Turmeric is a famous spice that is used in Asian, African and Middle Eastern cuisines. It is more prominent however in Indian, Bangladeshi, Pakistani, Malaysian, Sri Lankan as well as Indonesian cuisines since it is a staple part of their food preparation.

For most parts of the world, the turmeric benefits calls for it to be a food preservative as well as food coloring. This is where the yellow in mustard, cheese, pickles and margarines come from. Aside from the turmeric uses in the culinary world, there are other turmeric benefits that people are not often aware off.

Health Benefits of Turmeric

Recently, it has been gaining popularity because of some studies indicating that turmeric benefits our mental health because it prevents the onset of dementia as well as Alzheimer’s disease. Researchers credit curcumin for such preventive capabilities. Curcumin is actually the main ingredient that constitutes turmeric.

Other health benefits of turmeric include the reduction of pigmentation, strengthening of the bones, softening of the body, the ability to make the skin supple, inhibition of cell damage as well as fighting diarrhea.

Turmeric is also a natural antiseptic as well as an anti-bacterial spice. Some use it externally to aid in the cleaning and disinfecting of burns and cuts. Another turmeric uses for the Chinese is that it helps in the treatment of depression. They also believe that turmeric speeds up metabolism thereby making it as an effective weight management spice.

Turmeric and Skin Care

Aside from turmeric benefits on health, it is also used for cosmetics. Some sunscreens or rather most sunscreens use turmeric in their formulation.

In India, many women are using turmeric paste to keep them from superfluous hair. Other turmeric benefits for India, Pakistan and Bangladesh is the use of this spice as a beauty regimen for the bride and groom before marriage because it is believed that turmeric gives a certain glow on the skin and helps protect it by keeping harmful bacteria away from the body.

On the other hand, in Thailand, the government is even funding a project that will extract certain compounds from turmeric to use as treatment for inflammation of the skin. If successful, it will be very useful in different cosmetics applications.

Other Turmeric Uses

Turmeric is also used for gardening and dye. Although turmeric makes a poor dye, it is still being used in India for their clothing like the saris. The reason why it is not suitable as a dye is because it is lightfast. For gardening, it can be used to deter ants from attacking your garden. Up to date there is still no clear reason on why ants hate turmeric but it does work and for most gardeners, that’s all that matters.

Other turmeric uses also include the application of this spice for ceremonial purposes. In fact a lot of history is still linked to turmeric because up to date it is still used for ceremonial rituals. The turmeric you buy in groceries is not pure and often has other components mixed in already. For you to be able to enjoy the full turmeric benefits, the spice must be pure.

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Rice Lead ( Nasi Timbel )

Lead is a typical meal of rice from Sunda (West Java), who served with fresh vegetables, chilli sauce, fried tofu, fried tempeh, fried chicken, Pepes fish and vegetables can be added with acid. Once Upon A Time In the past rice farmers lead before going into the fields or the fields are always bringing in the rice stock leaf packs for lunch complete with side dishes, so since it was known by the Rice lead.

Method:
Material:
• 300 g cold cooked rice
• 2 pieces of banana leaves

Method:
Banana leaf piled into one, flatten the rice on top and fold the two long sides to the middle, then roll tightly.

Lalapan
Fresh vegetables can be served half-cooked or raw.
If presented well, fresh vegetables consisted of a small squash, kale / spinach, green beans / green beans, which have been boiled.
Consist of raw fresh vegetables eggplant, cabbage, long beans, basil, lettuce, cucumbers or tomatoes.

Making Sambal Belachan
Material:
• 5 curly red chilies
• 2 pieces chili
• 1 teaspoon shrimp paste which has been in the fuel / fried
• 1 teaspoon brown sugar
• 1 small tomato
• 1 lime
• Salt to taste.

Method:
Puree the red pepper, chili, shrimp paste, sugar, tomatoes and salt. Do not be too soft, then add lime juice.

How to make Pepes Yellow Gold Fish
Material:
• 4 tail goldfish
• Salt to taste
• Extract lemon
• 6 spring onions
• 3 cloves garlic
• 3 eggs hazelnut
• sliver of turmeric
• 1 tomato
• basil leaf
• 2 leeks
• Chilli pepper red
• banana leaves for wrapping

Method:
1. Clean fish, remove scales and gills, and leave intact. Marinate the fish with salt and lime juice. Let stand for 15 minutes.
2. Puree onion, garlic, walnut and saffron, mix dengaan tomato pieces, basil, green onion and chili.
3. Take a banana leaf to taste, place the fish and coat with a mixture of spices, then wrapped and steamed until cooked.

How to make fried chicken
Material:
A tail Kampung Chicken or chicken country
500 cc coconut milk from half a coconut.
2 Salam leaves
One vertebra Lengkuas
1 stalk lemongrass dimemarkan
Salt to taste.
4 cloves Garlic
6 cloves Shallots
5 cloves Tamarind 5 pcs
1 tablespoon Coriander
1 tablespoon Brown Sugar

How to cook:
- Cut the chicken into pieces.
- Blend Seasoning, Garlic, Red Onion, Tamarind, Coriander, Brown Sugar, and salt.
- Sauteed chicken spices enter stir coconut milk and add bay leaves, galangal, lemongrass, salt.
- Cook until chicken is tender and dry coconut milk thickens. Remove, let cool.
- Then the fried chicken with a lot of oil until brown, also the rest of the ingredients
- Serve chicken seasoning over the cooked chicken.

Make Fried Tofu and Tempeh
Material:
2 boxes of fruit Know
Tempe is already on thin slices

Marinade:
Salt to taste
1 / 2 teaspoon
2 cloves garlic
1 teaspoon coriander
1 cm turmeric
white water to taste
To taste Oil for frying

Method:
Blend all ingredients, after giving the water a little smoother, input tempeh and tofu, and fry until crispy.

Make Vegetable Acid
Material:
250 gr ribs, boiled until tender, take approximately 1 liter of broth.
100 gr melinjo old fruit
200 g young jackfruit pieces 2.x2 cm
100 grams of raw papaya into pieces 2 × 2 cm
First fruits of corn-cut 2 × 2 cm transverse
50 g peanuts
2 chayote fruit pieces 2 × 2 cm
10 pieces long beans, cut into 4 cm
50 gr leaves melinjo cub
3 pieces of green chillies split second
1 bay leaf valley
piece of galangal, crushed
Three sour fruit raw, peeled and crushed

Marinade:
2 pieces of red chili pepper
3 candle nut roaster / bake
1 teaspoon shrimp paste
5 pieces of red onion
1 clove garlic
2 teaspoons salt
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 teaspoon sour if necessary

Method:
Blend the seasonings: onion, garlic, red pepper, shrimp paste, and walnut, stir and lift,
Boil fruit and peanut melinjo each vegetable separately so that the color is not cloudy tamarind – drain.
Boil broth input melinjo fruit, young jackfruit, corn, papaya, and peanuts until cooked.
Enter who had been sauteed seasoning, salt, brown sugar, tamarind, galangal and salam.
Enter chayote, after a bit soft, put beans, green chilies.
Lastly, enter melinjo leaves, tamarind, salt and sugar. Add sour when less fresh water. Cook until completely cooked, but not too soft.
Remove and serve in bowls in warm.

Rice lead the presentation, Provide a big plate of good rice, side dishes, fried chicken, fish Pepes, chilli and fresh vegetables in one dish. and a bowl of vegetable acid

Spicy fried chicken is a wonderful treat on so many levels. First of all, fried chicken is always comforting and delicious, no matter whether it is pan fried, deep fried or even oven fried. It is a fact of life that fried chicken is one of the most popular meals of all time and that applies in almost every country, not just the United States.

There are so many recipes for fried chicken and so many ways to make it. Some people like to use a very basic batter recipe or simply dip their chicken in seasoned flour and fry it.

Chicken has a soft flavor which goes well with this type of coating. It also suits stronger flavors or spicy coatings. If you want to spice things up, why not use cayenne pepper and chili powder in the flour for a piquant kick?

Using Marinades Before Frying Chicken

Another way of spicing up your fried chicken is to marinate it overnight in a spicy marinade, perhaps using garlic, onion, chili, cumin, hot sauce and anything else you fancy. Marinating chicken tenderizes it as well as flavoring it.

You might even like to marinate your chicken and then use a spicy coating if you want a really fiery dinner. In that case, perhaps choose a creamy side dish to contrast with the spicy chicken recipe. Coleslaw would be ideal.

Recipe for Indonesian Style Fried Chicken

The following recipe makes enough spicy Indonesian fried chicken to serve eight people. Serve it with sesame noodles or rice. This recipe uses a very aromatic blend of spices so, rather than being fiery hot, the chicken is carefully spiced so it is full of flavor and really delicious.

If you want to oven fry the chicken instead of deep frying it, you can broil it for twenty minutes in an oven heated to 350 degrees F. If you cannot find fresh turmeric, you can use half a teaspoon of ground turmeric instead. Visit an Asian grocery store for the other spices.

You will need:

1 roasting chicken
2 bay leaves
2 inches fresh turmeric
2 inches fresh ginger
5 candle nuts or macadamia nuts
1 cup hot water
1 teaspoon coriander seeds
3 inches galangal
6 cloves garlic
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 lemongrass stem
1 teaspoon white pepper
Canola oil, for frying

How to make it:

Cut the chicken into 8 pieces. Crush the white part only of the lemongrass stem. Combine the garlic, nuts, coriander, turmeric, white pepper, galangal and white pepper in a food processor and puree the mixture to a paste. Marinate the chicken pieces overnight in this mixture, in the refrigerator.

Transfer the chicken and marinade sauce into a pot over a low heat. Stir in the water, bay leaves, salt and lemon grass. Keep cooking until the water is absorbed. Take the pot off the stove and let the mixture cool down.

Heat enough canola oil in a deep pan for deep frying, then deep fry the chicken until it is golden brown and cooked through. Drain off excess oil on brown paper or paper towels.

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It may be difficult for you to find an adequate Indonesian grocery (or any at all) around your area. Asian groceries are becoming more popular, but they are still hard to find in some areas. If so, you have two choices. You can resign yourself to never finding the Indonesian food you love and instead looking for substitutes in your local grocery store. Or you can do what so many other people are doing in this day and age – shopping Indonesian groceries online! There are several websites that offer an Indonesian grocery store full of content with online Indonesian foods from all the well-known brands at some of the lowest prices in North America. There were some made precisely because of the average problem finding the right Asian markets or any Indonesian grocery at all.

The concept behind the startup of one I recently visited, called Toko Gembira, created the online Indonesian grocery to remedy the difficulty with finding Indonesian food: they had to drive forty miles just to find an Indonesian grocery for the right kinds of ingredients. In order to address the problem of scarcity of Indonesian groceries, the rising gas prices and the rising food costs because of it, and in order to help people avoid traffic jams, the owners of Toko Gembira created the website for all online Indonesian food needs. They also wanted to respond to the prevalence of problems with other online Indonesian groceries such as overpriced online Indonesian foods, overpriced shipping charges, and a minimum purchase requirement. This store has no such limitations on their online Indonesian food. They created their website to be easy to navigate, with low-priced online Indonesian foods, reasonable shipping charges, and no minimum purchase requirement. They even accept Paypal for easy and secure online transactions.

At most online Indonesian groceries, the web sites will offer a wide array of online Indonesian foods in easy sections – the online version of aisles. There are beverages, flavorings, snacks, sauces, cracks, and other things. Some of the well-known brands they carry are ABC, Wayang, Munik, Bango, Bamboe, Kukagumi, Kokita, Gembira, Silver Queen, and Beng-Beng. Most Indonesian food websites also provide a blog that includes some item reviews and delicious recipes for your online Indonesian foods that you can use with items from your local grocery as well. And just so that you can get that more intimate shopowner/shopper feel that you can usually only get in a walk-in Indonesian grocery, many owners also link to their personal website – you know who you are buying from, and you are not just an empty face to them. If there is a problem with the product, almost all sites have a reasonable return policy viable within five days of the original delivery, and you will be credited in the same way you purchased the item within seven days of the return.

So if you have been having trouble finding the right Indonesian grocery for a comfortable taste of the homeland or just an interesting change in your weekly dinners, go online and find a safe, cheaper alternative to driving for hours or purchasing products at other online Indonesian groceries.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Chuck_R_Stewart

Ingredients for Grilled Salmon:

6 pcs Salmon Fillets (about 500 gr)
4 tablespoons Tomato Ketchup
3 tablespoons Sweet Soy Sauce
Lemon Juice (from 1 Lemon)
1/4 teaspoon Salt
1/4 teaspoon Sugar
1/4 teaspoons White Pepper

Ingredients for Sambal Matah:

6 Shallots, sliced
2 cloves Garlic, minced
4 Red Bird Eye Chillies, (optional, if you want to have spicy flavour you can use bird’s eye chilli, if not, you should just replace it with green bell pepper), thinly sliced
4 Kafiir Lime Leaves, spines removed, minced
1/2 Tomato, seeded, cubed
1 block Shrimp Paste
2 tablespoons Vegetable Oil
Salt & Sugar to taste

Directions for Sambal Matah:

1. Put all shallots, garlic, chillies, kafiir lime leaves and tomato into a bowl. Add salt and sugar, mix it well.
2. Heat vegetable oil in a skillet. Crush & fry shrimp paste in the oil for 1 minute. Remove from heat and let it cool to room temperature.
3. Add the fried shrimp paste into the bowl. Mix it well, serve.

Directions for Grilled Salmon:

1. To prepare marinade, put tomato ketchup, sweet soy sauce, lemon juice, salt, sugar & white pepper into a bowl, mix it well.
2. Coat salmon with all marinade. Place fish in the refrigerator and allow it to marinade for about 1 hour.
3. Preheat grill. Grilled salmon until cooked, approximately 3 minutes each side. Served with Sambal Matah.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Fiedha_Anindyajati

Health Benefits

Cinnamon has many health benefits. It has shown promise in the treatment of diabetes, arthritis, high cholesterol, memory function, and even leukemia and lymphoma.

Primary nutrients in 2 teaspoons: 12 calories, 760 mcg. of manganese, 2.5 grams of fiber, 1.72 mg. of iron, 56 mg. of calcium. Cinnamon has been used as a treatment in traditional medicine for over five thousand years!

Types

Although there are four main varieties, Ceylon (Cinnamomum zeylanicum), and Cassia (Cinnamomum cassia) are the most popular. Cinnamon health benefits don’t seem to be significantly different from one type to another.

Ceylon cinnamon is sometimes called “true cinnamon”. It is more expensive and has a sweet taste, milder than Cassia. The quills are softer and can be easily ground in a coffee grinder. The Ceylon type is usually only sold in specialty stores. Ceylon uses only the thin inner bark, and thus has a finer, less dense, and more crumbly texture.

Cassia, the less expensive variety, is the most common type sold in supermarkets in North America. This variety grows on small trees in India, Sri Lanka, Indonesia, Brazil, Vietnam, and Egypt. It has a darker color and the quills are harder.

These varieties are sometimes sold labeled as cinnamon, and sometimes distinguished from true cinnamon as “Chinese,” “Vietnamese,” or “Indonesian.” Cassia has a much stronger flavor than Ceylon, is generally reddish-brown in color, hard and woody in texture, and thicker, as all of the layers of bark are used.

History

The word cinnamon comes from the Greek kinnamomon. Cinnamon is one of the oldest spices known. It was mentioned in the Old Testament (Exodus 30: 22-33), and in Chinese writings as far back as 2800 BC. In Ancient Egypt, cinnamon was used as a flavoring in food and beverages, and also in the embalming process.

Due to its demand, it became one of the first commodities traded regularly between the Near East and Europe. Today, Ceylon cinnamon is produced in Sri Lanka, India, Madagascar, Brazil and the Caribbean, while Cassia is mainly produced in China, Vietnam and Indonesia.

Miscellaneous Facts

Cinnamon is a tree belonging to the Lauraceae family. The bark of the tree is what is used as a spice. True cinnamon, or Ceylon, is native to Sri Lanka (formerly known as Ceylon). To make cinnamon, the bark of the tree is dried and rolled into sticks, also called quills. It can also be dried and ground into a powder.

The primary chemical constituents of this herb include cinnamaldehyde, gum, tannin, mannitol, coumarins and essential oils (aldehydes, eugenol, pinene). Cinnamonaldehyde, a compound in the essential oil of the bark, gives cinnamon its characteristic flavor and aroma.

Buying and Using

Just like with other dried spices, try to select organically grown, since this will give you more assurance that it has not been irradiated (among other potential adverse effects, irradiating cinnamon may cause a significant decrease in vitamin C and carotenoid content).

Cinnamon should be kept in a tightly sealed glass container, in a cool, dark and dry place. Ground cinnamon will keep for about six months, while sticks will stay fresh for about one year stored this way. You can also extend their shelf life by keeping them in your refrigerator.

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Most people who give a backyard grilling party will just buy the sauces from the local grill store or supermarket. But it is not really all that difficult to prepare your own. That will really make your cooking stand out from the rest. Here is a barbecue sauce recipe that can easily be prepared in advance in the kitchen …

Gado-Gado sauce is inspired by Indonesian cuisine and is simple to make. It is a great accompaniment for many dishes, not just those served at backyard grilling parties. Since it is based on peanut butter, it has a rich, nutty flavour and a golden brown colour, so it looks good as well as tasting good. This recipe makes a pouring sauce but if you use more peanut butter and substitute some milk for the stock, you can make a thicker version. The cayenne gives it spiciness; take care not to overdo it as the more subtle flavours will be lost. The honey counteracts and balances the sharpness and acidity of the lemon juice and vinegar, leaving the sauce with a smooth, rounded flavor that complements the nuttiness of the peanut butter base.

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons oil
1 large onion, peeled and chopped up finely
1 large clove of garlic, crushed or chopped finely
1 bay leaf
1-2 teaspoons of finely grated fresh root ginger
half a teaspoon of salt
6-8 tablespoons of peanut butter
1 tablespoon of honey
juice of 1 lemon
1 tablespoon of white wine vinegar
1 teaspoon of soy sauce
1-1 1/4 pint of water
quarter teaspoon of cayenne pepper
ground black pepper to taste

Method:

Gently fry the chopped onion, garlic, bay leaf and grated ginger in a medium sized saucepan, together with the salt. When the onions have become translucent, add the remaining ingredients and mix them thoroughly. The sauce will seem very thin at this stage but will gradually thicken as it cooks. Bring it to the boil, stirring frequently. When it is boiling, reduce the heat to a simmer and stir occasionally to prevent any burning or sticking. Check the seasoning and remove the bay leaf before serving. This can be prepared in advance and reheated at the time of the party, allowing you to concentrate on grilling the main course. Serve hot in a pre-warmed, preferably covered sauce jug.

So as you see, I am not kidding you when I say it is easy, preparation takes only a few minutes and the cooking process does not involve anything really complicated. This sauce is not just great for barbecues, it can easily spice-up any meal that you serve, it goes particularly well with brown rice and risottos. And the name is a real talking point at any dinner party!

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Kevin_Woodward

Other records also show that tempe might be produced using black soybeans before 16th century by Javanese Rural Community in Mataram.

The word tempe probably came from Javanese Ancient Word “tumpi”.

But some also believe that Tempe was first introduced by Chinese immigrants who came to Java. They introduced 3 recipes made from soya beans called Tofu, Tom Ping, and Toya. Tom Ping is Tempe itself.

Enough the story, whether Tempe originally came from Java or China, It’s an undeniable fact that Tempe is an Indonesian Traditional Food. And Indonesians eat most of the tempes in the world.

Tempeh dishes are available in most Javanese households, they prepare various tempe / tempeh dishes daily on their tables, especially those who live in rural places.

Ingredients:

250 g tempe, chop into pieces
150 g beef, boil until softened and dice
50 g green chilies, chop into 1cm size
25 g red chilies, chop into 1cm size
100 g tomato, tear into pieces
6 shallots, slice
3 cloves garlic, slice
1 salam leaf
1 cm galangal, crush
250 cc water
5 tbs kecap manis
1 tsp salt

How to:

1. Heat oil in a frying pan. Fry garlic until brown, add shallots, green chilies, red chilies, salam leaf, galangal and tempe.
2. Add beef, tomato, water, kecap manis and salt, stir fry until the soup evaporate.
3. Serve with hot rice.

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Have the following ingredients on hand in your pantry to make it easier to prepare Indonesian-style dishes. Most ingredients can be found in your local supermarket or greengrocer. Some of the specialized ingredients can be found in Asian Food stores.

These is some of the following ingredients of Indonesian dishes:

- Capsicum: Also known as red or green peppers.

- Capsicum:From the candleberry tree, these nuts look like macadamia nuts and taste like Brazil nuts. Available from Asian Food strores.

- Cardamon: Spice from the ginger family. Seeds are purchased whole, either in or out of their pods, or grounds.

- Chillies: Small red chillies are the hottest. The larger red chillies are milder and green chillies are milder still. Seeds are often discarded as they are the hottest part of the chilli.

- Coconut Cream: Thick white liquid that rises to the surface when coconut milk is left to stand.

- Coconut Milk: This is not the juice from the inside of the fresh coconut but the liquid extracted from the white flesh.

- Coriander: Indonesians use only the seed of the coriander plant, not the leaves or roots.

- Cumin: An aromatic spice with a pungent flavour, seeds are available whole or ground.

- Egg Noodles (fine, dry): looks like fine spaghetti which has been wound into a small bundles.

- Ginger: Fresh ginger root is recommended, rather than dried. Indonesians also use laos and galagal which give a similar flavour and are occasionally available fresh from Asian Food stores.

- Palm Sugar: Dark brown sugar made from the juice of the coconut palm flower. Sold in hard blocks, cut off required amount and crush it. Available from Asian Food stores.

- Peanut Oil: A light oil used extensively in Indonesian cooking. Coconut oil is also used.

- Rice Flour: Is finely ground white or brown rice and often used as a thickener.

- Shrimp Paste(terasi): Extremely pungent, salty paste, sold in jars. Also available in hard blocks, use sparingly.

- Soy Sauce (kecap): Light soy sauce which is thin and salty. Kecap manis is dark soy sauce which is thick and sweet.

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Besides richness of customs and many good destinations, Padang has hundreds of food recipes. If you visiting Padang City one time, don’t forget to taste The Padang Cuisine. Padang Cuisine one of the famous Indonesian culinary.

Padang was famous with the spicy foods that is Rendang, base material rendang from egg or meat and red pepper.

I am sure after having a meal Rendang your sight will be more bright, and you can refresh your mind…..of course after that you can do your activity with fresh, fresh…. hah!

Here is complete recipe:

For 4 portions serving:

- ¼ kg. Meat
- 4 cloves red onion
- red pepper (as your desire)
- chili (as your desire)
- 3 cloves garlic
- 4 – 5 cloves candlenut
-1 stick lemongrass
- 3 pcs lemon leaf
- 1 clove ginger plant
- salt
- sugar palm
- Flavoring
- vegetable oil
- coconut milk

Cooking instructions:

Slice meat as your desire and then clean it.
Boiling water then put meat inside and let it boil for 15 minutes
Raises meat (in order it more tender)
Pound all of ingredients or spices except lemongrass, lemon leaf and ginger plant.

Fry all of ingredients, put inside lemongrass, lemon leaf and ginger plant let it up to good smell, then put meat inside pour coconut milk sufficiently.

Cooking its up to water shrink, then rendang spicy ready for serving.

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