This fragrant and flavoursome Indonesian chicken curry is a must for anyone who loves the flavours of a rendang but favours a wetter version. It’s quick to cook too, as the liquid ingredients don’t need to be reduced as much as they do in a traditional dry rendang. The recipe comes from Bowlful by Norman Musa.
We enjoyed this for a midweek meal and were really pleased with how straightforward it was to make and how delicious it was to eat!
Read our in-depth review of Bowlful by Norman Musa.
Kalio Chicken Curry
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp vegetable oil
- 2 tbsp tamarind paste
- 1½ tsp fine sea salt
- ½ tbsp palm sugar
- 1 kg (2lb 4oz )boneless chicken thighs, cut into large pieces
- 200 ml (7fl oz / scant 1 cup) coconut milk
- 6 makrut lime leaves, ribs removed and thinly sliced
- jasmine rice, to serve
For the paste
- 1 banana shallot, peeled
- 3 garlic cloves, peeled
- 2.5 cm (1 in) ginger
- 2 stalks of lemongrass, trimmed
- 5 cm (2 in) galangal or ginger with 2 tsp lemon juice
- 3 red chillies, deseeded
- 5 cm (2 in) fresh turmeric, peeled, or 1 tsp ground turmeric
Instructions
- Blitz together the paste ingredients with 2 tablespoons of water using a handheld stick blender or food processor until fine and smooth. Heat the oil in a large, deep saucepan over a medium heat and cook the paste for 2 minutes until fragrant.
- Next, add the tamarind, salt and sugar, continue to cook for 1 minute and then stir in the chicken. Cook for 3 minutes to seal and then stir in the coconut milk, together with 200ml/7fl oz/scant 1 cup of water. Bring to the boil, reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer, uncovered, for 20 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes.
- Next, add the kaffir lime leaves, give everything a good stir and turn off the heat. Divide the curry between four serving bowls, and serve with jasmine rice.
It’s worth making a double batch too, as the leftovers are just as excellent reheated!
Made the recipe? Leave a comment below to let us know how you got on!
You may also enjoy these Indonesian recipes. You can also view all South East Asian recipes.
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This recipe extract from Bowlful: Fresh and vibrant dishes from Southeast Asia by Norman Musa is reproduced with permission from publishers Pavilion. Book photography by Luke J Albert. Home photography by Kavita Favelle.
Please leave a comment - I love hearing from you!4 Comments to "Norman Musa’s Kalio Chicken Curry"
Sounds really good!!
So tasty!
This Kalio Chicken Curry recipe looks delicious! I love the combination of tamarind and palm sugar – what a great way to add depth of flavour to this midweek meal. I’m looking forward to giving it a try! How would you recommend serving this curry?
We had it with rice which was perfect, as it’s lovely and saucy. I think it would also go well with this Thai dish of red fire greens with yellow soybean sauce: https://www.kaveyeats.com/thai-red-fire-greens-with-yellow-soybean-sauce