Gudeg ( Mild Chicken Curry with Jackfruit )

Ingredients :

• 1 roast chicken, about 1.2 kg/2 1/2 lb

• 4 kemiri nuts (or macadamia nuts)

• 5 cloves garlic

• 9 shallots

• 1 piece galangal root, about 2 cm/3/4 in long

• 1 teaspoon ground coriander

• 1/2 teaspoon cumin

• 1 teaspoon palm sugar

• 2-3 salam leaves (or bay leaves)

• 1/2 teaspoon trasi (shrimp paste)

• 1 jati leaf

• 1 tablespoon groundnut oil

• 2 cups coconut milk

• 4 hard-boiled (hard-cooked) eggs

• 1 can young jack fruit, about 550 g/19 oz

Serves 4-6

Method:

1. Crush the kemiri nuts in a mortar. Peel the garlic and shallots and also crush in the mortar. Peel the galangal root and crush.

2. Then mix all these ingredients with the rest of the seasoning (coriander, cumin, trasi, palm sugar, salam leaves and jati leaf: the latter gives the dish a reddish color) and stir well.

3. Fry this mixture in groundnut oil. Cut the chicken into eight pieces and add to the fried spice mixture. Pour in coconut the milk and simmer over a low heat for about 30 minutes.

4. When the chicken is cooked, add the jackfruit from the tin and the hard-boiled eggs. Simmer for a further 14 minutes.

5. Gudeg is served with Nasi liwet and Sambal bajak (refer recipe).