Chicken Cooked In Coconut milk

 One of my favourite Jamie Oliver recipes is this roast chicken recipe, where he cooks his chicken in milk flavoured with lemon rind, garlic and cinnamon. This inspired me to tweak the recipe a bit by replacing the milk with coconut milk and using local flavours like pandan leaves, curry leaves, cinnamon and cardamon pods. The chicken turned up beautifully moist while the sauce when reduced was delicious.
I like my roast with skin on but if you don't like it you can remove the skin before cooking.

Recipe : Chicken cooked in coconut milk recipe inspired by Jamie Oliver's  Chicken Cooked in milk

1 chicken (1400g), wing tips removed and fat trimmed off.
1 tsp chilli powder
1 tsp ground black pepper
1/2 tsp turmeric
1/2 tsp ground cumin
salt
8 cloves garlic, skin on, each given a good whack to flatten up
1 " ginger sliced, no need to peel
1 onion cut into wedges
8 curry leaves
1 large pandan leaf stripped  and tied into a knot
2 inch stick of cinnamon
6-8 green cardamon pods end snipped off and left whole
oil
600ml canned coconut milk ( if using  fresh use the first extract of milk, if using powder dissolve about 3-4 tbsp dry powder in 600ml water.)
250 ml water or chicken stock.
1/2 lime or lemon

Pat the chicken dry using paper towels. Season well with salt. In a small bowl mix chilli powder (use pure red chilli powder)  ground pepper, turmeric and ground cumin with a teeny tiny pinch of salt and rub this all over the chicken.

Take a large pot, ovenproof, deep enough and large enough to fit the chicken. Place over a high heat and add about 2-3 tbsp oil.  Place the chicken breast side down and sear the skin till golden, switch to the sides until the two sides and its back are properly seared. Remove to a plate.

Preheat oven to gas mark 5

Remove any excess oil from the pan, return to the stove over medium heat and add the onion wedges, 6 cloves garlic, and ginger and cook for 1 minute to colour them. Pour the coconut milk, scrap the bottom to remove any stuck chicken bits, and Switch off the heat. Add the required amount of water or chicken stock and give a stir.

Stuff the chicken cavity with 2 cloves garlic, 2-3 slices ginger and the lime half. Place the chicken carefully, breast side up,  in the pot.

Add cinnamon stick , cardamom pods, pandan leaves and curry leaves into the coconut milk.

Place the pot inside the oven ( middle shelf) and cook for 1 1/2 hours ( time depends on the size of the chicken). Every  20 minutes baste the chicken,(meaning take the pot out and ladle the coconut milk mixture all over the chicken otherwise the chicken will dry up, ).

Once the chicken is cooked, remove the pot, take the chicken out from the pot and place in a baking sheet, . Take the lime and garlic out, add the garlic to the coconut milk mixture and squeeze the lime half into the milk. Cover the chicken loosely with foil and leave it to rest.

Place the pot on stove over high heat and boil the coconut milk mixture till reduced and thick, taste and add salt to taste.  Strain it through a sieve and push the garlic through the sieve, , taste again to make sure you are happy with it. Mine had a bit of a bitter taste, a little sugar balanced it.

Serve chicken drizzled with the coconut sauce with accompaniments such as rice pilaf and vegetables. I served mine with my pan-fried potatoes and  broccoli dish.