Kari Ayam (Chicken Curry)

Here's a recipe from Mark Bittman's "The Best Recipes in the World".

This curry is great with white rice, but even better with the Malaysian coconut rice, Nasi Lemak. You can make this curry a day in advance - keep it covered in the refrigerator overnight and warm it gently over low heat before serving.

One 1-inch piece fresh ginger, peeled and coarsely chopped
5 shallots, coarsely chopped
3 garlic cloves, coarsely chopped
1 tablespoon corn, grapeseed, or other neutral oil
1 chicken, 3-4 lbs, cut into serving pieces, or 2-1/2-3 lbs chicken thighs, trimmed of excess fat
Salt to taste
1/2 cinnamon stick
1 whole star anise
2 whole cloves
3 tablespoons curry powder
1-1/2 cups coconut milk

Combine the ginger, shallots and garlic in a food processor or blender and puree to a coarse paste. Set aside

Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. When it shimmers, season the chicken with salt, add it, skin side down, and brown well, rotating and turning the pieces as necessary, 10-15 minutes.

When the chicken has browned, transfer it to a plate and add the shallot-ginger-garlic paste to the pan. Cook, stirring, until lightly colored and fragrant, about 4 minutes. Add the cinnamon stick, star anise, cloves, and curry powder and cook for a minute more, then return the chicken to the skillet and season well with salt.

Add the coconut milk to the pan, scraping with a wooden spoon to incorporate any solids into the sauce. Lower the heat so the coconut milk is simmering gently and cook, partially covered, for 30 minutes, or until the chicken is cooked through (you may want to remove the breast meat from the sauce after 20 minutes and warm it through just before serving - this will keep it from overcooking). Remove the whole spices from the pan and serve warm with Nasi Lemak or plain jasmine rice.