I’ve been rather caught up with the change in my daily routine especially now that summer has come. I think I need to manage my time better so that I can find a little bit more time and energy to sit down and post my recipes! Anyway, in all this whirlwind, a friend shared a chicken recipe which her MIL had shared with her. In my opinion, it’s a healthy fast and yet yummy recipe which turned out a great hit with both hubby and kids on my first try! And I think it’ll take a lot to make this dish go wrong. So if you’re a first time cook, this would probably be a great dish to try. Or if you want to impress someone…

Just a little about ‘Sambal’ - while this recipe is called sambal, it deviates from what sambal traditionally refers to in the Malay community. Sambal refers to a thick chilli gravy normally prepared using dried red chillies and is very very spicy. It is not as watery as curry, but has a thicker consistency. Here’s a definition that resembles quite accurately what I know sambal to be.

A basic paste or sauce made by blending chili peppers [spelling varies: Chile, Chilli, Chilly]. It can be made with fresh or dried chilies, or a combination of both. Sambal is used as a base, or in Rempah [Spice Paste] for cooking. It can also be served as a condiment at the dinner table. Extract from: http://www.malaysianfood.net/glossaryS.htm

Ingredients:

6 chicken breasts/thighs - without skin
1/2 onion - diced
3 garlic
3 - 4inch ginger
8 dried red chillies - remove seeds and soak in hot water for about 20 minutes
12 almonds - soak in hot water for about 10 minutes then remove skin
2 cardamom
2 cloves
1 tbsp plain yogurt (optional)
1/2 cup water
salt to taste
5-8 tbsp vegetable oil

Method:

1. Blend garlic, ginger, red chillies and almonds with a little water to become a smooth paste.
2. Rub the chicken with a teaspoon of salt.
3. To lightly brown the chicken, heat oil in a shallow pot. When the oil is hot, place the chicken pieces into the oil. Do not overlap the chicken. Leave it to brown for about 3 minutes or until the edges turn opaque. Then turn over the chicken and leave it to brown for another 3 minutes.
4. Remove the chicken and place on a plate.
5. In the same pot with the leftover oil from browning the chicken, saute the onions, cloves and cardamoms.
6. When the onions turn slightly brown and fragrant, add in the blended ingredients and fry for 2 minutes.
7. Add in the water, yogurt, salt. Stir then add chicken.
8. Cook for about another 5 - 10 minutes depending on how thick you like your gravy.
9. Serve with hot with rice.

Tips:

• The recipe above has a mild flavour so kids can enjoy it as well. If you prefer spicy, either add more chillies or don’t remove all the seeds.
• If you want a smooth paste when using dried chillies, make sure you blend the chillies only when they are completely soft.