Thursday, October 25, 2007

Chicken Varuval

My old office used to be at Brickfields and for lunch my colleagues and I like to go for Indian food. As you all know there are plenty of good Indian restaurants at Brickfields. One of our favorite place to eat is the corner kopitiam near the river bank. I forgot the name of the Kopitiam. We really like the banana leaf rice there. In my opinion they served the best Indian food. One of our must order dish is their Chicken Varuval and fried fish. Their Chicken Varuval is dry, almost paste like gravy and extremely spicy. I tried cooking this dish here and I got this recipe my ex-colleague and is the simpler way of cooking Chicken Varuval

Ingredients :

1/2 chicken - cut into small bite size pieces
1 pcs of cinnamon stick
2 cardamoms
1 pcs of star anise
1 tbsp of black soy sauce
10 curry leaves
1/2 cup of water (optional)
Sugar, salt and pepper to taste

Blended ingredients :

2 medium size onions
5 cloves of garlic
2" of ginger

To make into paste

2 tbsp of curry powder
2 tsp of chili powder
2 tsp of tumeric powder

1) Heat up oil and add in cinnamom stick, cardamons, star anise and curry leaves. Stir fry for a few second until frangrant.
2) Add in the blended ingredients and sautee until it turn light brown.
3) Add in the curry paste and stir fry for a minute.
4) Add in the chicken and stir fry until chicken well coated with the paste. Add seasoning.
5) Add in black soy sauce and a bit of water if chicken get too dry. Cover and simmer slowly until chicken is really dry and done.
6) Check seasoning and serve warm.

Note : I didn't add any water because the chicken I used discharged lots of liquid. You can reduce the amount of chili powder if you want it less spicy.

24 comments:

Jun said...

waaa Gert, now u go for indian dish eh! me too like to eat indian food..u know, there's one restaurant in PJ i used to go..using d banana leaves n everything is 'order to fry'...very nice! i think i want to try that cake below..looks nice n ez..

Geraldine said...

oh.. this looks delicious. I'm gonna try making this dish very soon.

Chef Jeena said...

Wow that chicken looks fantastic! Great recipe yummy. :)

Anonymous said...

Imagine I eat this delicious Chicken Varuval with the hot rice on a banana leaf at this damp raining Fri evening, woo heavenly good!!!!!

pearly said...

when you work there ? me too I work near there too I use to buy my lunch there too I love this chicken dish , I was there about 22 years ago I guess long time .......
thank for this recipe i will keep it and cook it will show you ok promise cos my hubby will love this too

Big Boys Oven said...

Oh my my! this curry chicken look so delicious, it rememinds me of southern india curries. In ipoh we use to have a fantastic southern india currry cooked by a chinese guy in ipoh garden south but was close last year ddue to other personal reason, so sad as it was a favourite stall for people stay in that area. His version was deep fried the chicken first and the chickens are smaller. But I really like yours, will try the stall in breakfields than only try to cook myself..lol...very tired after backing...lol!!!

Cat Cat said...

Gert,
It almost looks like rendang eh??? But I bet it's more spicy than rendang... I think I have to find an indian store here in richmond in order to get all these ingredients... Looks good, Gert?
Carlos ada makan??? Tambah nasi???

Beachlover said...

Gert
I wanna some of your chicken!!!.I dunno I ever eat this dish b4 but I always buy something similar like that in Nasi Kandar stall.I never learn the dish name at that time.Wow!! really make me "lau hau sui":)

ICook4Fun said...

Jun, sekali sekala gian jugak nak makan Indian food :) When I go home you let me know the name for the restaurang kat PJ yea. Nak try their food :)

JOAT, hope you like this dish too.

Jeena, thanks.

Choy, is really good with warm rice.

Pearly, I used to work at the Bank of Commerce building at Jalan Tun Sambathan about 15 years ago :)

BBO, the original Chicken Varuval you have to deep fry the chicken first. Buy I am too lazy to do that step :)

Cat, this dish is reallyd dry like rendand but taste different. Carlos makan sikit saja. Too pedas :) :)

Beachlover, if you buy it from nasi kandar stall it might be the same dish :)

aiyah nonya said...

I am salivating already. I like indian food too.

ZazaHardy said...

i love indian food! we have our indian nights where i try to cook/attempt to the indian food we miss. the indian food that we have here is somewhat blend and less spicy. your chicken varuval looks sooo good! i've never heard of chicken varuval though? is it southern indian food?

Z

ICook4Fun said...

Nonya, is easy for you. You just have to go to the Indian restaurant and get some :)

Zaza, If I am not mistaken is a southern Indian dish :)

Kiersten said...

Chicken varuval. The must-have dish each time I eat banana leaf rice. And the thick paste-like gravy is a must...I will mix it all up with my rice, get some papadam, and yum yum!

*salivating*

Zue Murphy said...

Gert, this chicken is really tasty. Sedap!!! I am glad you save some for me to taste. Langkah kanan orang kata. Hehehe.

Geraldine said...

Gert, I made this dish last nite and I LOVE it. Thanks. It was a first time for me to cook with cardamon. Didn't know it was an expensive spice. I must go to Indian town to see if its cheaper there. My daughter smelled it and said "sweet" and she was right. Thanks again.

ICook4Fun said...

Pinky, me too like the thick gravy and mix in with my rice and then eat with my fingers :)Oh yeah, I forgot about the papadam :)

Zue, glad that you likes it.

JOAT, I am glad you like the dish. Actually you don't have to buy too many because each time you cook you just use only 2-3. I bought mine from the Indian store and they are much cheaper.

Bee Ean said...

Thanks. I tried this and it tasted great, but a bit too spicy for me. The curry powder and chili powder we bought are just simply too spicy. I put only one spoon of chili powder. Hubby ate a lot though, he can take more spicy food than me.

ICook4Fun said...

Bee Ean, sorry that is too spicy for you. Next time maybe you can just put 1 tsp of chili powder. Glad that you hubby likes it.

SteamyKitchen said...

can't wait to try! I have curry tree growing in my garden but it's still only 6" tall and the leaves are miniscule! Will have to wait until tree grows up.

rohamica said...

Thanks for posting the recipe Gert!! This is very delicious! It reminds me the taste of indian food in Malaysia. Definitely a keeper!

Prawnoodle said...

Hi, just tried out the recipe.It turned out very nice but i feel the chicken should have been marinated with the "Paste" Ingredients..The gravy was good but the chicken was a little flat.By marinating it, it should turn out great!

Thx.

ICook4Fun said...

Steamy Kitchen, wow it is great that you grow your own curry tree.

Rohamica, you are most welcome.

Prawnoodle, thanks for the tips.

sweetheart said...

hey there, thank u for the recipe....very simple and turned out well...

mytrainmaster said...

You must be referring to Hotel Peking kopitiam at the junction of Bricksfield Road and Travers Road. The river has been covered up for more than 20 years and that kopitiam is no longer there. Much has changed in Bricksfield. You won't recognise it anymore.