Ayam masak merah has long been a favourite with Malaysians. In this second out of four recipes in “Tim Cooks: Ramadan Edition”, chef Timothy Sebastian shares his take on this dish.

Having fond memories of watching his mother and aunts cooking this when he was younger, he has included various aromatics into this version – resulting in an absolutely fragrant and unforgettable dish that explodes with flavours.

Paired with fluffy nasi minyak, which is essentially rice cooked with ghee, refreshing cucumber raita, piquant dalcha and crispy papadom, you may feel that Raya has arrived.

1.Cucumber raita

Ingredients (Serving: 500g)

• 500g whole weight Japanese cucumbers
• 150g yoghurt
• 15g finely chopped red onions (ensure there are no big chunks)
• 1g julienned curry leaves
• 1g julienned mint
• 1g fine salt
• ½ lime to juice

Method

• Rinse the cucumbers, place them on a cutting board and trim the ends.
• Cut into quarters (lengthwise) and remove the seeds. Besides having no flavour, the seeds may cause a watery or soupy raita instead of a thick and luscious one.
• Next, cut each quarter into half (lengthwise). Dice and place in a mixing bowl.
• Mix with the rest of the ingredients and transfer to a clean container. The mint and curry leaves will help accentuate the flavours of the cucumbers.
• Cover and keep chilled for an hour or overnight.

Shelf life: Three days if chilled

Tip: Add your own twist to the raita by adding tomatoes, carrots, raisins, grapes, orange segments, etc.

2. Ginger and garlic paste

Ingredients (Serving: 850g)

• 200g cleaned and sliced ginger
• 300g peeled garlic
• 350g water to blend

Method

• Clean the ginger with a teaspoon as it would make it easier to peel and will result in less wastage compared to a knife.
• Next, wash the ginger, drain and slice.
• Trim the woody stems of the garlic.
• Place the ginger and garlic in a blender with the water and blend until you have a fine paste.
• Transfer to a clean container, cover and keep chilled or frozen as needed.

Shelf life: Three days if chilled; six months if frozen

Tip: It’s good to always have ginger and garlic paste in your freezer as you can use it for curries, stews, marinades and other dishes.

3. Chilli ‘giling’

Ingredients (Serving: 770g)

• 100g dry chillies
• 350g water

Method

• Discard the stems of the dried chillies. Cut into 1cm pieces and remove seeds.
• Wash five times in water and discard as many seeds as possible each time to ensure the chillies aren’t too spicy.
• Place chillies in a stock pot and cover with lots of water as the dried chillies will expand.
• Next, bring to a boil, lower flame and let simmer for one hour.
• After an hour, turn off the heat and let it sit for another one hour.
• Then, wash and rinse the chillies three times. Again, discard as many seeds as possible. Drain in a colander.
• With 35g of water, blend the chillies until the texture becomes smooth.
• Transfer to a clean container, cover and keep chilled or frozen as needed.

Shelf life: Three days if chilled; one month if frozen

4. Vegetable dalcha

Ingredients (Serving: 1.3kg or 8 portions of 160g each)

• 250g dried dhall
• 1.5 litres water (A)
• 50g ginger and garlic paste
• 25g ghee
• 1g fenugreek (halba)
• 2g garam masala
• ½ cinnamon stick
• 1 piece star anise
• 2 pieces cracked cardamom
• 3g chilli powder
• 1g turmeric powder
• 1g cumin seeds
• 1 piece of bay leaf
• 5g tamarind slices (asam keping)
• 3g curry leaves
• 3g chopped coriander leaves
• 7g salt
• 50g potatoes (peeled and cut into large cubes)
• 50g pumpkin (peeled and cut into large cubes)
• 50g carrot (sliced into baton cuts or approximately 0.8cm in thickness)
• 100g eggplant (sliced in baton cuts or approximately 0.8cm in thickness)
• 25g long beans (sliced in baton cuts or approximately 0.8cm in thickness)
• 25g tomato wedges

Tempering ingredients

• 25g ghee
• 50g sliced red onions
• 1g cut dried chillies
• 2g mustard seeds
• 1g curry leaves

Method

• Wash and soak the dhall for one hour or overnight in the chiller. Then, drain and wash the dhall.
• Place in a stock pot, add water (A) and 25g of the ginger garlic paste. Bring to a boil, then reduce flame and simmer for one hour, whisking on and off.
• After one hour, add the remaining 25g of the ginger and garlic paste, ghee, fenugreek, garam masala, salt, cinnamon stick, star anise, cardamom, chilli powder, turmeric powder, cumin seeds, bay leaf, tamarind slices, curry leaves and chopped coriander.
• Bring to a boil, lower flame and simmer for about 10 to 20 minutes, whisking until the dhall has dissolved and the texture is smooth.
• Then, add the potatoes, carrots and pumpkins. Bring to a boil, lower flame and let simmer.
• Once the potatoes, carrots and pumpkins are half-cooked, add the eggplants, long beans and tomato wedges. Bring to a boil, lower flame and simmer for another five minutes.

Tempering

• In a separate saucepan, heat the ghee and saute the sliced red onions until they are brown.
• Next, add in the dried chillies, mustard seeds and curry leaves. Sauté until fragrant, then pour into the dalcha. Stir to combine.
• Leave to cool and keep chilled or frozen as needed.

Shelf life: Three days if chilled; one month if frozen

Tips

• Tempering will add an earthy flavour to the dalcha.
• Australian red dhall is best as it softens and dissolves faster.

5. Nasi minyak

Ingredients (Serving: 2.35kg / 11 portions of 200g each)

• 900g basmati rice
• 1.3kg water
• 125g ghee
• 50g golden raisins
• 75g cashew
• 150g sliced red onions
• 75g ginger and garlic paste
• 10g pandan
• 1 piece cinnamon stick
• 2 pieces star anise
• 4 pieces cardamom
• 4 pieces cloves
• 1 piece bay leaf
• 40g chicken bouillon
• 10g chicken stock powder.
• 100g evaporated milk
• 7g salt
• 50g grated carrot (washed 3 times)

Method

• Wash and drain the basmati rice five times until the water runs clear.
• Then, soak in water for 15 minutes as this elongates the rice grains, resulting in fluffy rice once cooked. Drain well.
• Place half the ghee in a stock pot over a low heat. Sauté the cashews until they are golden brown, then remove.
• Using the same ghee, sauté the raisins until puffed, then remove.
• Add a bit more ghee, followed by the sliced onions. Sauté until well-browned, then remove using a strainer.
• Add the rest of the ghee to the ghee in the pan and heat on low. Add in the cinnamon sticks, star anise, cardamom, cloves and pandan leaves. Sauté until fragrant. Inhale and enjoy the smell!
• Add the ginger and garlic paste. Sauté until it smells sweet and nutty. Once again, take in the mouth-watering smell!
• Next, add in the strained basmati rice and sauté. Make sure every grain of rice is coated with the flavourful ghee.
• Add in the water, bay leaf, chicken bouillon, chicken stock powder, evaporated milk and salt.
• Mix well and bring to a boil. Once boiled, transfer to a rice cooker, stir in the grated carrots, give it a good mix and turn on the rice cooker.
• After the rice is cooked, leave on a warm function. After 30 minutes, fluff the rice and add in the fried raisins, cashews and onions.

Shelf life: Three days if chilled

6. Marinade for chicken

Ingredients (Serving: 2.1kg / 7 legs)

• 7 whole chicken legs (cut where the pelvic bones, back and abdominal skin have been removed).
• 80g ginger and garlic paste
• 10g turmeric powder
• 10g garam masala
• 6g salt
• 6g chicken stock powder

Method

• Trim excess fat from the chicken legs, wash and drain well.
• Mix with the rest of the ingredients and transfer to a clean container.
• Cover and keep chilled to marinate for at least one hour or best, overnight.

Shelf life: Maximum two days if chilled; one month if frozen

Tip: Whole chicken legs are said to be juicier compared to other parts of the chicken.

7. Ayam masak merah

Ingredients (Serving: 3kg / 7 legs)

• 7 legs of the marinated “ayam masak merah”
• 200g corn oil
• 15g pandan leaves
• 2 pieces of bruised serai
• 1 piece of cinnamon stick
• 2 pieces of star anise
• 4 pieces of cardamom
• 250g chilli giling
• 1.25kg red onions
• 100g peeled garlic
• 1.5kg water
• 3g salt
• 25g chicken stock powder
• 400g tomato sauce (Maggi/Heinz)

Method

• Blend the “chilli giling”, red onions, garlic and water until smooth. Keep on standby.
• In a stock pot, heat half of the corn oil and sear the chicken. Remove after the chicken has a nice colour on both sides. Do note that the chicken is not meant to be fully cooked at this point as the searing process is meant to remove some of the fat from the skin of the chicken and add more flavour.
• Keep the seared chicken in the fridge and do not leave it out at room temperature.
• Pour in the remaining corn oil and sauté pandan leaves, serai, cinnamon stick, star anise and cardamom until fragrant.
• Next, add the blended chilli-onion-garlic paste and bring to a boil. Then, simmer for 1.5 hours.
• Add the tomato sauce, salt and chicken stock powder.
• Then add the seared chicken and mix well. You can also add any juices and oils from the seared chicken into the pot. Make sure that all the chicken pieces are submerged in the sauce.
• Bring to a boil and then simmer with the lid on for 30 minutes.
• Next, remove the lid and simmer for another 30 minutes.
• Transfer the ayam masak merah to a serving dish.

Shelf life: Three days if chilled ; one month if frozen

Plating

Ingredients

• Banana leaf
• 1 rice cup of nasi minyak
• 2 pieces of papadum
• 2 tablespoons of raita
• 113g-ladle of dalcha
• 1 whole leg of ayam masak merah
• Chopped spring onions for garnishing
• Coriander sprigs for garnishing

Method

• Lay a banana leaf on a dinner plate.
• Arrange the “nasi minyak”, “ayam masak merah”, papadum, raita, dalcha with chopped spring onions and coriander springs as garnish.
• Serve and enjoy your hard work!

‘Tim Cooks’ is sponsored by ChefHub, KitchenPlan, Hotelware Concept and Visionary Solutions.

Don’t miss Chef Tim’s recipe for sup ekor here.