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A white bowl of Indonesian chicken curry - Kari Ayam - on wooded table with blue tea towel on the left side.
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5 from 4 votes

Kari Ayam: Indonesian Chicken Curry Recipe

Kari Ayam is the Indonesian version of chicken curry that uses coconut milk with well-balanced spices and herbs. It's simply delicious with plain white rice.
Author: Devy Dar
Prep Time15 minutes
Cook Time25 minutes
Total Time40 minutes
Course: Dinner
Cuisine: Indonesian
Servings: 6 portions

Equipment

Ingredients

US Customary - Metric
  • 1 baby chicken approximately 2.2lbs. Cut in small pieces.
  • 2 tablespoons lime juice lemon juice, or white vinegar.
  • 1 brown onion chopped.
  • 4 cloves garlic see the note.
  • ½ inch ginger see the note.
  • 5 candlenuts/ Kemiri see the note.
  • 5 tablespoons cooking oil preferably coconut oil.
  • 0.4 inch galangal see the note.
  • 1 lemongrass cut diagonally about 1-inch lengthwise.
  • 5 cloves.
  • 2 inches cinnamon stick
  • 1-2 teaspoons Kashmiri red chili powder see the note.
  • ½ teaspoon turmeric powder.
  • 1 teaspoon coriander powder.
  • ½ teaspoon cumin powder.
  • 1 teaspoon sugar.
  • 1 teaspoon salt or according to taste.
  • 1 can coconut milk. (14 fl.oz)

Instructions

  • Clean the chicken pieces and rub them with lime juice, lemon juice, or white vinegar. Rinse the poultry pieces thoroughly under running water. Using a fork or a skewer, prick all over the chicken. Drain and set aside.
  • Using a pestle and mortar or a food chopper/ food processor, pound the chopped onions, candlenuts, ginger, and garlic into a paste. 
  • Heat the oil in a wok and put the spice paste, galangal, lemongrass, cloves, cinnamon, Kashmiri chili powder, turmeric powder, coriander powder, and cumin powder. Fry until the spices release a delicious aroma. 
  • Add in the sugar and salt.
  • Stir the chicken pieces into the spices until they are all well coated with spices and look opaque in color.
  • Pour the coconut milk in and give it a good stir. Cook at medium-high heat until it reaches boiling point, then turn the heat down. Put the lid on and simmer until the chicken is fully cooked. 

Notes

  • You can use dried galangal or the paste one if the fresh galangal is not available to you. But please don’t use the powder one as it doesn’t give the same aroma and flavor. 
  • If you prefer to use fresh red chilies, you can do it by using about 3-5 chilies and grind into a paste. When it comes to chilies, you’re more than welcome to put them more or less according to your personal taste. The recipe gives a hint of chili heat without necessarily tasting spicy. But of course, your Kari Ayam doesn’t have to be mild.
  • Candlenuts are called Kemiri in Indonesian. They are in the same family as macadamia nuts. Hence, you can substitute candlenuts with macadamia nuts. In the case of unavailability for both types, you can omit the nuts altogether.

Nutrition

Serving: 1g | Calories: 1703kcal | Carbohydrates: 28g | Protein: 53g | Fat: 163g | Saturated Fat: 110g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 43g | Cholesterol: 157mg | Sodium: 609mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 3g

Disclaimer

Nutritional info in this recipe is only estimate using online calculator. You should refer to it as a guide only. Please verify with your own data if you seek an accurate info.