Thursday, August 19, 2010

Malaysian Curry Chicken

I first came across this particular Malaysian curry chicken recipe last year and since then have stuck with it, with some adaption to the original recipe of course! I will cook curry chicken now and then. During the recent blogger's meetup, I contributed this dish as part of the feast which we all enjoyed. I particular like my curry chicken to have a thicker gravy and a more robust flavour.

If you ask any Malaysian, they would probably have their own version of a curry chicken dish. As Malaysia is a multi-racial country, each ethnic race, Chinese, Malay, Indian, Eurasian would have a different version of curry chicken. Additional ingredients may be used such as spices, like star anise, cloves or cinnamon stick, lemon grass, fresh or dried red chillies, candlenut, fresh tomatoes, blue ginger, tumeric root, tamarind paste, fresh curry leaves, yoghurt or dried shrimp paste. The flavours of each curry dish will also vary based on the additonal ingredients used.

(Photos were taken in a rush, so quality was somewhat compromised.)

curry chicken 2


Malaysian Curry Chicken
Recipe Adapted from "MalaysianFood.net"

Ingredients:

1 medium sized chicken (about 1.5kg) cut into serving size pieces
6 Tbsp Malaysian meat curry powder (or any brand meat curry powder) - I used Baba's meat curry powder
2 Tbsp chili powder (slightly less or more, depending on spice levels)
1/2 cup cooking oil
200ml thick coconut cream (I used Kara brand)
1 1/2 cups water
4 medium sized potatoes, cut into 1/2 or 1/3
Salt to taste
1/3 cup sliced red shallots (grind finely)
8 cloves of garlic, sliced (grind finely)
1 1/2 inch fresh ginger, sliced (grind finely)
2" piece cinnamon stick
3 pieces star anise
4 - 5 pieces of cloves
4 stalks of curry leaves, stalk removed

Method:

1) Grind the shallots, garlic and ginger until fine and set aside.

2) In a small bowl, combine meat curry powder and chili powder, add a few tbsp of water and mix into a thick paste.

3) in a large pot (preferably non-stick), heat oil on high, add ground paste, cinnamon, star anise and cloves, stir-fry until fragrant (about 4 - 5 minutes)

4) Add curry paste and curry leaves, reduce heat to medium-low, stir-fry until fragrant and oil starts to ooze from paste. Make sure that you keep stirring to prevent the paste from burning.

5) Add chicken pieces, bring heat up to med-high, stir to coat chicken well with curry paste. Fry for about 3 - 4 minutes.

6) Add the water and followed with coconut cream.

7) Bring to a boil and then reduce heat to slow to medium fire. Simmer covered for about 25 minutes. Stir occasionally.

8) Then add the potatoes and salt to taste. Continue cooking for about 15 - 20 minutes until the potatoes are tender and soft.

9) Serve curry with bread, prata or steamed white rice.

curry chicken 1

curry chicken 3

24 comments:

Little Inbox said...

Your chicken curry looks so good, and most importantly not so oily.

ICook4Fun said...

This awesome looking chicken curry reminds me of my mom's curry. She too like to used curry powder and chili powder with little spices with it.

tigerfish said...

I agree. I think everybody has their own version of curry chicken but it does not mean there can only be one delicious curry chicken. There can be many including this one :)

Cooking Gallery said...

I think a plate of curry with rice is always something very comforting (and spicy :)). I always use instant paste for curry dishes, too lazy to pound the spices myself ;).

Angie's Recipes said...

I like all kinds of curry chicken...esp. the sauce! This looks thoroughly delightful!

MaryMoh said...

Beautiful colour and looks delicious. I love chicken curry with potatoes added and using coconut milk....mmmm....soooo good with rice.

Sonia ~ Nasi Lemak Lover said...

I cook curry too but mine is Mamak style, yummy!

busygran said...

Wow! That looks spicy and good to go with chapati!

Anh said...

Awesome!! You have captured the greatness of this curry very well! Now I want some, badly :)

Juliana said...

Wow, your chicken curry looks so yummie, love the vibrant color of the dish...very pretty!

Nessie @ bakingequalslove said...

Yum! We went to Malaysia for the first time last year and loved loved loved the food. Malaysian curries are SO good. Must try this recipe. Does the 2 Tbsp chilli powder make it very very spicy? Would 1 Tbsp be around mild? Thanks :)

Bakericious said...

Jo, I love your curry chicken! I love thick thick gravy too, I can drink finish the whole curry gravy hahaha...

Jo said...

Hi Liitle Inbox, this version is not as oily as some curries I have had.

Hi ICook4Fun, I have other versions of curry eg. Curry Kapitan and I would use all fresh ingredients. So a little bit more work here.

Hi Tigerfish, agree .. there are many versions.

Hi Cooking Gallery, Mary & BusyGran, yup today would be a good day as it's cold and wet outside. Good with chapati too! Haha.

Hi Angie, Sonia & Anh, if you have time, give this a try and I value your feedback.

Hi Juliana, thanks.

Hi Nessie, if you are not into spicy food, you can omit it altogether. I myself don't take too spicy but 2 tablespoon was fine with me. Suggest you try with 1 tablespoon first. And if you plan to cook it again, add more the next time round.

Oh dear Jess, I have to give you one of those bubble tea straws to suck up the gravy. :P

Kitchen Corner said...

WOW!! Thanks for sharing the recipe. I miss your curry chicken so much especially it's a Malaysian curry. I think I'm homesick :P

Noob Cook said...

I love this type of curry where the sauce is relatively thick. I usually eat double servings of rice to enjoy the sauce hehe

Passionate About Baking said...

Ah, this was what we had for the bloggers' meetup? Looks so good! I love your thick curry. It's so good with the baguette. Yummy. I'm beginning to miss it... Didn't know this is Malaysian style.

pigpigscorner said...

Looks so good! I always use ready-made paste =P

Pei-Lin said...

Jo, you're so right on that! Growing up as a Malaysian, I can tell you confidently that I can distinguish the different types of curry. Disregarding those "healthier" contemporary version (that replaces coconut milk with evaporated milk):

Chinese curry: with a sweeter note, and fairly intense santan flavor

Indian & Mamak curry: whole spices are used and with intense santan taste, sometimes, yogurt instead of santan is used (I used to this at Mamak's stall: I'd use the ladle provided and "scrape" the bottom of the serving vessel ... just to look for those spices. Haha!)

Malay curry: More on the yellowish side, resembling khaki color!? With intense santan taste, and a milder spicy touch compared to the Indian/Mamak one

Nyonya curry: Almost as spicy as the Indian one, except sometimes pineapples are thrown in for that sweet kick (I suppose)

Eurasian curry: Sweeter also, with a spicy kick too. Not as hot, toned with the use of evaporated milk (I can be wrong on this though.)

Aiya, all these are based on my interpretation, which can be erroneous. Taste is so subjective. One thing for sure, I always love my curry gravy on the thicker side. This type is called "rendang" right? I don't like thin, runny curry gravy ... Yeek!

Thanks for sharing! Missing your curry! Btw, Merdeka Day is coming ... Maybe can consider participating in http://babeinthecitykl.blogspot.com/2010/08/merdeka-open-house-2010-announcing.html

Hope to see yours if you're participating!

Allie said...

This looks sooo delicious!

Anh said...

Jo I made this curry today and it's so yummy. Simple and delicious! Thanks for sharing this recipe :)

Jo said...

Hi Pei-Lin, LOL you really know your stuff!

Hi Anh, so glad that you liked the recipe.

Anonymous said...

This sounds delicious. I've never tried or made a Malaysia curry before and think I'll make this my first. I have all the ingredients except the "meat" curry powder, but I guess I'll just try it with regular curry power -- or is that completely different?

Jo said...

Hi Avocado, I believe the spices are slightly different but if you can't get the meat version, it is alright to use just the normal curry powder.

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