Kapitan Chicken Curry

In my last post (The Ultimate Roast Chicken Dinner), I promised that I'd give you a couple of good ideas to do with the leftovers and this curry is the first on that list. I love curry and I'm always looking to try out new variations, so when I came across a Malaysian curry that was not only packed with the fresh flavours of lime, lime leaves, lemongrass and ginger but also contained sweet elements from coconut milk and palm sugar, I had to give it a go!

This curry is light, fresh and layered with flavour. The key to this curry is the spice paste and it can be made in advance so that you can pull this curry out of the bag whenever you need it. In fact, double up the quantities and you can keep the other half in the fridge for a couple of weeks until you want curry again, maybe this time with some nice white fish or some prawns. But for now, make this in the traditional way - with chicken - and you will love it.

Kapitan Chicken Curry

Serves 4

4 chicken legs, skin on

   or 4 handfuls of shredded leftover roast chicken

1 tbsp ground turmeric

1 tsp salt, or to taste

4 tbsp vegetable oil

2 onions, sliced

400ml coconut milk

6 lime leaves, finely shredded

1 tbsp palm sugar (or brown sugar)

2 tbsp freshly squeezed lime juice

For the spice paste:

350g shallots, roughly chopped

4 garlic cloves

1 tbsp chopped fresh root ginger

1 tsp chopped galangal

1 tsp chopped turmeric root

4-6 candlenuts or macadamia nuts

2 stalks lemongrass, tough outer leaves removed,

   soft inner stem roughly chopped

2 fresh red chillies, roughly chopped

1 dried red chilli, broken up

For the chicken, place the chicken legs or the leftovers into a shallow dish and sprinkle over the turmeric and salt. Cover and chill in the fridge overnight, to marinate. Remove the marinated chicken from the fridge half an hour before you are ready to cook it.

Meanwhile, for the spice paste, blend all of the spice paste ingredients in a food processor until smooth.

To cook the chicken, heat a large frying pan over a high heat, add three tablespoons of the oil and, when it is smoking, add the chicken. Fry the chicken for 4-6 minutes, or until golden-brown on all sides. If you are using leftover chicken, fry for just 2 minutes. Remove the chicken from the pan and set aside to drain on a plate lined with kitchen paper.

Heat a wok over a medium heat, then add the remaining vegetable oil, the onion and the spice paste and stir-fry for 2-3 minutes, or until fragrant. Add the reserved chicken and cook for 5-7 minutes. Add the coconut milk, lime leaves and sugar. Simmer for 25-30 minutes, or until the chicken is tender and cooked through. Add the lime juice and stir well.

Serve with steamed rice.