I know it sounds gross but this is a very delicious snack or side dish in a rijsttafel.
PREP THE LUNGS FOR BOILING
1 kg cow lungs - remove all visible bronchi and membranes, wash well and drained
Boil a big pot of water. Add salt, 2 sticks of lemon grass (the white parts only and these should be lightly crushed with a pestle)and a thumb-sized skinned old ginger. The purpose of adding the lemon grass and ginger is to rid the smell of the offal. Add the offal when the water starts to boil. Boil until the lungs are 3/4 cooked.
Drain the pot and rinse the lungs in cold water. Drain well since the lungs will be deep-fried later.
Slice the lungs into thin pieces of about 1/2 cm thickness. At this point, remove any visible bronchi that you come across during slicing.
PREP THE LUNGS FOR DEEP-FRYING
The spices plays an important role to impart flavours to an otherwise tasteless pieces of rubber. In a big mixing bowl, mix chilli powder, turmeric powder, freshly grounded toasted coriander seeds, freshly grounded toasted cumin and salt. If you like spiciness, add the chilli powder. Otherwise, it is optional. A note on turmeric powder: use sparing or else too much will make any dish tastes bitter. Use it enough to give some colour and flavour to the offal (or any meat).
Add some water to make a thick paste. You may taste the paste to see if the flavours are all right.
Add the lung slices to the bowl and coat every piece with the spicy paste.
Heat up a pot of vegetable oil on a medium flame to deep-fry the slices. Deep-fry until the slices are crispy but not burnt. It should take about 5 mins or less since the lungs are already pre-cooked. Drain the fried slices well in a colander or on paper towel.
You will end up with bits of spices in the oil after removing the fried slices, It is important to skim off these fried bits of spices (coriander, cumin etc.) and dispose before frying a new batch of lung slices. Otherwise, you'll get burnt grit coating the lung slices and this will discolour and alter the flavour of the side dish.
Serve these hot with steamed white rice or eat on its own with some chilli sauce or tomato ketchup.
