Malay Chicken Curry (Kari Ayam)

Malay Chicken Curry

This used to be my mom's Sunday lunch treat in Singapore when I was a child - a potful of steaming, spicy and delicious chicken curry. So when I moved to Chicago, my mom's chicken curry was one of the first things I decided to learn to cook to beat my homesickness. There were some necessary improvisations though (albeit minimal!) - such as the addition of light plain yoghurt to complement the light coconut milk that we get canned in the US. In Singapore, the coconut milk we use tends to be quite fresh, as the coconut is grated right in front of our eyes at the market, and later squeezed by hand at home to drain its juice. 


Connie and I cook this often when we invite friends over for dinner. The last dinner was for Connie's dear friends who loved Southeast Asian food, but are not used to the food's heat.  Hence we created a version of the curry that was not spicy.  The recipe below, though is the traditional one, with as much spice as you would encounter in Singapore and Malaysia! It is always great to share a meal so close to my heart with new friends. What a better way to get to know each other than through the food of our childhood? - Ros

Perfect for...  Cold wintery days in Chicago (e.g., the Blizzard); and times that require either deep comfort and warmth (to save us from the rainy days and the situation with the economy!) or to celebrate the joy of being alive!


How to Eat:  Ros taught me to eat this with 'stewed pineapple' (recipe in another entry), which was entirely foreign to me.  Prior to trying it I thought it would be something like a warm jam, but instead it is the perfect companion to curry!  It gives it the right 'twang' of sweetness and acidity, just enough to bring out the beautiful aroma of the curry.  I loved it and it is still one of my all time favorite dishes! Note that this is definitely not the traditional Indian curry we are all used to sampling, or the Thai curry for that matter - but something quite unique and tasty.  - Connie

Level: Intermediate

Time to cook: 1 hour

Servings: 5 - 6

Ingredients

4 chicken breasts

4 chicken thighs

2 tomatoes (cut into cubes of 1.5 inches approximately)

3 potatoes (cut into cubes of 1.5 inches approximately)

1 small tub of plain fat free yoghurt

1 14 oz can of coconut milk (preferably light)

2 tbsp tamarind paste

3 tbsp peanut oil

3 medium sized shallots (sliced)

1 tbs chili paste (sambal oelek)

2 tbs curry powder

3 garlic cloves (sliced)

1 inch ginger (sliced)

10  dried curry leaves

Method

1. Blend in a food processor the following: Shallots, chili paste (sambal oelek), curry powder, garlic cloves and ginger. Add the yoghurt and continue blending until it becomes a paste. Set aside.

2. Heat wok and pour the peanut oil. 

3. When hot, pan fry the curry leaves for 2 minutes, then remove.

4. Pan fry the chicken (skin down for 3 minutes, and turn for another 2 minutes) - place skin down, sprinkle each piece with a pinch of salt and a pinch of cracked pepper. - Note, don't overcrowd the pan or it will 'steam'.  Instead do it in 2 - 3 batches if necessary.  Once browned, place the chicken in a separate dish and set aside

5. Fry the shallot and chilly paste we earlier blended (Step 1), in the oil that remains in the wok once the chicken has been browned.

6. Put the pan fried chicken back into the wok and mix with the paste.

7. Add water in the wok until the chicken is covered, then add in the can of coconut milk.

8. Add the tomato cubes in the wok and cook for 20 minutes over high heat.  The tomatoes should be cooked until they wilt and mix into the sauce, there is no need to remove the tomatoes.

9. Add a 4 tsps of water to the tamarind paste.  Mix lightly and squeeze the water out of the tamarind.  Discard the tamarind, and add the tamarind water to the wok. The tamarind water will give a nice tangy flavor to our curry.

10.Then add in the potato cubes. Potatoes should cook in approximately 10 - 15 minutes, until fork tender. When done, remove them from the wok to prevent disintegration. 

11. Cook for another 20 minutes until chicken is fully cooked (breasts will cook faster, so take them out of the wok once they are cooked, while the thighs finish cooking).
12. Season with salt and sugar to taste.

13. Serve with hot steamed jasmine rice. An excellent accompaniment to this dish is my Malay stewed pineapple dish called 'Pajri Nenas) - recipe available earlier.

Copyright delimilli 2011