Chef Sashi Cheliah, who is currently a judge on Celebrity MasterChef Tamil exclusively reveals the recipe to his favourite dish to HT Lifestyle.
Chef Sashi Cheliah is currently one of the judges on Celebrity MasterChef Tamil, eight years after he won Season 10 of MasterChef Australia. Having been born and raised in Singapore, he says the Singaporean dish that changed his life years ago still holds special meaning for him in more ways than one. And it’s not just the flavour, but the memory behind it.
“It was the first dish I cooked for MasterChef Australia, and it eventually earned me my apron to participate in the competition. Every time I cook it, it takes me back to that moment,” he exclusively tells HT Lifestyle while sharing the recipe, adding, “It’s a rich and aromatic dish that combines lamb with chilli, lemongrass, galangal, ginger, turmeric, coconut milk and kaffir lime leaves. The secret is in the slow cooking, which allows all those flavours to develop and the lamb to become beautifully tender.”
Chef Sashi Cheliah’s special Lamb Rendang recipe:
Ingredients
For the rendang paste:
30 dried chillies, soaked and deseeded
2 red chillies, roughly chopped
2 stalks lemongrass, roughly chopped
20 g fresh turmeric
20 g fresh ginger
50 g young galangal
250 g shallots
2 cloves garlic
For the rendang:
4 tbsp coconut oil
1 kg lamb, preferably rump, cut into small pieces
20 g kaffir lime leaves, finely chopped
100 g palm sugar
400 ml coconut milk
100 g shredded coconut, toasted
2 tsp salt
1 cup water
Cooking method
Make the paste: Blend the dried and fresh chillies, lemongrass, turmeric, ginger, galangal, shallots and garlic until you have a smooth paste.
Cook the paste: Heat the coconut oil in a large pan and fry the paste for about 5 minutes until fragrant.
Add the lamb: Add the lamb and coat it well in the rendang paste.
Build the flavours: Add the kaffir lime leaves, palm sugar, coconut milk, toasted coconut and water. Bring everything to a gentle boil.
Slow cook: Reduce the heat and simmer for about 1–1½ hours, or until the lamb is tender and the sauce has reduced and thickened. Stir occasionally.
Season: Taste and adjust the salt if required.
Serve: Serve hot with coconut rice or steamed rice.