Bali Curry. A Spicy Coconut Delight.

A classic Balinese dish. One of my absolute faves.

Arni’s whipping up a batch in the kitchen right now. I can barely concentrate as the spicy aromas waft into my house.

This recipe is enough for two but we like to make a big pot and eat it over a few days. The flavours intensify every day. So delicious.  

This is what you need:

2 pieces chicken (optional)

2 tbspns Bumbu Bali (recipe below)

1 stalk lemongrass

1 piece salam leaf (optional)

1 tbspn brown sugar

2 limes (squeezed)

½ tspn salt

½ tspn pepper

150ml thick coconut milk/cream

½ litre water

¼ kg mix of carrots, potatoes or other hard veggies

Do This:

Put chicken into a saucepan. Add Bumbu Bali, salem leaves, lemongrass, salt & pepper. Massage the mix into the chicken.

Pour in water (must cover the chicken)

Boil over a high heat for 10 mins.

Add vegetables, reduce heat, cook until water reduces down to nearly nothing.

Add in coconut milk, brown sugar and lime juice. Cook over high heat until curry thickens.

Your Bali Curry is ready to be served.

My personal kitchen notes:

We often make this as a vegetable curry, just needs a little less water. Depending on what’s in the garden we use eggplant, sweet potato, choko, carrots. And because I love greens we toss in a handful of chopped up beans or green spinach type leaves for a couple of minutes before serving.

Bumbu Bali

This is what you need:

10cm greater galangal            or 2 tbspns galangal powder

5cm lesser galangal                or 1 tbspn lesser galangal powder

5 cm turmeric              or 1 tbspn turmeric powder

3cm ginger                              or ½ tbpsn ginger powder

7  shallots                              

7 cloves garlic

3 long red chillies                   or 1 red pepper

2 hot chillies

¼ tspn shrimp paste

2 salam leaves (fresh)            or 1 bay leaf

1 stick lemongrass

4 tbspns coconut oil

½ tspn sea salt

Do This:

Finely chop all ingredients except the salem leaves and lemongrass.

Crush in mortar and pestle or use a blender. (you may need a little water in the blender)

Heat the coconut oil over a high heat, fry the grounded spices; add the salem leaf and lemongrass and salt.

Stir constantly for 5 minutes until you get a pleasant strong aroma.

Bumbu Bali is ready to use.

Additional notes:

Bumbu Bali is not eaten directly, but used as a basic spice in cooking. It can be used to cook chicken, pork, vegetables, tempeh, tofu, shrimp, lobster. Use with a 4:1 ratio. Eg. 25gms or 1 tablespoon Bumbu Bali for 100gms of ingredients.

My personal kitchen notes:

You should be able to get at least one type of fresh galangal from an Asian grocer, if not it’s no big deal if you leave it out. This recipe makes a decent size batch. It keeps in the fridge for 3-5 days.

Experiment with the flavours until its right for you. Every kitchen in Bali has its own version of this recipe!

Thanks to Bali Farm Cooking for the recipe. It’s the best place in Bali for a day of hands on cooking in authentic Balinese style. Read about my day at the farm here.