Sate klatak balibul, a dish from Yogyakarta is unique because it combines satay with gulai (curry soup).

It is also unique as it's grilled using iron skewers, which lets the meat be cooked evenly from the inside and charcoal that creates a distinct grilled aroma.

Prasetyo Widodo, chef de cuisine at Hotel Indonesia Kempinski Jakarta says to grill the lamb meat unwashed. “First, the lamb meat will smell if you wash it. Second, if it's watery, the meat will get hard,” he said.

Those who don’t have charcoal grills can substitute it with a wooden grill or even non-stick pans. “But it will not generate the aroma [signature to klatak satay],” he stated.

He also said that one can opt to cook the gulai with lamb bone when available. It is advised to boil the lamb bone in the gulai for approximately 30 minutes using a small fire, constantly adding water to avoid burning the soup.

Read also: Ramadhan recipe: Mandarin Oriental’s chicken satay

Ingredients

200 gr lamb meat under 5 months old

2 gr salt

1 gr white pepper

2 gr iron skewer

Spices for gulai paste

50 gr shallot

30 gr garlic

20 gr turmeric

25 gr candle nut

10 gr red chili

Gulai

30 ml coconut milk

5 gr bay leaves

10 gr lemongrass

15 gr galangal

5 gr lime leaves

20 gr tamarind

Method

• Cut the lamb meat into cubes, season with salt and pepper for approximately 30 minutes and arrange on the iron skewers.
• Put the lamb skewers on the charcoal grill for approximately 5-10 minutes until they are medium well-done.
• Grind the spices in a blender until it becomes a paste.
• Saute the paste until it lets out a pleasant aroma, add bay leaves, lime leaves, lemongrass, galangal and tamarind.
• Add coconut milk and simmer for 5 minutes.
• Serve the satay with gulai. Add sweet soy sauce for a sweeter taste.

(asw)