Nyonya Curry Chicken (Penang)

Curry chicken originated in the Punjab, in the north weastern Indian and eastern Pakistan and was introduced to the rest of the world throughout history. Almost every household in Malaysia, Singapore and at least the rest of the Asian region, curry chicken is a familiar and favourite dish. Everyone has their own family version of cooking this delicious dish. It is great with rice and bread. This version is taken from the book "Nyonya Flavours - A Complete Guide to Penang Straits Chinese Cuisine". There is something about curry chicken that keeps making you go back for more or at least the crave for it will find us (me, at least!) busy in the kitchen, at least once or twice a month, cooking this delicious dish, always extra, because it really tastes great the next day! My own version does not use coconut milk, and for a change, decide for go for a "curry chicken adventure", trying other recipes besides my own.

This recipe has a thick gravy and although it tastes nice, this is not at the top of my list.

My "curry chicken adventure" will continue with postings on recipes that I have tried. Try this out, this could be your favourite.

Nyonya Curry Chicken (Kari Kay)
(adapted from "Nyonya Flavours - A Complete Guide to Penang Straits Chinese Cuisine)
Ingredients :
4-5 tbsp oil
1 star anise
2 cloves
1 cinnamon stick

Spice paste (ground)
30 gm (15) dried chillies, soaked
200 gm (20) shallots
15 gm (3 cloves) garlic
20 gm belacan, toasted
20 gm (2cm) tumeric
20 gm (3 tbsp) coriander seeds
2 gm (1 tsp) cumin
2 gm (1 tsp) fennel

1.5kg meaty chicken pieces
300 gm potatoes, peeled and cut into wedges
400 ml thin coconut milk *
100 ml thick coconut milk *

Seasoning
1 tbsp salt
1/2 tsp sugar

* Both extracted from 1 grated coconut

Method :

1. Heat oil over medium low flame and saute star anise, cloves and cinnamon stick. Add in spice paste and stir-fry well. Add 2 to 3 tbsp thick coconut milk (if it is too dry) and fry over low heat until fragrant and oil separates.
2. Add chicken and fry for a minute. Add potatoes and pour in thin coconut milk. Simmer until chicken is tender and potatoes are cooked.
3. Lastly, add the thick coconut milk and season to taste. Continue to cook until gravy is slightly thick. Serve with boiled white rice, Nasi Kunyit (Tumeric Rice) or Roti Jala.

Almond & Raisin Cupcake

This is one delicious cupcake! Moist with plump raisins, with a very soft texture and just the right amount of sweetness. This cupcake is so good. I made changes to the original recipe, and came up with this. This is definitely a keeper! I ate two of this the minute they are warm enough to eat. They even taste better the next day and can be kept for several days in an airtight container. These are great for picnics and parties. I'm bringing this to "Potluck Sunday at Mommy's Kitchen".

Almond & Raisin Cupcake
Ingredients :

250 gm salted butter
110 gm brown sugar
180 gm self-raising flour
50 gm ground almonds
1/8 tsp salt
4 large eggs
1/2 tsp vanilla essence
zest from 1 lemon
100 gm raisins

Method :

1. Soak raisins in warm water (just enough to cover raisins) for 20 minutes. Drain and dry on paper towels. Take about 2 tbsp of the flour mixture and mix to the raisins to coat. Keep aside.
   
2. Sift self-raising flour and salt together. Add in ground almonds and whisk to mix evenly.
3. Cream butter, sugar, vanilla essence and lemon zest until light and fluffy.
4. Add in eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition, scraping sides of bowl each time.
5. Fold in sifted dry ingredients and mix gently.
6. Add in the raisins and stir gently till evenly mixed.
7. Pipe out or spoon batter into medium sized paper cups and bake in a preheated oven at 180C for about 20-25 minutes or till cooked.

Sweet Tart Dough

Sweet Tart Dough
(adapted from "Baking From My Home To Yours" by Dorie Greenspan)

In French, this dough is called pate sablee because it is buttery, tender and sandy (that's what sablee means).  It's much like shortbread, and it's ideal for filling with fruit, custard or chocolate.

The simplest way to make a tart shell with this dough is to press it into the pan.  You can roll out the dough, but the high proportion of butter to flour and the inclusion of confectioners' sugar makes it finicky to roll.  I always press it into the pan, but if you want to roll it, I suggest you do so between sheets of plastic wrap or wax paper or inside a rolling slipcover. 

Makes enough  for one9-inch crust
1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup confectioners' sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 stick plus 1 tablespoon (9 tablespoons) very cold (or frozen) unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
1 large egg yolk

Put the flour, confectioners' sugar and salt in food processor and pulse a couple of times to combine.  Scatter the pieces of butter over the dry ingredients and pulse until the butter is coarsely cut in - you should have some pieces the size of oatmeal flakes and some the size of peas.  Stir the yolk, just to break it up, and add it a little a a time, pulsing after each addition.  When the egg is in, process in long pulses - about 10 seconds each - until the dough, which will look granular soon after the egg is added, forms clumps and curds.  Just before you reach this stage, the sound of the machine working  the dough will change - heads up.  Turn the dough out onto a work surface and, very lightly and sparingly, knead the dough just to incorporate any dry ingredients that might have escaped mixing.

To Press The Dough Into The Pan :  Butter a 9-inch fluted tart pan with a removable bottom.  Press the dough evenly over the bottom and up the sides of the pan, using all but one little piece of dough, which you should save in the refrigerator to patch any cracks after the crust is baked.  Don't be too heavy-handed - press the crust in so that the edges of the pieces cling to one another, but not so hard that the crust loses its crumbly texture.  Freeze the crust for at least 30 minutes, preferably longer, before baking.

To Partially Or Fully Bake The Crust : Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

Butter the shiny side of a piece of aluminium foil and fit the foil, buttered side down, tightly against the crust. (Since you froze the crust, you can bake it without weights).  Put the tart pan on a baking sheet and bake the crust for 25 minutes.  Carefully remove the foil.  If the crust has puffed, press it down gently with the back of a spoon.  For a partially baked crust, patch the crust if necessary, then transfer the crust to a cooling rack (keep it in its pan).

To Fully Bake The Crust :  Bake for another 8 minutes or so, or until it is firm and golden brown.  (I dislike lightly baked crust, so I often keep the crust in the oven just a little longer.  If you do that, just make sure to keep a close eye on the crust's progress - it can go from golden to way too dark in a flash).  Transfer the tart pan to a rack and cool the crust to room temperature before filling.

To Patch A Partially Or Fully Baked Crust, If Necessary :  If there are any cracks in the baked crust, patch them with some of the reserved raw dough as soon as you remove the foil.  Slice off a thin piece of the dough, place it over the crack, moisten the edges and very gently smooth the edges into the baked crust.  If the tart will not be baked again with its filling, bake for another 2 minutes or so, just to take the rawness off the patch.

Storing : Well wrapped, the dough can be kept in the refrigerator for up to 5  days or frozen for up to 2 months.  While the fully baked crust can be packed airtight and frozen for up to 2 months, I prefer to freeze the unbaked crust in the pan and bake it directly from the freezer - it has a fresher  flavor.  Just add about 5 minutes to the baking time.

Playing Around :
Sweet Tart Dough with Nuts
This dough has a slightly more assertive flavor than Sweet Tart Dough, but you can use the two interchangeably.  For the nut dough, reduce the amount of flour to 1-1/4 cups and add 1/4 cup finely ground almonds (or walnuts, pecans or pistachios).