Malay chicken curry

Chicken. Chicken. And more chicken.
How do you look at this relevant source of protein? A mere bird will be an insult.
From what I see around, it's certainly a way of life. One often comes across humans, complaining about the odour of fish which they dislike, the mutton-y flavor of mutton, the non-conformist slaughter of beef and the dirt love of pigs. But chicken with changing times, have added more feathers to their cap, and how.

Well, it certainly isn't the birthday of the bird for sure. In case if you do not endorse the above mentioned words, you are most welcome to look through them, but in case you have valid reasons to in or against, I am all ears. Now that chicken has been on my mind and words, let's try our hands at cooking a sort of chicken curry that guarantees a burst of flavors, a lip smacking gravy and juicy chicken. Let me own up before we begin, that I am no clue if they cook chicken like this in Malaysia, et al!!Oh yes! In case if you wish to make this a celebratory dish, serve it with steamed rice. Life is a daily celebration for me.!!

So here is how to make it, and yes lets have a look at the ingredients as well. Easy available right?

1. Cut a kilo of chicken into 6 pc, clean and wash and pat dry and keep aside. Zest & juice 1 lime and keep aside. Chop up 1 medium onion, finely + slit 3 green chilies,,and keep aside.
2. Put a large non stick pan on low-medium heat & dry roast 100 gm desiccated coconut for about 20 mins or till golden brown. Set aside. Reserve 1 tbsp of the coconut for sprinkling on top while serving.

3.  It's time to make the important base of the curry, the fragrant spice paste:
Blitz the following into a coarse paste:  50 gm fresh ginger ( rough chop) + 6 fat cloves of garlic + 4 fresh red chilies + half start anise+ 1 tbsp coriander seeds+ 3 tbsp water+ 20 gm fresh turmeric ( or 3/4 tsp turmeric powder is just fine, just that you will loose out of the color and the flavors of the fresh kind).

4. Heat 2.5 tbsp vegetable oil in the casserole, and in 3 dry red chilies, broken along with 1 no medium onion, fine chopped. Be patient and fry until they become soft and acquire the beautiful light brown color.

5. Once the onions have taken the desired shade of brown, add in the coarsely ground spice paste. Turn up the heat to medium-high and fry till the aroma entices you, and the oil starts appearing on the sides of the pan, which would take about 2-3 mins, max.

6. Add the chicken pieces into the pan along with some freshly crushed black pepper powder ( about 2 tbsp) & stir on medium flame to coast well in the spice base. The raw pink chicken should also change color at this time.

7. stir in the lime zest+ 2 tsp juice + 2 lime leaves (torn) + 130 ml coconut thin milk+ 100 ml water+ 2 tsp apricot jam+ toasted coconut and the slit green chilies+ 2 tbsp light soy sauce+ a generous pinch of salt. Give a good mix. Plonk on a lid and allow the magic to happen for 25 mins, on a low flame.

8. After 25 mins, check the done-ness of the chicken. Time to adjust seasoning if you wish to. They should be done by now. Take the chicken pieces out in a bowl.

9. Cook the gravy for about 5 more mins, without cover on a medium- high flame for the flavors to mingle well, and the gravy thickens.
10 Place the chicken along with gravy in a bowl and drizzle with some coconut milk + toasted coconut+ coriander leaves. Serve with steamed rice.

It is damn easy, considering that this involves minimum chopping, which many a time turns out to be the most painful chore after a long day at work or otherwise. India being a tropical country braving the kitchen heat is a task, difficult to endure(no matter how much you are in love with it is also a task at times). With me, this recipe is a hit, because I feed it friends, after long boozy evenings, when dinner is a post midnight affair. And their tummies are full of starters and liquids.The sweetness of the coconut milk and the flavors of the lime leaves and zest bring in the dash of freshness. The rice of-course, as they say, help in easy absorption of your topple of choice.

Oops!! I guess I did forget to mention that I came across this recipe years back in a digital newspaper. The recipe is by proclaimed chef Yotam Ottolenghi, and yes he is one of those I look up to. Not only do I love the way he speaks, but the way he mingles flavors in every dish is mind blowing. I literally have never cooked without spices, be it cakes, cookies or otherwise. I am glad even this dinner trip landing me to Malay land, isn't devoid of spices.

As always, I will be back with something new next time. Stay safe. Keep smiling. Keep cooking.