Sayur lodeh is everyday cooking in Central Java, made in big pots in Solo and Semarang kitchens and ladled over rice, with lontong rice cakes at Lebaran, or alongside opor and sambal goreng on festive tables. It's soupy rather than thick: a fragrant broth of coconut milk, galangal, lemongrass and lime leaf that carries chunks of aubergine, long beans, chayote and sweetcorn, plus tempeh and tofu to make it a meal. The flavour is mellow and slightly sweet, so the heat comes from sambal on the side. Chef's tip: keep the pot at a gentle simmer once the coconut milk goes in and stir now and then — a rolling boil splits the coconut milk into oily curds.
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Crisp fried farari muthia made from very finely diced potato, crushed roasted peanuts, soaked sago and rajagra (amaranth) flour, seasoned with ginger, chilli, black pepper and a sweet-sour finish. They're crunchy outside and soft inside. Garnish with coriander and fresh coconut and serve hot as a fasting-day snack.
A creamy, chilled kheer of small sago pearls simmered in milk with sugar, pistachios, almonds, cashews, cardamom and saffron, then mixed with a separate milk of apricots, figs and raisins and fresh green grapes. It's sweet, fragrant and full of texture. A party-size dessert for fasting days or festivals. Serves 15.
Crumbly, melt-in-the-mouth nankhatai made for fasting days with cassava flour and powdered cashews instead of wheat flour, rich with ghee and coconut and scented with cardamom. Each one is topped with half a cherry. They bake only until barely coloured. Makes 45 small biscuits (about 3 per serving).
On fasting days gram flour is off the menu, so this kadhi is thickened with mashed potato and coarsely ground peanuts instead. The buttermilk is tempered with ghee, cumin, cloves, cinnamon and curry leaves, and finished sweet-sour in the Gujarati way. Serve hot with farari samo khichdi.
The fasting-day gulab jambu: soft balls of mawa (khoya) and mashed potato bound with cassava flour, scented with saffron and cardamom, fried slowly to a deep golden brown and soaked in cardamom syrup with pistachios and almonds. Soak them for 3–4 hours so they turn juicy all the way through. Makes 35 small jambu.
A crunchy, nutty barfi of roasted sesame seeds and ground peanuts set in a two-thread sugar syrup, pressed into a tray and topped with chopped peanuts. It's sweet and toasty, like a soft brittle, and keeps well. Good for fasting days and the winter festivals. Makes 20 pieces.
Crisp, golden sago wada made from mashed potato, sago pearls and cassava flour, seasoned with green chilli, ginger, coarse black pepper and sesame, then rolled in soaked sago so the outside fries into a crunchy, pearly crust. Serve hot with coconut chutney on fasting days. Makes 20.
Bhusu is a festive farsan mix: crunchy fried pulses and lentils, three kinds of sev, tum tum, bundi, sakarpada cubes, puffed rice, cashews and peanuts, all tossed in a sweet, sour and spicy seasoning. It makes a large batch for Diwali and keeps for weeks in air-tight tins. It's a project spread over a few days, because the pulses need soaking first. Make the jini sev, jadi sev, tum tum and sakarpada from their own recipes in this section.
Small, crisp fried puris flavoured with cumin seeds and plenty of black pepper. The butter rubbed into the flour makes them short and flaky, and frying them slowly over low heat keeps them crisp right through. Serve them as a snack with tea; they keep for weeks in an air-tight tin.
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Vegan
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