Ayam Betutu｜Bali

Part 1/38 in a series exploring one dish from each province of Indonesia.

Adapted from here.

☑ TESTED

Ingredients

• 1 whole chicken (~1.5 kg)
• 250g spinach
• 3 kaffir lime leaves, thinly sliced
• 2 bay leaves
• 2 tbsp oil
• 7 large red chillies, de-seeded then chopped
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 4 cloves garlic, chopped
• 10 cashews, crushed
• 1 tsp shrimp paste
• 3cm ginger
• 3cm galangal
• 2 tsp turmeric
• 1 tsp ground coriander
• ½ tsp white pepper
• ½ tsp cumin
• ½ tsp nutmeg
• 2cm cinnamon
• 3 tbsp tamarind water
• 5cm lemongrass, bruised then chopped
• 2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp sugar

Prep

Blend all the ingredients (from ‘oil’ downwards).

Cooking

Fry the blend until fragrant, stirring often. Set aside.

Rub half over the chicken.

Mix half of it with the spinach, bay leaves, lime leaves. Stuff into chicken.

Wrap chicken tightly in banana leaves, then in foil. Leave to marinate overnight.

Steam for 1 hour.

Roast for 1 hour (180° fan).

Serve topped with cooking juices.