Serves: 8-9 / cooking time: 1 hour 30 minutes
Ingredients:
For curry paste
14 grams fennel
14 grams cumin
4 grams whole pepper
1 medium onion (sliced)
12 curry leaves
1 and 1/2 inch ginger
2 garlic cloves
8 grams red dry chilly or chilly flakes
22 grams grated coconut
1 tsp, salt
Enough water to grind above spices to a paste
To cook chicken
1 kg chicken without skin, divided into 4 to 6 pieces
6 cups water
1/3 cup sunflower oil
To cook rice
2 cups basmati rice
4 cups chicken stock (from chicken steamed water)
1/4 cup sunflower oil
2 big onions, chopped
2 tbsp. ginger garlic paste
2 spring curry leaves
6 pandan leaf pieces
1 or 2 scotch bonnet ( Githeyomirus ), chopped
1 big carrot, julienned
2 medium tomatoes, chopped
2 Capsicum, chopped
2 tsp. chicken stock powder or 1 big Maggie cube
1/2 tsp. salt
Method
1_ Make small incisions on all meaty areas of chicken pieces. Set aside
2_ Grind all the curry paste ingredients into a smooth thick paste.
3_ Apply and massage the chicken pieces with curry paste, pushing some paste into the small incisions. Leave half hour to marinate.
4_ Add 6 cups of water in a steamer and arrange the chicken pieces on the steamer, pour over all the left over curry paste on the chicken pieces. Close steamer with lid and steam it until chicken is cooked. About 30 to 45 minutes.
5_ Heat oil in a skillet or a wok add the steamed chicken and fry both sides of chicken until brown. Take into a plate and set aside. There will be some amount of curry paste left on the steamer, using a spoon gather the leftover curry paste and put it into the steamed water( this water will be used to cook rice so every bit of curry paste is very important).
6_ To cook rice: In a big pan heat oil, add onion, curry leaves, ginger garlic paste, pandan leaf and scotch bonnet. Fry until soften. Add tomato, carrot and capsicum fry until vegetables are soften.
7_Add four cups of chicken stock water which is left in the steamer ( If the water is less than four cups just add extra water to reach four cups) into the fried vegetables. Add rice and chicken stock. Cook rice on medium heat, when all the water is absorbed by rice cover it with lid and cook ten more minutes on very low heat. Take the lid out and leave the rice for five minutes uncovered, fluff using a fork.
8_Transfer cooked rice into a serving plate and arrange the fried chicken on top and serve.