Nasi gandul or in Javanese sega gandhul (

Hanacaraka Hanacaraka is the native name for the following indigenous scripts used in Indonesia: *The Balinese script *The Javanese script *The Sundanese script Standard Sundanese script (''Aksara Sunda Baku'', ) is a writing system which is used by the ...

: ꦱꦼꦒꦒꦤ꧀ꦝꦸꦭ꧀) is a rice dish served in rich, sweet, savoury and spicy beef soup, specialty of Pati Regency,

Central Java Central Java ( id, Jawa Tengah) is a province of Indonesia, located in the middle of the island of Java. Its administrative capital is Semarang. It is bordered by West Java in the west, the Indian Ocean and the Special Region of Yogyakarta in t ...

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...

. Nasi gandul consists of steamed rice topped with slices of

beef Beef is the culinary name for meat from cattle (''Bos taurus''). In prehistoric times, humankind hunted aurochs and later domesticated them. Since that time, numerous breeds of cattle have been bred specifically for the quality or quantity ...

served in spicy soup with savoury flavour in golden-brownish colour. Nasi gandul is somewhat quite similar to other Indonesian dishes; beef semur,

tongseng Tongseng is an Indonesian goat meat, mutton or beef stew dish in curry-like soup with vegetables and ''kecap manis'' (sweet soy sauce). ''Tongseng'' is commonly found in Indonesian region of Central Java; from Surakarta to Yogyakarta. However, it ...

and Javanese gulai.

Etymology

The term ''gandul'' in

Javanese language Javanese (, , ; , Aksara Jawa: , Pegon: , IPA: ) is a Malayo-Polynesian language spoken by the Javanese people from the central and eastern parts of the island of Java, Indonesia. There are also pockets of Javanese speakers on the northe ...

means "hanging". The name was derived from the way of travelling vendor selling this food in the past; i.e. by using ''pikulan'' or balancing rod; in which the rice and other ingredients are placed "hanging" on the rod. Today however, most of nasi gandul sellers are not mobile and not travelling anymore; most open modest ''

warung A warung ( old spelling: waroeng or warong) is a type of small family-owned business — a small retail, eatery or café — in Indonesia (and to a lesser extent, Malaysia and Suriname). A ''warung'' is an essential part of daily life in ...

'' eatery instead.

Ingredients

Nasi gandul uses slices of

, sometimes offals are also included; cooked in spicy and savoury

coconut milk Coconut milk is an opaque, milky-white liquid extracted from the grated pulp of mature coconuts. The opacity and rich taste of coconut milk are due to its high oil content, most of which is saturated fat. Coconut milk is a traditional food i ...

-based soup. The spice mixture used in the soup are

garlic Garlic (''Allium sativum'') is a species of bulbous flowering plant in the genus ''Allium''. Its close relatives include the onion, shallot, leek, chive, Allium fistulosum, Welsh onion and Allium chinense, Chinese onion. It is native to South A ...

, shallot,

chili pepper Chili peppers (also chile, chile pepper, chilli pepper, or chilli), from Nahuatl '' chīlli'' (), are varieties of the berry-fruit of plants from the genus ''Capsicum'', which are members of the nightshade family Solanaceae, cultivated for ...

, candlenut,

ginger Ginger (''Zingiber officinale'') is a flowering plant whose rhizome, ginger root or ginger, is widely used as a spice A spice is a seed, fruit, root, bark, or other plant substance primarily used for flavoring or coloring food. Spices ...

palm sugar Palm sugar is a sweetener derived from any variety of palm tree. Palm sugar is sometimes qualified by the type of palm, as in coconut palm sugar. While sugars from different palms may have slightly different compositions, all are processed s ...

, and

cinnamon Cinnamon is a spice obtained from the inner bark of several tree species from the genus ''Cinnamomum''. Cinnamon is used mainly as an aromatic condiment and flavouring additive in a wide variety of cuisines, sweet and savoury dishes, breakfa ...

. The method of serving nasi gandul is quite unique, since the dish is usually served upon banana leaf sheet on a plate. Sprinkle of crispy '' bawang goreng'' (fried shallot), or ''bawang putih goreng'' (fried garlic), are added on top prior of serving. Traditionally, it is not consumed using spoon, but using ''suru'', which is spoon made from banana leaf.

References

{{Indonesian cuisine Javanese cuisine Indonesian soups Indonesian rice dishes

Etymology

Ingredients

See also

References