Ayam Masak Merah ( Malaysian Chicken in Spicy Tomato Sauce )

I firstly found this Malaysian chicken dish from one of feeds I've subscribed on google reader which somehow caught my attention and made me want to give it a try!

Typically, I googled to get more information about the dish and surprisingly found many of different versions/recipes but unfortunately, none of them could convince me to follow through the whole recipe...the best way to solve the problem is to mix & match and make my own version!

Given having no clue or idea at all about the dish..so I decided to use my cooking sense to make the dish and luckily, I got a huge compliment from my tasters!!

This is what I've done..

Ingredient :  

4 whole chicken legs ( cut each into two pieces , 4drumsticks and 4 thighs )

1 tsp salt

3/4 tsp turmeric powder 

Dash of pepper

5 shallots

4 cloves of garlic

3 cm ginger
2 cm galangal
2 lemongrass , coarsely sliced

7 red chilli

3 inches cinnamon

6 cloves

6 cardamoms

1.5 red onion thinly sliced

3/4 cup tomato sauce 

3/4 cup coconut milk    

1 cup frozen green peas

Method :

1. Marinate chicken with salt, turmeric and pepper for at least 30 minutes.

2. Make a paste by blend shallots, ginger, garlic, galangal, lemongrass and chillies together to form the paste.

3. Heat wok and put in ½ cup of oil. Pan fry chicken pieces until the skin turns golden. Dish up. It’s ok if the chicken is not cooked thoroughly and still oozes some blood.

 

4. Pour away some of the oil, leaving behind about 2-3 Tbsp of oil. Saute the paste on medium heat until it looks glossy, put in dry spices and sliced onion and continue to sauté until the onions looks translucent and wilts.

 

5. Put in the rest of the ingredients, except peas. Return chicken into the wok to cook until the gravy reduces to preferred amount. Season with salt and pepper. Then add in green peas and let it cook for a while. Serve hot with rice.