Ayam goreng Kalasan (lit. Kalasan fried chicken) originates from Yogyakarta's Kalasan area, near the Prambanan Temple.^[2] The dish was created by Nini Ronodikromo from the village of Candisari, during the Japanese occupation of Java. Ronodikromo, better known as Mbok Berek, ran a small stall selling ayam goreng and created the dish after learning of a cooking technique taught by an unknown elderly man said to have come from the Baduy of West Java.^[3]

The success of the dish cumulated to Mbok Berek's opening of a restaurant specialising in the dish, later visited and further popularised by Indonesian president, Sukarno in the 1950s.^[3] Upon the restaurant's bankruptcy and demise in the 1960s, the dish was reproduced and spread by her former staff and patrons, who opened restaurants of their own.^[4][5] Such patrons included Suharti, founder of the Ayam Goreng Suharti chain of restaurants, which initially used Mbok Berek's name before reverting to her own name.^[6] Upon the death of Mbok Berek, the recipe was passed down to her descendants, who later opened a restaurant of their own in Jakarta in 1978.^[3]

Presently, the Candisari village has become a centre of the dish, with 54 distinct businesses specialising in the dish operating in the area.^[4]

The dish is traditionally prepared with the ayam kampung chicken, native to Indonesia. Apart from the cooked chicken, the dish is most commonly served with rice and is paired with a sambal and a vegetable lalab, typically consisting of cucumbers, basil leaves, and cabbage.^[7] It is typically prepared with young chickens seasoned with a spice mix that includes salt, shallots, garlic, coriander, galangal, bay leaves, among other ingredients and boiled in coconut milk. The resulting dish is topped with its distinctive kremesan, a crisp, fried batter made of starch flour, chicken stock, and eggs.^[6]

• Ayam goreng
• Ayam penyet
• Javanese cuisine
• Indonesian cuisine