Malaysian Coconut Chicken Curry (Nasi Kandar)

• 1 large onion
• 3 cloves garlic
• ½ thumb sized piece ginger
• 4-6 chicken thighs on the bone
• 2 medium sized tomatoes
• 1 tbsp tomato puree
• 500 ml chicken stock
• ½ tbsp palm sugar
• 2 tbsp light soy sauce
• 100 ml coconut water

The Whole Spices

• 2 pandan leaves
• 20 fresh curry leaves
• 1 cinnamon stick / cassia bark
• 3-4 star anise
• 5 green cardamom pods

The Marinade

• 2 tsp turmeric powder
• 1 tsp curry powder
• 1 tsp garam masala
• ½ tsp chilli powder
• 1 ½ tsp sea salt / table salt

The Rice

• 1 cup jasmine rice
• ½ cup chicken stock
• ½ cup coconut water
• 2 pandan leaves
• ¼ tsp sugar
• ¼ tsp salt

PREPARATION

• Wash the rice 3 times until the water runs clear and then place in a small saucepan along with the rest of ‘the rice’ ingredients. Cover with a lid and bring to a boil on a high heat. Once vigorously boiling, turn the heat down to a low heat and simmer for 15 minutes, or until the liquid has all evaporated. At that point, switch the hob off and let it sit in its own steam for a further 15 minutes.

• Finely chop the onion, garlic and ginger and then slice the tomatoes into chunks.

• Mix ‘The Marinade’ together in a mixing bowl and then chop the chicken thighs in half and place in the same bowl. Massage the spices and salt around the meat.

COOKING

• Heat the vegetable oil in a large saucepan to a medium heat and place all ‘The Whole Spices’ into the pan. Gently fry the spices for 1 -2 minutes until fragrant. Then add the chopped onion, ginger, pandan leaves and garlic to the pan and continue to fry for another 3-4 minutes. Add the chicken to the pan and fry until the edges of the chicken start to brown. Once the chicken is well browned, add the tomatoes and tomato puree and continue to fry for 5 minutes.

• Next pour the light soy sauce and add the palm sugar and melt it through in the pan before then adding the chicken stock and coconut water. Bring to a vigorous boil and then turn the heat down to a medium heat to simmer. Simmer, uncovered for 30-40 minutes. Then serve with the coconut rice on the side