Nasi Goreng Lengkap (Festive Yellow Rice)

Ingredients (Serves 8-10)
1kg (2lb) long grain rice
4 tablespoons oil
2 large onions, finely sliced
3 gloves garlic, finely chopped
8 cups coconut milk
4 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons ground turmeric
3 duan salam or 6 curry leaves
2 strips pandanus leaf (optional)
Banana leaves or bamboo leaves (for serving)

Garnish:
6 marbled eggs
2 green cucumbers
3 fresh red chillies
3 fresh green chillies

If rice needs washing, wash well beforehand and allow it to drain for at least 1 hour.

Heat oil in a large saucepan with a well fitting lid. Fry onions and garlic until onions are soft and golden, stirring frequently to prevent burning. Add rice and fry for a minute or two, then add coconut milk, salt, turmeric and leaves for flavouring. Bring to the boil, stirring with a long spoon. As soon as the liquid comes to the boil, turn heat very low, cover tightly with lid and allow to steam for 20 minutes.

Uncover, quickly stir in with a fork any coconut milk that remains unabsorbedaround edge of pan, replace lid and leave on same low heat for a further 3 minutes. Turn off heat, uncover and allow steam to escape and rice to cool slightly.

Remove leaves used for flavouring and gently fork rice onto a large platter or a tray lined with well washed banana or bamboo leaves. Shape rice into a cone, pressing firmly. Use pieces of greased banana leaf or foil to do this. Surround with any accompaniments (which should be made beforehand) and garnish.

Garnish: Take the six marbled eggs (made by standing shelled hard boiled eggs in water and food colouring for 2 hours) and cut each in halves lengthways.

Score the skin of the cucumbers with a fork and cut in very thin slices.

Make a flower with one of the red chillies, and cut the others into thin diagonal slices. Flip out seeds with the point of a small knife.

To make a chilli flower, cut off the stem end and slit several times with opint of a sharp knife from about 2.5cm (1inch) above the tip to the cut end of the stem. Drop into iced water to make the strips curl.

Put the flower on top of the cone, scatter the sliced chillies around the side of the cone, and put the sliced cucumbers and marbled egss around the base.

Taken from: Betty's Kitchen