since we have an indonesian maid here, she taught me a fwe dishes from her homeland. here is another one to go with the fish head soup and yellow rice we enjoyed last night.

yogya fried chicken (indonesian ayam goreng yogya)

1 chicken, about 1.25kg(2 1/4 lb), cut into 8 pieces
500ml (2 cups) water
oil for deep frying

spice paste
1 t. coriander seeds
3 cloves garlic, peeled and slcied
2 cm (3/4in) fresh turmeric, peeled and slcied
(or 1 t. turmeric powder)
2 cm (3/4in) ginger, peeled and sliced
1 cm (1/2in) galangal, peeled and slcied
(if dried ones are used, double the amount.)
1 T. chopped palm sugar (or brown sugar)
2 T. oil
2 salam leaves (duan salam) **if not found, omit it all together

to make the spice paste, grind or blend all ingredients except oil and salam leaves until fien. Heat oil in a wok and saute teh spice paste and salam leaves for 3 mintes. add chicken and cook, stirring, until well coated. add water and simmer, uncovered, until chicken is almost cooked and sauce is dry. leave to cool.
just before chicken is required, heat oil and deep-fry chicken until it is crispy and golden brown in color. **(since the chicken is cooked , the frying process should be very quick.)