WHETHER it’s an entire spit-roasted pig or the more accessible skillet-braised shoulder, pork frequently is the focus of feasts during religious festivals in Bali, a pocket of Hindu tradition in majority-Muslim Indonesia.
One particularly delicious dish is babi guling, a fork-tender pig roast seasoned with a long list of spices and aromatics. For the version in our book “COOKish,” which limits recipes to just six ingredients without sacrificing flavor, we used one of our favorite spice cabinet shortcuts — the blend garam masala, which includes cumin, cardamom, cinnamon, mace, black pepper, coriander and sometimes more. Adding turmeric and lemon grass layers in more complexity.
We start by making a paste with the lemon grass, shallots and turmeric, then add the spice blend and brown sugar, which adds sweetness that balances all the spice and helps with browning in the oven. The paste gets rubbed into all the nooks and crannies
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