How to Make Gulai Kambing (Goat Curry)
Last Updated on March 26, 2024 by Damian
Welcome to another great Indonesian recipe! Gulai kambing is a goat curry with a really nice curry sauce (gulai)! Definitely check this one out if you’re into a great curry.
To make gulai kambing, make a spice paste from various traditional spices. Fry the paste and add the chunks of goat meat and shortly fry the mixture. Add coconut milk and some water to complete the gulai kambing! Boil the meat until tender and enjoy!
What is gulai kambing?
Gulai kambing, directly translated to “goat curry”, is a way to prepare goat meat in a very rich tasting gulai, a curry-like sauce. The Gulai is build from coconut milk and various spices to create a very rich and colorful curry.
The dish is usually served with rice or other sides dishes to create very complex main courses, as usual in Indonesian cuisine. I combined the recipe with various dishes to make my own nasi kandar! Let’s continue on how to make gulai kambing!
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Step 1: Collect the ingredients
Gulai kambing
Ingredients
- 400 g goat meat (or lamb meat)
- 400 ml coconut milk
- 1 disc of ginger
- 3 salam leaves
- 3 kaffir leaves
Spice mix
- 1 large red onion
- 4 garlic cloves
- 3 red chillies
Dried spices
- 2 tsp galangal powder
- 1 tsp turmeric powder
- 2 tsp palm sugar
- 2 tsp smoked paprika powder
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 2 tsp cumin powder
- 2 tsp coriander powder
- 1 tsp salt
- 2 tsp white pepper
- 2 tsp lemon grass powder (or fresh)
Instructions
- Collect the ingredients
- Chop the ingredients and grind the spice paste
- Cook the gulai kambing
- Serve gulai kambing
What to consider when choosing the ingredients
This gulai kambing is very rich in flavor and therefore has a lot of spices in the recipe! Starting with the protein, traditionally goat meat is used but many people like to use lamb as it’s more commonly sold in some parts of the world. Choose as you wish!
The amounts also vary depending on preference. Since I made this curry in combination with many other side dishes to create nasi kandar, I used 100 g per person which might not be enough if this is the main dish for your own recipe!
Coconut milk is a must to create a great gulai, rich in flavor and great for softening the high amount of spices. I used a thick coconut milk high in fat to get a really creamy, great looking gulai!
The fresh spices include ginger, salam leaves and kaffir leaves as they are commonly used in Indonesian cuisine and give great authentic flavors! Pick any fresh spices you desire and play around if you wish.
I wanted to create a simple spice mix to create the structure of the spice paste when combined with the dried spices! Garlic, onion and chillies, mixed with the high amount of dried spices yield a very nice flavor and visually appealing spice paste.
Do as you please with the spice paste but keep in mind to use traditional spices if you want to create a traditional dish like this one! I really love the dried spices that are used here and the end result is very amazing!
Let’s continue with the next steps on how to make gulai kambing!
Step 2: Chop the ingredients and grind the spice paste
Start chopping the meat if not done so already. Chop the chillies, garlic and onion roughly and add to a food processor or hand grinder. I highly recommend getting a food processor if you want to do some serious cooking. I use it very often so I have a high quality one. Click here to order the one I have.
Grind the chillies, garlic and onion into a paste and add the dried spices.
Pay attention to the change in color, a very important part of implementing a spice paste! All there’s left is the cooking part, almost there!
Step 3: Cook the gulai kambing
Take cooking pot or frying pan, set to medium heat and add some (sunflower) oil. Lightly fry the spice paste while stirring.
Add the meat pieces after a minute or 2 and stir-fry.
After a couple of minute of stir-frying, add the coconut milk and optionally some water if the moist to meat ratio is not to your liking. Stir well and bring to a boil.
Let it boil until the meat is tender, this took about 30 minutes for me but if you are using more meat in bigger cuts it might take some more time. It’s hard to go wrong here, try a piece after 20 or 30 minutes and check for tenderness.
You should have achieved a great tasting goat curry at this point. Add some more spices if you want some more flavor (add coconut milk if the flavor is too much) and cook for longer if the meat is tough.
Also consider cooking with the lid on will not decrease the moist level as much as cooking without the lid (thickening the sauce).
Like I mentioned I used the gulai kambing to create nasi kandar so I served on top of some steamed rice and a lot of side dishes. Serve as you please on rice, with side dishes or with flatbread.
Some sides I can recommend:
I hope you enjoyed this recipe as much as I did. Let me know what you made and please leave a rating!
FAQ
What is gule kambing in English?
Gule Kambing is a traditional Indonesian dish which translates to “goat stew” in English.
Is gulai the same as curry?
Gulai is a very traditional sauce that can be considered a curry. I imagine it depends who you ask to consider gulai as a curry.
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