When I attended my friend Aisya’s Hari Raya open house a few years ago, I had the opportunity to eat quite possibly the most delicious beef rendang tok on the planet. Cooked by her mother, Dr Zalina Mohd Ali, a wonderful home cook, the dry rendang was coconut-ey and laced with a rich array of spices, with beef that was tender and malleable. I couldn’t stop eating it – diet be damned! – and begged Aisya’s mother for the recipe.

I am forever indebted to her, because she obliged. I made it the next weekend to oohs and aahs of delight from the rest of my family. Although the original recipe calls for beef, I mostly make it with lamb, as my husband does not eat beef. But because Aunty Zalina’s recipe is so good, the rendang tastes just as phenomenal with either meat.