into a paste, and add to it the chilli, laos, lemon grass, coriander, and ginger. Fry it in 2 tablespoonfuls of oil for 1 minute. Put in both halves of the duck, and cover them with santen. Add the bay leaf, and the rhubarb cut up small. Boil for 1 hour or until the pan is almost dry, taking care not to burn it. Taste, and add salt if necessary. Put the duck into an oven-proof dish, brush with melted butter, and put under a high grill until golden brown. Serve immediately.

The remaining sauce can be served separately, if you eat the Opor with boiled rice. Alternatively, top it up with half a cup of stock or water, and boil in it a few potatoes - preferably new ones - to eat with the duck. You can still serve the sauce as gravy.

To serve two

Eggs in Piquant Sauce ( Acar Telur )

Duck eggs or Hen eggs are equally good for this sauce.

4 or 6 hard-boiled eggs

3 shallots

2 cloves garlic

4 kemiri (candlenuts)

1 tsp ground ginger

1/2 tsp turmeric

2 or more green chillis

1/2 cucumber

1 tbs clear soya sauce

3 tbs vinegar

2 tsp brown sugar

1 tsp dry mustard

1 cup water

salt

1 tbs vegetable oil

Acar-Telur

Peel and slice the shallots and garlic and pound them in a mortar with the kemiri until they become a smooth paste. Add the ground ginger and turmeric. Seed the green chillis and chop them finely. Peel the cucumber and slice into thin rounds. Peel the eggs and cut each into four.

In a work or saucepan, heat the oil and fry the kemiri paste for 1 minute. Add the chillis, soya sauce and vinegar, stir, and let the mixture simmer for a minute or two. Then add the sugar, mustard and water, and some salt, stirring well. Let this sauce simmer for 5 minutes. Taste, and put in the eggs and cucumber, spooning the sauce carefully over the eggs. Keep the heat on under the eggs for another 3 or 4 minutes, then serve immediately with rice.

To serve four.