Its been a while since my last post because I have been caught up with so many other things. I have been away twice and have recently (2 days ago) returned from Turkey craving Fried Chicken but needed to cut down on my calories so here is the low fat version 🙂 Enjoy it as much as me.
Crispy Baked Chicken
Ingredients
4/6 boneless, skinless chicken breast cut into manageable pieces
4 egg whites
170g lightly crushed cornflakes
1 tsp dried thyme
1 tsp dried oregano
3 tbsp. yogurt
½ tsp crushed or ground ginger
½ tsp fresh ground black pepper
salt (to taste)
1/2 tsp chilli flakes (optional)
2 tbsps flour
1 tsp lemon juice
1 tsp of brown sauce (Worcester sauce)
1 tsp garlic paste/powder (optional
Procedure
Place the chicken in a bowl and add the crushed ginger, garlic, yogurt, lemon juice, sauce and mix together. Cover with cling film and marinate for at least 3 hours minimum.
Preheat the oven as shown below. Line a baking sheet with foil and coat with non-stick cooking spray. In a plastic bag, combine the cornflake crumbs, thyme, oregano and pepper (chilli flakes) shake well. Dip and coat the chicken piece in egg whites then place in the bag, one piece at a time, and shake the bag to coat each piece of chicken well. Remove the chicken from the bag, and place on the prepared baking sheet.
At this point you can drizzle 2-3 tablespoons of melted butter over the chicken for that little extra crispiness, if you don’t mind the extra calories.
Bake until the chicken is cooked through and the juices run clear when the thickest part of the chicken is pierced with a fork. This is about 40 to 45 minutes but use your own judgment according to the size of your chicken pieces
In a pan put in the minced meat, the split chick peas, garam masala powder, garlic, ginger, red chillies, cumin, fennel and salt and cover just enough water so that the split chickpeas or ‘dhal’ becomes soft but not mushy. By this time the mince will also become tender.
Next, in a grinder put in the onion, the green chilli and 1 small egg, the coriander and lastly put into the mince mixture and grind till it is a smooth mixture. When done remove and make small flat patties out of the mixture. Whisk one egg and keep aside.
In a large frying pan heat some oil for shallow frying and then dip the patties in egg and fry in oil four at a time. When dark golden brown remove and serve immediately.
500g leftover cooked potatoes or mash from the chiller cabinet
418g can pink or red salmon , drained or leftover fresh salmon
140g frozen peas , defrosted
handful mint leaves, roughly chopped
1 tbsp sweet chili sauce or 1 tsp hot chilli sauce
1 tbsp tartar sauce
about 3 tbsp plain flour, for dusting
3 tbsps olive or vegetable oil
salt to taste
lemon wedges to serve, optional
Procedure
1If you are using leftover cooked potatoes, mash them until they are smooth. Flake the salmon into a bowl, removing any skin and bones. Add the peas, mint, tartar sauce and mashed potato, and season to taste. Mix well, then, using floured hands shape into 8 flat fishcakes. Dust with flour. Heat the oil in a large frying pan over a medium heat. Fry the fishcakes in 2 batches for 3-4 minutes each side, turning carefully with a fish slice or spatula until golden and crisp. Serve with a squeeze of lemon and a green salad.
This recipe is an adaptation of a Lebanese dessert called Sfouf
Sfouf is really very similar to a Victoria sponge but with the flavour and the syrup it becomes delicious ,moist and exotic. Variations of this cake can be found from the Middle East along the Mediterranean. I will post a video of another variation at the bottom which i also love.
Ingredients
250g butter
200g golden caster sugar
2 oranges , finely grated zest and juice
4 eggs
50g plain flour
2 tsps baking powder
250g semolina
200g ground almonds
120g Greek yoghurt
ORANGE SYRUP
2 oranges ,grated zest and juice
2 cinnamon sticks or pinch of saffron (optional)
275g sugar (caster or granulated)
500 ml water
Method:
To make the syrup put all the syrup ingredients in a pan with 500ml water and bring slowly to a simmer, stirring until all the sugar has dissolved. Reduce the heat and simmer until syrupy, about 15 minutes.
Heat the oven to 160 C. Butter and base line a 20cm spring form cake tin. Cream the butter, sugar and orange zest until pale and fluffy. Beat the eggs then whisk in one at a time.
Sift in the flour and baking powder and fold through along with the orange zest, semolina and almonds. Add the orange juice and yoghurt and stir gently. Place a few skinned almonds on the top for show if you want to but this is optional of course.
Pour into the prepared tin and cook for about 1 hour or until firm to the touch and a skewer comes out clean when inserted into the centre.
Remove the cake from the oven and pierce all over with a skewer. Pour half the hot syrup over the warm cake. Leave to cool.
Drizzle the cake with the remaining syrup and serve with a large spoonful of crème fraîche if you like.
Servings: 6/8
Oven Temperature: 160 C/140f/Gas 3 Try this one as an alternative.
Have a dose of what life is really like living here – from my single-handed destruction of the Turkish language, random arguments with random relatives about everything from apples to vaginas to learning the secrets to making the perfect içli köfte! Highs or lows this is my observations from the melting pot of crazy that is my life in Mersin.
Food Glorious Food 
You must be logged in to post a comment.