Malaysian Nyonya Recipe : Kari Ayam

This Chicken Curry is a Nyonya Dish

Ingredients:

• 3 oz shallots
  
• 3 cloves garlic
  
• ½ thumb-sized piece ginger, thinly sliced
  
• 1 tsp shrimp paste

• 1 chicken approximately 3 ½ lbs, cut into pieces
  
• 1 lb grated coconut (white)

• 1 sprig curry leaves
  
• 5 tbsp corn oil or refined oil
  
• 2 oz curry powder for cooking
  
• 1 oz curry powder for marinating chicken

1. Season chicken pieces with 1 level teaspoon each of salt, sugar and msg and the curry powder for 30 minutes.
2. Squeeze coconut for first milk. Set aside, add 20 fl oz. water to coconut and squeeze for second milk. Set aside.
3. Grind A to a rough paste. Heat oil in a wok. Fry paste till oil bubbles through, and mixture turns light brown.
4. Add in the curry powder, curry leaves with ½ of the first milk. Stir till oil bubbles through and turns reddish. Add in the rest of the first milk, and bring to the boil, continually stirring to prevent burning at bottom.
5. Put in seasoned chicken pieces and stir well with the paste A mixture. Cook over moderate heat stirring occasionally.
6. Reduce heat to low, put lid on saucepan and simmer for 20 to 25 minutes or till chicken is tender. Add in some of the second milk to get desired thickness for the gravy – thinner gravy is eaten with bread and thicker gravy for rice. Simmer again for 5 to 7 minutes. Remove from heat. Serve hot or cold.