Beef Long-Cooked in Coconut Milk with Spices from Indonesian Regional Food and Cookery by Sri Owen

Ingredients

• 1 fresh turmeric leaf or 1 stem lemon grass
• 2.5-cm/1¼-inch piece of root ginger, peeled
• 6 red chillies, de-seeded, or 3 tsp chilli powder
• 1 salam leaf or bay leaf
• 4 cloves garlic
• 1 tsp chopped galingale or ½ tsp powder
• 2.3 litres/4 pints/10 cups coconut milk
• 2 tsp salt
• 1 1/3 kg/3 lb buffalo meat or beef: preferably brisket, otherwise topside or silverside, cut into cubes about 2 cm/¾ inch on a side
• 6 shallots
• 1 tsp turmeric powder