Crumbed Chicken

This fried chicken is an explosion of flavour to the taste buds. The chicken is first simmered until cooked through before being pan fried in a minimal amount of oil.

The chicken pieces can be prepared skinless, or with skins on. I prefer to leave the skins on as they supply nutrients with benefits that outweigh the fats of the skin, and I, for one, am far from being afraid the fats are going to clog up my arteries. The culprit responsible for Low Density Lipids (LDL cholesterol, the bad guy) blocking the arteries is not saturated fats, but altered and damaged fats, like margarine and oils that have been produced or extracted with heat and chemicals. The moral of the story is: eat the chicken skin!

Ingredients:

1.5kg chicken drumsticks and thighs, skinned if you prefer

7.5ml salt

7.5ml Red Freezer Masala

5ml turmeric

5ml garam masala

2.5ml chilli powder

7.5ml sunflower oil

10ml lemon juice

30ml ghee

30ml sunflower oil for frying

2 large eggs

125ml dried breadcrumbs

Pan Spices:

2 cardamom pods

3-4 whole cloves

4-5 pieces Indian cinnamon

To Garnish:

30ml roughly chopped fresh coriander

Method:

Prepare the marinade for the chicken:

Mix 5ml salt, the Red Freezer Masala, turmeric, garam masala, chilli powder, 7.5ml oil and the lemon juice to a thick paste. Rub well into the chicken and set aside for 5 minutes or more.

Heat the ghee in a wide, deep pot on medium. When hot, add the cardamom, cloves and cinnamon, stir and allow to sizzle for about 30 seconds. Add the chicken pieces, stir, cover and simmer in their own juices for 30-35 minutes, stirring occasionally to prevent the chicken from sticking to the bottom of the pot. When the juices have cooked away, remove from the pot and drain on absorbent kitchen paper.

While the chicken is cooking, beat the eggs, mixing in 2.5ml salt. Pour the breadcrumbs into a wide, shallow bowl.

Heat 30ml oil in a wide, non-stick pan on high. Dip the chicken in egg and roll in the breadcrumbs until completely coated. Place the pieces in the pan and fry for 1 minute per side, turning twice for a total cooking time of about 3 minutes per piece. Remove as soon as the chicken browns slightly.

Drain on absorbent kitchen paper, garnish with fresh coriander and serve with plain rice.

Cajun Fried Chicken Drumsticks

Ingredients:
3 eggs
80ml water
250ml hot red pepper sauce
1L flour
10ml pepper
10ml paprika
15ml cayenne pepper
900ml buttermilk
Salt, Pepper, and Garlic Powder to taste
1 kg chicken drumsticks
Peanut Oil, for frying

Method:

Place cut-up chicken in a large bowl, and cover with buttermilk. Cover and chill for two hours, or overnight.

In a large bowl, add eggs, water, and red pepper sauce. Whisk until combined.

In a large gallon freezer bag, mix flour, pepper, paprika, and cayenne.

Remove chicken from buttermilk and sprinkle lightly with salt, pepper, and garlic powder.

Place all chicken pieces in freezer bag with flour mixture. Shake until all pieces are evenly coated.

Remove chicken pieces one at a time, shaking excess flour. Dip each piece in the egg mixture, and return to bag of flour. After all pieces of been dipped in the egg mixture and put back in the bag, give it a second shake to coat chicken pieces again.

Heat oil in deep fryer or deep pan to 180˚C. Working in batches, drop each piece of chicken into the hot oil. Fry for 15-18 minutes, or until golden brown, turning occasionally if oil does not completely cover chicken. Keep in mind that dark meat chicken takes longer to cook than white meat.

Potato Pakora

Thinly sliced potatoes, dipped in a batter and deep fried. 

These slices are crisp on the outside with a soft potato centre. 

A yummy Indian-style snack that you can expect your friends to compliment you on! 

This batter can be used to make onion rings or other vegetables like courgette (zucchini)  and brinjal (aubergine).

Ingredients:

2 large potatoes, thinly sliced
125ml flour125ml + 15ml rice flour (rice powder)125ml + 15ml gram flour (chick pea flour)
A pinch of salt
A dash of white peeper
5ml of chilli flakes
375ml soda water, chilled (highly recommended to be chilled)
sunflower oil for deep frying

Chopped coriander to garnish
Method:

In a bowl mix the flour, gram flour, and rice flour. Add the soda water, salt, white pepper, and chilli flakes. Whisk just to obtain a batter. It should have the consistency of thick cream.

Heat the oil in a fryer to an adequate frying temperature. Test with a drop of batter; the batter should sizzle and begin to cook.

Dredge the potato slices in the batter one at a time and fry in batches until golden on both sides. 

Serve garnished with chopped coriander or with a spicy dipping sauce or chutney.

Fried Chicken Drumsticks

Ingredients:

10-12 Chicken Drumsticks
10ml Sea Salt
1ml Freshly Ground Black Pepper
5ml Paprika
5ml Turmeric
5ml Garlic Powder
5ml Onion Powder
5ml Dried Oregano
5ml Dried Basil
375ml Flour
7.5ml Baking Powder
250ml Butter Milk
Sunflower oil for frying

Method:

Place the chicken drumsticks in a glass bowl.

Mix the salt, black pepper, Paprika, turmeric, Garlic powder, Onion Powder, oregano and basil. Sprinkle ½ of the mixture on chicken. Add the buttermilk. Cover the chicken and soak for 1 hour, or over night.

In a shallow dish blend the remaining herb and spice mix with the flour and baking powder.

Flip the chicken drumsticks in the flour until coated with a thick layer.

Deep fry chicken drumsticks until golden brown and well done.

Transfer fried chicken drumsticks onto a paper towel to get rid of excess oil before serving.

English Fish and Chips

Ingredients:
4 fillets of firm white fish, like haddock, hake or cod.
170g flour
5ml bicarbonate of soda
1 small bottle or can of beer, 330-340ml
juice of 1 lemon
salt and pepper to season
extra flour to dredge the fish fillets
1.4kg potatoes, peeled and cut into chunky sized chips
sunflower oil to fry

Method:
Heat the oil in a chip pan or deep fat fryer to 190 C.

Prepare the chips and rinse and dry thoroughly.

Fry the chips for 3-4 minutes until soft but not coloured. Shake, drain well and set aside. Allow the oil to cool or lower the fat fryer temperature to 160 C.

Put some flour on a plate to dredge the fish fillets. Take the fillets, one at a time, and ensure they are covered with flour. It is important that the fish is covered with flour as it stops the batter slipping off when frying. Leave the fish fillets in the flour while making the batter.

Normally the batter should be made one hour before you use it, but if this is not convenient, use it as soon as you have made it. I find that standing the batter makes it fluffy and crispy when frying.

To make the batter, put flour, bicarb, salt and pepper into a large bowl. Add the beer gradually, whisking as you go until you have a thick coating batter. What ever beer is left is for the chef. Whisk the batter thoroughly until it is smooth and free of lumps. Add the lemon juice and mix thoroughly again.

Have newspaper - the traditional receptacle for fish and chips - or plates ready for serving.

Ensure your oil has cooled to 160 C. Once the oil temperature is suitable for fish frying, take one fillet of fish at a time, holding it by the tail or thin end, swirl it around the batter until it is well coated and plunge it immediately into the hot fat. As soon as it has crisped up and set, add the other fillets, one at a time, taking out the first fillets as they cook - about 6-10 minutes depending on the size and thickness. Place onto a paper lined tray and keep warm in the oven while finishing the cooking of the rest of the fillets.

Turn up the heat setting for your fryer to 190 C and cook the chips until golden and crisp.

Serve on newspaper - or plates -  with salt and vinegar or with fish and chip shop curry gravy.

Cook's Tip

This batter is great to use for small fish goujons, chicken goujons or tempura vegetables.    

Buttermilk Batter Fried or Baked Onion Rings

Ingredients:
2 large onions
1 cup all-purpose flour
2 cups buttermilk
1 Tbsp sugar
1 tsp baking powder
½ tsp salt
Peanut or olive oil

Method:
Cut onions into ½ inch slices and separate into rings. Set aside.

Whisk together flour, buttermilk, sugar, baking powder and salt until smooth.

Pour oil 2 inches deep into Dutch oven; heat to 375 degrees F. Dip onion rings in batter, coating very well. Fry a few rings at a time until golden. Drain on paper towels. Serve right away.

For oven baked Buttermilk Batter Onion rings: preheat oven to 375 degrees F. pour 1/3 cup peanut or olive oil onto jelly roll pan 15x10. place batter dipped onion rings onto pan and bake for 15 minutes or so. Remove from oven, flip over and bake for an additional 5 to 10 minutes or until golden.

Asian Fried Chicken with Garlic Chilli Sauce

This is one of those recipes you will make over and over again. Once you have tasted these Asian fried drumsticks you’ll be wanting more, even craving there delectable stickiness. The crunchy exterior can be made with plain flour or with rice flour if you want a gluten free crunch. But if you think you can eat these little delicacies without the chilli garlic sauce then think again. Flavoured with garlic, onion and hot sriracha sauce, this amazing sauce is the star of the show. However if you’re a woos and prefer a milder sauce, try tomato sauce with a little vinegar instead of the sriracha or use another sauce, like a soy honey and ginger sauce.

Cooks Note:

It is important to rest the drumsticks after coating them in flour and egg as this allows the crust to hold to the chicken better, helping to stop it from peeling away from the pieces as they fry. Also, if you want really juicy chicken, marinate the chicken with salt water in the fridge for an hour before dredging.

Ingredients:

For the Garlic Chilli Sauce:

30ml sunflower or peanut oil

5 cloves garlic, minced

1 large shallot, chopped fine

30ml fish or soy sauce

30ml packed soft brown sugar (Muscovardo)

30ml rice wine vinegar or white vinegar

50ml tomato sauce or ketchup

15-30ml Sriracha or hot chilli sauce

For the Fried Chicken:

1kg chicken drumsticks, washed and patted dry

4-5 eggs

Plain flour or rice flour for dredging- you may need as much as 3 cups of flour

Sunflower or peanut oil for frying

Method:

To make the sauce, heat the oil in a saucepan and add the garlic and shallots. Sauté until translucent and slightly coloured. Take care not to burn. Add the fish or soy sauce, the sugar, vinegar, tomato sauce and sriracha, stirring to combine well. Reduce the heat to low and simmer for 3-5 minutes before removing from the heat. If the sauce is too thick for your liking, add water, a tablespoonful at a time until the desired consistency is acquired.

To make the chicken, beat the eggs in a large bowl. In another bowl, place flour. Dredge the chicken first in flour, shaking off the excess flour, then dip in the egg, ensuring the chicken is totally coated. Now dredge again in flour to ensure a thick coating, gently shaking off any excess flour. Set the coated chicken aside on a wire rack for at least 15 minutes to rest.

In a large pot or frying pan, heat about an inch of oil. Be sure that the depth of oil will not overflow when the chicken pieces are added. Heat the oil to about 180˚C. Fry the chicken in batches so as to not overcrowd the pan and reduce the temperature of the oil too much. Carefully put the drumsticks in the oil and fry on both sides till crispy and cooked – about 10 minutes on each side. Make sure that the oil heat does not rise too much as this will crisp the outside of the chicken before it is cooked through properly.

Put the sauce in a large bowl and toss the fried chicken to coat all over.

Serve hot.