Chicken curry and potato croquettes: Ranie Saidi’s recipes for a Malaysian feast

Leeks play a major part in two Malaysian-inspired dishes: they melt into coconut in a marvellous chicken curry, and pair perfectly with peas in crunchy potato croquettes

Since moving from Malaysia to London more than a decade ago, I’ve slowly brought leeks into my everyday cooking. Their gentle sweetness reminds me of banana shallots, and I love how they melt into this chicken gulai. Bergedil (or begedil or perkedel) have always been one of my favourite street-food snacks, and are found at stalls across Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia. In Malay cooking, they’re often made using mashed potato that’s mixed with minced meat, shaped and fried, but my version uses leeks, frozen peas and leftover herbs, plus an orange, chilli and yoghurt dip.