Chicken Curry pictures (1 of 7)
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There are many variations of chicken curry in Malaysia: Indian, Chinese, Nyonya, Malay, but chicken curry with potatoes is possibly the most common chicken curry in Malaysia. Everywhere you go where curries are served, you will probably find this type of chicken curry.
For the Nyonyas in Penang, chicken curry is especially popular and often served with nasi kunyit (coconut milk and turmeric-infused sticky rice). In fact, there is a Nyonya ritual that celebrates the first month of a new born baby. Called “mua guet” or 满月 in local dialect, this celebration comes complete with a nice food package–in the old days, the food package was packed in a delicate and beautiful Nyonya sia na (wood basket) –that contains chicken curry, nasi kunyit, and a few other goodies…(get Chicken Curry recipe after the jump)
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As much as I love Indian food and grew up eating lots of Indian dishes, I don’t cook Indian food well. I am honored to have Meeta of What’s for Lunch Honey as a guest writer on Rasa Malaysia. I adore Meeta’s writing skills and droolsome food photography, plus she is such a fine cook. Please welcome What’s for Lunch Honey as she shares the history, origin, and recipe of Chicken Tikka Masala.
Chicken Tikka Masala
Guest Writer: What’s For Lunch Honey
The chicken tikka masala is known all around the world as one of the most popular Indian dishes. The irony of the chicken tikka masala, better known as CTM, though is that what is often enjoyed in restaurants as a traditional Indian dish has very little to do with authentic Indian cuisine.
When Rasa Malaysia wrote to me asking me if I would be interested in being a guest writer on her blog I was extremely ecstatic. She wanted me to help her show her readers how to cook a chicken tikka masala. She cracked me up when she referred to me as “a real Indian food expert” - I was flattered but modestly and in all honesty admit that I do not consider myself an expert in Indian food and the irony of this is that I am going to be showing her readers how to cook “Britain’s true national dish.”
It was the British Foreign secretary, Robin Cook who announced the chiken tikka masala as the new national dish of Great Britain. The statement was used to set an example for the British multiculturalism. The chicken tikka masala Mr. Cook was referring to was in actual fact the gravy based dish invented in Britain.
Chicken tikka, on the other hand, is indeed an original Indian dish, prepared by marinating small bite-sized bits of chicken in yogurt and and spices, which are then grilled over a charcoal fire, giving it that lovely, unmistakable smokey flavor… (learn more about the history and get the Chicken Tikka Masala recipe after the jump)
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Indian Seafood Curry pictures (1 of 3)
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Remember I told you that I hardly ever make my curry from scratch because there are many good curry pastes readily available in Malaysia? Go to any markets or stores one can find various selection of curry pastes–they usually come packaged in small plastic bags. All you have to do is adding your meat or seafood to the curry paste and you will have a pot of sinfully good–and authentic–Malaysian Indian-style curries.
That being said, this seafood curry was prepared just that–from a seafood curry paste that I brought back from home. The curry paste was very good; there are mustard seeds, cardamons, cloves, and curry leaves in the paste–which are some of the secret spices/ingredients for a very good pot of Indian-style curries…
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(Click on the image above to view the complete photoset of 7 pictures)My parents are huge fans of nasi kandar–a type of Mamak/Indian-Muslim food consists of steamed rice with a variety of curries and other side dishes. (Click here and here for a peek of a nasi kandar restaurant and its many colorful dishes.)
When I was little, my parents would always take me to nasi kandar restaurants. I remember vividly their old joint in Georgetown, Penang. Whenever I go home to Penang, I would take my parents out to savor a meal or two of nasi kandar at their favorite restaurant/stall. Regardless of where we go, there is one dish that we never miss out–gulai sotong, or squid curry. So, it’s no surprise that my mother makes a killer squid curry at home (which I’ve fortunately learned).
There are two secret ingredients of a great squid curry: curry leaves and a blended spice mix of cumin, fennel, black mustard, fenugreek seeds. Curry leaves impart a highly aromatic flavor to the curry and the spice seeds add that signature and unmistakable Indian curry kick. I love hard-boiled eggs in curries, so I also added some eggs. Click here to see the real squid curry served in Penang…
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