About this recipe
Steamed rice with several curries ladled over it at once — the practice locals call banjir, flooding — served from Indian Muslim shops in Penang alongside fried chicken, curried squid, okra and salted egg. The name is said to come from the shoulder pole, kandar, that early vendors used to carry their pots, a story logged here for verification rather than stated as fact. What defines the dish is the deliberate mixing of gravies on one plate: no single curry is the point, and asking for a bit of everything is the correct way to order.
Recipe facts
- Yield
- 4 servings
- Prep
- 35 minutes
- Cook
- 1 hour 10 minutes
- Total
- 105 minutes
- Difficulty
- Moderate
- Spice
- Medium–Hot
Allergens Contains shellfish (squid), egg and tree nuts (candlenuts). Halal as written. Gluten-free.
Development draft. This is an untested development recipe from the cookbook project. It has not been kitchen-tested, and the quantities and timings are the author’s working draft rather than a verified result.
Ingredients
The rice
- 2 cups (400 g) long-grain rice, rinsed
- 2 1/2 cups (600 ml) water
- 1 tsp (6 g) salt
The fried chicken (ayam goreng)
- 4 bone-in chicken thighs, about 1 1/2 lb (680 g)
- 1 tbsp (8 g) ground turmeric
- 2 tsp (12 g) salt
- 3 cloves garlic, crushed
- 1 in (2.5 cm) fresh ginger, grated
- Neutral oil, for shallow frying
The squid curry
- 1 lb (450 g) cleaned squid, cut into rings
- 2 tbsp (30 ml) neutral oil
- 1 large onion, sliced
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 3 tbsp (24 g) meat curry powder
- 1 tsp (2 g) ground turmeric
- 2 ripe tomatoes, chopped
- 1 cup (240 ml) coconut milk
- 2 tbsp (30 ml) tamarind concentrate
- 1 tsp (6 g) salt
The dhal and okra gravy
- 1 cup (200 g) yellow split peas or red lentils, rinsed
- 4 cups (950 ml) water
- 2 tbsp (30 ml) neutral oil
- 1 tsp (3 g) black mustard seeds
- 10 curry leaves
- 1 onion, chopped
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 dried red chillies
- 1 tbsp (8 g) meat curry powder
- 8 oz (225 g) okra, trimmed and cut into 2 in (5 cm) lengths
- 1 1/2 tsp (9 g) salt
To serve
- 4 salted duck eggs, halved, or 4 hard-boiled eggs
- 1 cucumber, sliced
- Papadums (optional)
Equipment
- Rice cooker or medium saucepan with a tight lid
- Two medium saucepans, about 3 qt (2.8 L)
- Deep frying pan or wok for the chicken
- Blender or food processor
Method
- Rub the chicken thighs with the turmeric, salt, crushed garlic and grated ginger and leave 20 minutes while you start the gravies.
- Cook the rice: put the rinsed rice, water and salt in the rice cooker or saucepan, bring to a boil, cover, and cook on the lowest heat 15 minutes, then rest covered 10 minutes and fluff.
- Start the dhal: simmer the split peas in the 4 cups water in a saucepan 30-35 minutes, uncovered, until collapsing and soft. Top up with hot water if it dries out.
- Meanwhile make the squid curry. Heat the 2 tbsp oil in the second saucepan over medium heat and fry the sliced onion 5 minutes until soft, then the garlic 1 minute.
- Stir in the curry powder and turmeric and fry 1 minute until fragrant, then add the tomatoes and cook 4 minutes until they break down.
- Add the coconut milk, tamarind and salt, bring to a gentle simmer, then add the squid rings and cook just 3-4 minutes, until opaque and firm. Squid toughens if cooked longer. Take off the heat.
- Finish the dhal: heat the 2 tbsp oil in a small pan, add the mustard seeds and let them pop, then add the curry leaves, chopped onion, garlic and dried chillies and fry 4 minutes. Stir in the curry powder, cook 1 minute, then tip the whole lot into the cooked split peas with the okra and salt. Simmer 10 minutes, until the okra is tender but not slimy.
- Fry the chicken: heat 1/2 in (1 cm) oil in the deep pan over medium-high heat and fry the marinated thighs 6-8 minutes a side, until deep golden and cooked through to 165°F (74°C). Drain on a rack.
- To serve, mound rice on each plate. Ladle squid curry over one side and dhal-and-okra gravy over another so the gravies run together, then add a chicken thigh, half a salted egg and cucumber slices.
- Serve immediately, with papadums if you have them.
The Complete Edition
Nasi Kandar sits in the Malaysia chapter
The book carries this recipe in full alongside the rest of the Malaysia chapter, the pastes and dips it is built on, and the twenty-seven pantry studies that open the collection.
In review with Amazon KDP
Both editions have been submitted to Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing and are currently in review. Submitted prices are $9.99 for the kindle edition and $49.99 for the paperback. Neither is on sale yet, and prices are as submitted rather than final.