Easy Fragrant Balinese Chicken Curry from Scratch

Published: May 28, 2017 · Modified: Dec 5, 2022 by Julie Carlyle · This post may contain affiliate links · 19 Comments

I'm off to Bali next week! Woo hoo!! I love the warm weather and the delicious Balinese food. Each time we visit I attend cooking classes and collect as many recipes as possible. This Fragrant Balinese Chicken Curry is a recipe I developed from a smoked slow cooked duck dish we made in a previous class.

Fragrant Balinese Chicken Curry

Julie Carlyle

This is a simple dish that you will make again and again.

Print Recipe

Prep Time 10

Cook Time 20

Total Time 30

Course Main Course, Main Dish

Servings people

Ingredients

6 chicken thigh fillets
½ red capsicum cut into strips
200 gm coconut cream
4 pcs lemongrass crushed slightly
6 kaffir lime leaves sliced finely
2 limes 1 lime for juice - 1 lime for serving
¼ cup fresh coriander

Spice Paste

8 shallots (small onion -not green spring onion)
12 cloves garlic
5 small hot red chilli
4 large mild red chilli
30 gm fresh ginger peeled
30 gm galangal peeled
30 gm fresh tumeric peeled
3 teaspoon tamarind paste
1 teaspoon coriander seed
1 TBS palm sugar
1 teaspoon shrimp paste
1 teaspoon salt
¼ cup coconut oil

Instructions

Spice Paste

Place all the spice paste ingredients in TM Bowl. Blend 10 sec/Speed 9.
Scrape down the bowl. Blend 30sec/Speed 9. Repeat until paste forms. (Alternatively, pulse in a food processor)
Place one cup of the Balinese Spice Paste in a jar and pour a thin layer of oil over the top. Seal the jar and refrigerate for future use.

Balinese Chicken Curry

Preheat the oven to 200 degrees Celcius.
Add the chicken thigh fillets to a large glass bowl.
Pour the spice paste over the chicken. The chicken can be allowed to marinate in the spices or cooked straight away. (cover and refrigerate if marinating)
Add the marinated chicken thigh fillets to a roasting tray.
Top with sliced capsicum, juice from 1 lime, ½ the lime leaves and bruised lemongrass stalks.
Cook the chicken uncovered for 10 mins.
Remove the tray from the oven and turn each thigh fillet over.
Add the coconut milk and remaining lime leaves to the roasting pan and stir the mixture to combine. Continue to cook the curry for a further 10-15 minutes.
Garnish with sliced lime and top with coriander leaves.

Notes

The Balinese Chicken Curry can be marinated the night before for a super quick weeknight meal.

Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

Balinese Chicken Curry - Prior to Cooking

This recipe is perfectly suited to the Thermomix and so much easier than pounding spices by hand. If you don't have a Thermomix you can always use a food processor to make the Balinese curry paste.

Once the spice paste has been made, a portion is reserved for future use so you will be able to prepare any even quicker dish next time you're in a hurry.

Don't forget to pin the recipe for later.

If you would like more great Thermomix recipes, please follow the ThermoKitchen FB Page. I share loads of great recipes on the page. Our community group page also shares recipes from other fabulous Thermomix bloggers.

Thanks for stopping by!

More All Recipes

Comments

Sue says

February 19, 2022 at 9:43 pm

Love this recipe, definitely a family favourite, great having the extra paste to use for another batch 😊

Reply
- Julie Carlyle says
  
  February 19, 2022 at 9:50 pm
  
  Hi Sue
  I’m so pleased you enjoy the recipe 🥰
  Thank you so much for coming back and leaving a comment.
  Julie
  
  Reply
Danielle Phillips says

November 15, 2021 at 10:03 pm

Have been eyeing this recipe off for a while and finally made it tonight, it is amazing!!! Sooo full of flavour! Took the seeds out of the small chillis and used the whole 400g tin of coconut cream and still spicy enough for us. Thanks for this fantastic recipe 😄

Reply
Mikaela says

June 09, 2019 at 9:32 am

Hi there, do you keep the seeds in the chilli's?
Thank you 🙂

Reply
- Julie Carlyle says
  
  June 09, 2019 at 10:30 am
  
  Hi Mikaela,
  It's up to you whether you keep the seeds or remove them. If you don't mind a little bit of heat you can leave the seeds in. If you prefer a mild curry take them out 🙂 When you served the curry if you feel it's too hot just add a little more coconut cream 🙂
  Happy Cooking
  j
  
  Reply
Cate Douglas says

March 19, 2019 at 4:49 pm

Have made this for tonights dinner (chicken marinating as we speak) and cannot wait.. I was looking for suggestions on what to serve with the chicken..? tia

Reply
- Julie Carlyle says
  
  March 19, 2019 at 6:37 pm
  
  Hi there Cate, I hope you like the dish, I usually just served this dish with rice, sometimes I add a garlic bread to the oven for the kids. It would also be nice served with some garlic buttered green beans. 🙂
  Happy eating 🙂
  Julie
  
  Reply
Roselyn Keen says

March 09, 2019 at 3:52 pm

Can you use breast instead of thigh?

Reply
- Julie Carlyle says
  
  March 12, 2019 at 4:51 pm
  
  Hi Roselyn
  Yes, you can use breast instead of the thigh but the thigh meat has more flavour and moisture.
  Happy Cooking
  j
  
  Reply
Lynne says

January 26, 2019 at 7:45 pm

OMG OMG OMG!! I am in training for a trip to Bali later in the year... if the food tastes this amazing, I'm in for a real treat.
(I suspect I've hit peak Balinese now, and anything else will be a let down. 🙁 )

Reply
- Julie Carlyle says
  
  January 31, 2019 at 9:40 am
  
  OMG, You are so kind 🙂 Thank you so much for returning to the site and leaving a comment which has totally made my day. 🙂
  Happy cooking 🙂
  
  Reply
Sue says

January 22, 2019 at 2:19 pm

Hi, I’m wondering how long the paste will keep in the fridge. I made some in November and have just found the second batch of paste at the back of the fridge, is it ok to use after two months? I poured the layer of oil over the top, but can see now it’s absorbed into the paste. Smells ok...

Reply
- Julie Carlyle says
  
  January 22, 2019 at 5:32 pm
  
  Hi Sue, Thanks for your question. I have done exactly the same thing with the paste. As long as it has been refrigerated and doesn’t have any obvious signs of spoilage or contamination, such as mound, you will be fine to use the paste. It may have lost some of the strong, fresh herb Flavours but it will still make a lovely dish. Thanks again for your question.
  
  Reply
Danielle says

August 17, 2017 at 5:43 pm

This was fantastic, just like the curries I enjoyed in Bali. I used double the ginger instead of the galangal, and coconut sugar instead of palm sugar. Quite spicy - next time I might leave out a 2 or 3 of the small red chilli to make it a bit milder for family members that aren't too keen on spicy food!

Reply
- Julie Carlyle says
  
  August 18, 2017 at 7:00 am
  
  Hi Danielle, Thank you so much for your comment. I'm so pleased you enjoyed the recipe. I agree it can be hard to get the level of spice right for the family. 🙂
  
  Reply
Jane says

June 08, 2017 at 11:32 am

I can imagine the fragrance of the lemongrass mixed with coconut cream. Yeah! I grew up with these ingredients.

Reply
Luci's Morsels says

June 08, 2017 at 11:00 am

This looks so delicious and I wish I could smell it too! Yummy! Thank you for sharing this! Luci’s Morsels | fashion. food. frivolity.

Reply
Brandi Crawford says

June 08, 2017 at 10:55 am

These photos are gorgeous! This looks so delicious. I have never made my own and definitely need to try this.

Reply
Catherine says

June 08, 2017 at 10:45 am

I love everything in this dish...all those wonderful flavors together...Mmmm this sounds so good!

Reply

Fragrant Balinese Chicken Curry

Ingredients 1x2x3x

Spice Paste

Instructions

Spice Paste

Balinese Chicken Curry

Notes

More All Recipes

Reader Interactions

Comments

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Ingredients