MAMAK Malaysian Chicken Curry (Kari Ayam)

The Mamak Restaurant 'SECRET' was out there a long time ago. I accidentally found their famous chicken curry recipe while tidying up my bookshelves. The recipe was published in Gourmet Traveller magazine March 2008 issue. It's the original recipe shared by Mamak to GT magazine readers.

No one was more excited than Mr J as it's his favourite dish at Sydney's Mamak Restaurant. My favourite is their fish curry.

For readers who are not familiar with Mamak Restaurant, it is a popular Malaysian restaurant located in Sydney's Chinatown. It is notoriously famous for its long dinner queue and the Roti Canai (Paratha) and Teh Tarik making skills that are cleverly displayed live in the front of the restaurant.

Teh Tarik (Pulled Tea), photo credits to http://www.mamak.com.au/

Roti Canai, photo credits http://www.mamak.com.au

The Mamak style curry is best eaten with steamed rice or roti canai. It contains no coconut milk or cream (healthy option!) and it's on the watery side, so the sauce can be easily soaked up with the roti.

This recipe demonstrates the easy way of making curry using ready-made curry powder blend which is commonly by most Malaysians. It's important to pick the correct curry powder blend as it's crucial for the right colour and taste. I would strongly recommend to use a Malaysian brand such as BABAS meat curry powder.

There is no secret ingredients or steps in making this curry. Get the correct spices and 30 minutes later, you have the famous Mamak chicken curry right there in your kitchen.

Malaysian Mamak Style Chicken Curry (Kari Ayam)
(Adapted from Gourmet Traveller Magazine March 2008 issue)
Serves 4

2 tbsp vegetable oil
1/2 small brown onion, finely chopped
3 cm piece of ginger, finely chopped
2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
1 cinnamon quill
1 star anise
1/2 tsp cardamom seeds, crushed
2 sprigs of curry leaves
130 g Indian curry powder, look for finely ground mild (meat) Indian curry powder (I use Malaysian BABAS brand, available in most Asian supermarkets)
1 tbsp ground chilli, or to taste (I use 1 tsp)
2 tbsp white sugar
4 (about 1 kg) chicken Marylands, cut into 4 pieces
250 g sebago potatoes, cut into 2cm pieces
2 stalks of lemongrass, white part bruised
I added 1 tsp salt, or to taste
Steamed rice, roti canai and sliced red chilli, to serve

Method

1. Heat oil in a wok over medium heat, then add onion, ginger, garlic, cinnamon, star anise, cardamom seeds and curry leaves and stir fry until fragrant and onion is soft (about 3 minutes).

   

2. Add 1.5 litres of water and bring to the boil, add curry powder, ground chilli and sugar and stir to combine.
3. Add chicken, potato and lemongrass, return to the boil, then reduce heat to low and simmer until chicken and potato are cooked through (about 15 minutes).

   

4. Scatter with chilli and serve with rice.