Recipe: nasi lemak, Malaysia’s national dish

Nasi lemak is Malaysia’s national dish. It is usually served for breakfast. A complete basic version consists of coconut rice, slices of cucumber, boiled egg, peanuts, fried crispy anchovies and sambal paste. It is traditionally wrapped and served in a banana leaf because of its aromatic fragrance and flavour, but the leaf is not edible. Delicious with spiced chicken.

• Heat a small frying pan over medium heat and toast the spice mixture for 1 minute, or until fragrant. Turn off the heat and use a mortar and pestle to grind the toasted mixture into a fine powder. Set aside.
• Using a hand blender, purée the ingredients for the curry paste with 2 tablespoons of water until fine and smooth. Put the paste in a large bowl, add the ground spice mixture, chilli powder and oil, and mix well. Add the chicken to the bowl and mix until the chicken legs are well coated with the marinade.
• Cover the bowl with cling film and refrigerate for 30 minutes to marinate.

• Preheat the oven to 200 °C. Place the marinated chicken in a large roasting tin and roast for 40 minutes, or until the chicken is cooked through. Baste the chicken halfway through the roasting time with the juices released. Remove the chicken legs from the oven and leave to rest for 5 minutes before serving. Ready to enjoy!