I have always have the fear of cooking curry...any type of curry. I used to watch my grandmother's tedious preparation. Those days we had to get 'Aya Ramu' to climb the coconut tree and separate the husk from the hard shell. Then you need to break the hard shell to get to the white layer (flesh) which we will later grate it with a grater. I'll be damned whenever my grandmother called me to complete a whole coconut grating process. I wish I had a photo of the coconut grater to share here. Its made of wood for the sitting section and at one end is an up right positioning of a metal jagged edge. The jagged edge is where you scaped or grated the inner flesh of coconut. Sure was pure hard work, real hard work. I have never enjoyed doing it. It is easy to grate the middle part of the flesh but back then I did not know the technique to grate the sides of the coconut. Normally my grandmother will complete the remainder process. Years later someone invented the coconut machine where you can buy grated coconut. But now, things are much more simpler where ready made coconut milk is sold fresh, or in packed box (with preservatives) or even powdered. Just pick your choice.
Before I forget, 'Aya Ramu' is an Indian gentleman whose expertise was climbing the coconut tree. My grandmother would pay him certain amount of money for the number of coconuts he pluck. Yeah we had almost 10 coconut trees around the house.
After the grating process, my grandmother will add warm water to the grated coconut and squeeze to produce coconut milk. She would split the process to the thick milk, semi thick and diluted milk. That's the old fashion way of preparation.
These days we want to prepare things as simple as possible. People tend to skip the first and third process.
I am no expert in cooking but I know I can cook if I put my mind to it. Tapi kalau dah datang masalah "malas' tu, seminggu pun I tak masak...makan luar je. So one fine day I decided to check out some videos on You Tube and found the closest method I remembered how my grandmother used to prepare curry. I maintained most of it's original ingredients. However, I added and deleted a few ingredients to suit my taste. This is how I cook my chicken curry, not too spicy because my children do not eat chilli and spicy dishes.
Item A
Half of big yellow onion. thinly sliced (I add this because yellow onion it gives a rich taste. You can opt not to use it, instead double the number of shallots)
8 shallots, thinly sliced
4 cloves of garlic, thinly sliced
half an inch of fresh ginger, thinly sliced and julienne
2 stalk of curry leaves
Item B
half of cinnamon stick
3 cardamon
2 star anise
half of tea spoon of mustard seeds
half of tea spoon of fenugreek
Item C
A small packet of 25 gms Babas or Adabi chicken curry powder mixed with water to a thicken consistency. I also add a tablespoon of powdered massala. When I was staying in Section 14, PJ I love using the fresh mixed paste by Uncle Raja at Section 14 market. I am sure he is still there today. Just let him know how much chicken you'll be cooking, whether you want it hot or spicy, he'll scooped and dabbed 6-7 types of colorful paste on a banana leave. Fold it in a newspaper and you're ready to cook.
Item D
Tamarind juice (a table spoon of tamarind paste and mixed with half a cup of water )
Item E
One whole chicken
Item F
coconut milk (split into 3 portion - thick, medium thick and diluted milk. You can opt to use plain yogurt if you are health conscious). Diluted milk is 1/3 of thick coconut milk mixed with two and a half cup of water, semi thick is 1/3 of coconut milk and 1 cup of water.
Item G
3 potatoes cut quarterly
Item H
A bunch Cilantro or coriander leaves, finely chopped.
Lets start the cooking process.
1) Heat cooking pot with 10 tables spoonful of peanut oil. Any type of oil can be used. I just prefer peanut oil. Put on medium heat. When the oil start to heat up, add in
Item B. Yes, it will sizzle and make loud popping noises. Don't be surprised when the seeds popped the hot oil will also spatter out. Just be careful.
2) Give at least 5 seconds and add in
Item A. Stir consistently. Once the onion turn soft and golden color, add in
Item C. At this point some people would add chilli paste, but I opt not to add. Stir and wait until the oil start to form on top of the paste. Stir and do not burn the paste at the bottom of the pot.
3) Add in
Item D, stir it about a minute and add in
Item E. Mixed all ingredient thoroughly and now add in the diluted coconut milk. Stir. Add in
Item G, your potatoes. Add your salt and sugar to your taste. I would also add chicken granules at this point just for extra flavor. (I know,....my grandmother did not use this!)
4) Stir couple of times. Keep an eye on the gravy. If it look like its thickening, add your semi thick coconut milk. Again, on and off stir the curry. Check if your chicken is properly cooked.
5) After 10-15 minutes, when the potatoes are 3/4 cooked add your last portion of the thick coconut milk. Stir and give it another 5-7 minutes. Make sure you taste your curry at every stage so you get a balance taste of sweet, sour, spicy etc....
6) Finally, switch off the stove and scatter chopped cilantro on your chicken curry.
That's my chicken curry. I am pretty sure there are various version available. Go a head pick a recipe and try cooking them today. It may not be perfect the first time round. Well, mine did...hahaha...yeah, as long as the kids loves it, I know I cooked it pretty well. Ohhh, one final thing, cook with your heart and soul, and dab it with a little bit of your love to it. Enjoy!
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