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This curry is cooked for a couple of hours so the meat is lovely and tender. Choose some vegetables that will cook slowly with the dish. We found some cheap butternut squash already sliced in a packet so added these in, along with a carrot. If you don’t have squash, potatoes would be a fine substitute. It’s quite a sweet curry and goes really well with a nice glass of white wine.  The fresh coriander leaves added at the end really adds an extra element to this dish so make sure you get some when shopping.

Serves 2 (with leftovers for one or two more meals)
Ingredients:

For the Rendang paste
1 heaped tbsp chopped fresh ginger (or 1 tbsp powdered ginger)
2 tbsp garlic infused oil
2 tsp turmeric
1 dried long red chilli (or any other chilli really), crumbled ( or finely chopped)
1 tsp. cinnamon powder
1 tsp coriander powder
1 tsp cumin powder
1 tbsp sunflower oil for frying

For the rest of the ingredients

500g braising or stewing steak, cut into 2cm/1inch cubes
4 kaffir lime leaves or zest of one large lime
400ml coconut milk (or if you use coconut cream then make up to 400mls with extra water)
1 lemon, juice only
1 tbsp. rice wine vinegar
Large pinch of salt
1 tbsp palm sugar (or soft brown sugar / any sugar)
Optional 1 tbsp. of fish sauce
Two handfuls of butternut squash slices
1 carrot, cut into 2cm chunks

Coriander leaves to garnish

Serve with some rice; I used Thai Jasmine rice here, although others can make a nice alternative such as Sushi rice as its just so sticky and nice!

Instructions:
For the Rendang paste, place the ingredients into a bowel and give a good mix.

Heat a wok (or large pan) and add the oil. Fry the paste over a medium to high heat until the paste turns darker and releases all its lovely aromas (this will only take a few minutes).
Fry the meat in the paste stirring all the time, until it is browned.
Pour over the coconut milk and turn down the heat to bring to a gentle simmer; add the kaffir lime leaves / zest of a lime, lemon juice, fish sauce, vinegar and palm sugar.
Now add the vegetables, season with salt, stir well then continue to simmer with the lid on for between one hour and one hour and a half, stirring occasionally during this time.

Take the lid off and cook for a further half an hour to concentrate the curry flavour; the liquid will reduce and the colour will darken.
By now the meat should be really tender and the sauce richer. Serve with the cooked rice and garnish with some fresh coriander leaves.

Although this dish misses a couple of traditional ingredients e.g. tamarind paste its surprisingly authentic tasting and if you like a sweeter curry you will love this.

Time: 2 hours
Preparation: 20 minutes
Cooking: 2 hours

LeeMartinRD

Lee is a UK Registered Dietitian who worked as a researcher at King’s College London University researching the low FODMAP diet for irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). Previously Lee worked for the NHS with many years’ experience of treating IBS. Lee has run a popular blog www.rmdietetic.com on the low FODMAP diet since 2013 where you can learn all about his experiences of following the low FODMAP diet, find information on the research behind the diet, the practicalities of implementing the diet along with low FODMAP meal and baking recipes. This year Lee has published the first ever book dedicated to the reintroduction phase of the low FODMAP diet. More information on the book entitled ‘Re-challenging and Reintroducing FODMAPS: A self-help guide to the entire reintroduction phase of the low FODMAP diet’ can be found on the website www.reintroducingfodmaps.com