Cassava Leaves Curry

Notes, Tipps & Tricks In his hometown in West Sumatra , this curry is usually made with fiddlehead, so they call it " Gulai Daun Paku ". While in Padang restaurants, I often see them made with long beans and cabbage. Cassava leaf is indeed my favorite, unfortunately this one is not available here in the west . As an alternative I replace it with curly kale (German = Gruenkohl ). As curly kale is not always obtainable then I made an experiment with savoy ( German = Wirsing). At first I was skeptical with it's hard texture . But after I tried some tricks here & there, I am quite surprised & satisfied with the result. This curry dish tastes really superb, I think what a pity when I skip it from the menu-list just because of one distinctive leaf requirement. Indeed, this curry always tastes delicious, it doesn't matter what kind of vegetables you use!!. Note : Savoy has a really hard texture, almost resemble to old papaya leaves . To get them soft, discard the hard ribs of the leaves, add 1 tbsp salt, mix and squeeze until the texture getting soften. Rinse them under the running water then blanch until cooked. Have a nice try and good luck :-) Ingredients Ingredients for 3-4 persons: 500 gr cassava leaves (use fiddlehead, curly kale or savoy as a substitutes ) 50 gr anchovies, fried ( if preffered) 1 stalk lemon grass, outer leaves discarded, crashed 1 tsp tamarind pulp soak in 2 tbsp water 2 salam leaves or bay leaves 2 cm fresh galangale, bruished 3 kaffir lime leaves 400 ml/ 13.5 fl.oz very thick coconut milk 300 ml water 2 tsp Salt or to taste oil for frying Spice for the paste: 3 large red chillies, chopped 6 shalllots, chopped 3 cloves garlic, chopped 5 candlenuts, chopped 2 cm fresh turmeric or 1 tsp turmeric powder 2 cm fresh ginger, chopped 2 tsp coriander seeds or 1 tsp coriander powder 1 tsp cumin powder Step-by-Step Instructions: 1 If you replace cassava leaf with savoy or curly kale, discard the hard part/rib of the leaves. 2a Special for savoy but not necessary for curly kale: Add 1 tbsp salt, mix and squeeze until the texture getting soften. 2b 3 Blanch cassava/savoy/curly kale leaves until tender. 4 Set aside to drain then roughly slice. 5 Heat 50 ml oil in a frying pan, fry the ancovies until golden brown. Set aside to drain. 6 Put all ingredients for the seasoning paste in a blender or food processor & blend until smooth. (If necessery add a little bit oil to help the blending process). 7 Heat 2 tbsp oil in a saucepan, stir-fry the paste with lemongrass, galingale, kaffir-lime leaves & bay leaves. 8 Stir-fry the paste all the time until cooked & fragrant.( approx. 10 min) 9 Transfer the paste to a larger saucepan. Add in the water and tamarind juice. 10 Bring to boil over medium heat. Add cassava leaves or any other sort which had been prepared 11 Pour-in the thick coconut milk, bring to boil then reduce the heat to simmer and stir often for 15 minutes. 12 Adjust the seasoning, add salt & sugar to taste. Stir to mix. Garnish with fried anchovies (if any). Serve hot. Important Tipp: If you're using blender or food processor instead of mortar or grinding stone to make a spice paste, you will probably need to add some liquid to help the blending process. Therefore there is an important method to be noted to get the optimum result. 1st: If the spice paste should be fried first in a hot oil then you should add a little amount of OIL into the grinder/blender. 2nd : If the spice will be simmered in either water, coconut milk or broth then adding the specified liquid or a small amount of water is recommended. But please do not apply it vice versa, otherwise you could absolutely ruin the taste ;-)

Unbalanced

% Daily Values based on a 2,000 calorie diet