Do you know that Kuzi has Middle Eastern influence which has been adapted by Johoreans with the introduction of spices and special ingredients? 🙂
You can now learn this authentic traditional recipe from the expert herself, Datin Hamidah Abdul Hamid. Thanks to Johor Corporation for making this video possible.
This recipe is taken from the Johor Palate: Tanjung Puteri Recipes book written by Datin Kalsom Taib & Datin Hamidah. The book won “Best in the World” in the Culinary Heritage Category at the World Cookbook Fair – Gourmand International – Gourmand Awards 2015
Get the copy of the book here: http://bit.ly/JohorPalate
Ingredients:
2 kg whole chicken
For the marinade
10 g pepper
1 tbsp salt
60 g butter, melted
1 kg ghee
Fry these ingredients separately
10 large onions, halved and sliced across
2 cups raisins, reserve some for garnishing
2 cups almond cuts, reserve some for garnishing
6 potatoes, boiled until soft, peeled, left whole and soaked in ½ cup thick soya sauce for colour before frying
6 eggs, hard boiled, shelled, left whole and soaked in
½ cup thick soya sauce for colour before frying
For stir frying
21 cm cinnamon bark, cut into pieces
35 cloves
25 green cardamoms
Coarsely blend in a food processor for the gravy
20 shallots
1 bulb garlic
6 bunches coriander leaves, coarsely cut
5 bunches spring onion, coarsely cut
2 cups mint leaves
20 cm ginger, coarsely chopped
25 green chillies, coarsely chopped
5 tins (each 390g) evaporated milk
5 key limes
4 litres water
2 tins (each 430g) tomato sauce
2 ½ tins (each 411g) tomatoes
1 tin (400g) chestnuts
2 cups honey
5 tsp pepper
300 g biryani spice mix
5 g saffron
Salt to taste
Method:
1. Clean the turkey, wash with key lime juice and rub with the marinade. Allow to rest for 60 minutes.
2. Cook the ghee rice.
3. Mix together a portion of cooked ghee rice and a combination of the fried items, including the fried eggs and potatoes and stuff the turkey. Secure the opening with a bamboo satay stick or sew with string. Tie the tow hind legs for easy handling later.
4. Rub the turkey with some oil and place in a baking tray with the wings tips tucked under the body.
5. Roast in a preheated oven at 180 0C for 2 hours. Turn over to brown evenly.
6. Mix the key lime juice with evaporated milk to make yoghurt.
7. Place a heavy based pot big enough to hold the turkey on the stove.
8. Heat the leftover ghee in the pot and sauté the whole spices until aromatic. Stir in the coarsely blended ingredients. Add the yoghurt and the remaining ingredients except the leftover fried eggs and potatoes and rose water and slowly boil for 11/2- 2 hours over medium to low heat until the gravy starts to thicken.
9. Reduce the heat to its lowest. Transfer the roasted turkey and its juice to the gravy pot and add the remaining fried potatoes and eggs. Pour in any leftover soya sauce.
10. Cover the pot and simmer for 30-45 minutes to allow the turkey to absorb the gravy. Occasionally baste the turkey with gravy and turn it over once to cook evenly. Add hot water, if necessary.
11. Sprinkle in the rose water mixed with little water and cover the port to retain the fragrance.
12. Transfer the kuzi to a big casserole dish and garnish with the served raisins, almond cuts and innards.
13. Serve the kuzi with the extra ghee rice, acar, dalca, salad and sambal garam lada or serve with any kind of bread or ketupat.