Bundu Daging (Makassar)

Bundu Daging is a simple Indonesian curry from Makassar. Because it contains not much santen (coconut cream), it’s a light dish and not spicy, but super delicious. I like it with some sambal (Indonesian chili salsa) or fresh lombok (chili peppers) on the side. The meat will absorb the galangal, salam (Indonesian bay leaf) and coconut completely: comfort food at its best. For more food from Makassar here is a video for inspiration (Indonesian).

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Bundoe Daging (Makassar) #167 translated from Groot Indonesisch Kookboek, Beb Vuyk, page 164.

Ingredients

• 1/2 kg of beef
• 1/4 block santen (coconut cream)
• 3 dl water

herbs

• 3 tablespoons chopped onions
• 1 chopped clove of garlic
• 1 teaspoon laos (galangal)
• 1 piece of sereh (lemongrass)
• 2 salam leaves (Asian bay leaves)
• salt
• pepper

1. Cut the meat into cubes and sprinkle with salt and pepper.
2. Mix in the onions, garlic and galangal.
3. Let it marinade for an hour.
4. Bring water to a boil, stir in the santen, lemongrass and salam leaf.
5. Add the meat and simmer until it is tender.

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If you can buy fresh galangal, please do. In a curry like this, it is delicious. If it is impossible to get, the powder version works great too.

Beef like this takes a while to get tender and juicy. I let my bundu simmer for almost 4 hours on low heat. I start with the meat just below the water level. When I hear bubbly sounds in the pan the sauce thickens. When it needs more cooking time, I add half a glass of water and stir. I leave the lit off, but you can also simmer with lit half on for a couple of hours and then take it off to let the curry reduce at the end.

You can also decide not to thicken the sauce a lot then you can dip for example lontong more easily. 🙂

This curry seems a lot of work, but the only thing you need to do is be around and stir once in a while.

You can make this dish a day before or freeze it for later use too.

I love the simple flavors of this dish. Asian bay leaf makes it warm and even a bit like cinnamon. I love galangal and it’s a great combination with the citrusy lemongrass. We eat our bundu daging with white rice or lontong and a light vegetable dish.