Ayam Masak Lemak Cili Api (Chicken in Creamy Coconut Milk and Bird Chillies)

This is a simple recipe popular in Negeri Sembilan, one of the states in Malaysia where most of the people originate from Minangkabau in Sumatra.
I never miss the 'masak lemak' whenever I pass Nilai. Seremban or Kuala Pilah in Negeri Sembilan. The dish here is original and full of 'oomph' with the bird chillies. In Kuala Lumpur, it is not so hot.

Ingredients:

1 chicken, cut to 12 pieces
12 bird chillies
5 shallots
3 cloves garlic
3cm fresh turmeric
3 cups coconut milk
enough salt
3 sticks lemon grass, crushed
1 turmeric leaf, cut to 3 or 4  pieces
3 potatoes, skinned and quartered

Way to Cook:

Skin and clean the cut chicken pieces.

Pound or grind the bird chillies, shallots,garlic and fresh turmeric till fine.
Place the pounded ingredients in a deep pot. Add the cleaned chicken and cook above a gentle fire, stirring continuously. When the ingredients has dried up, add the coconut milk and potatoes. Stir all the time to prevent the coconut milk from greasing, that is the oil must not separate from the milk. Therefore, the fire must always be small. This is the secret of making a good 'masak lemak'. You must be a patient person as cooking chicken 'masak lemak' will take quite some time compared to cooking fish 'masak lemak'.

Add the lemon grass, cut fresh turmeric leaf and salt when the potatoes are cooked. Stir until the gravy becomes thick and quite concentrated, maybe 1 cup less than originally added.

'Masak lemak' is best eaten with hot boiled white rice and sambal bilis (anchovies) or any sambal.