Easy recipes from Apple Tree

Tag: Chicken (Page 1 of 3)

Ooni Oven Tandoori/Chicken Tikka

Placeholder recipe:

Create a marinade by mixing the following

  • 250ml yogurt
  • 1 1/2 tsp fresh ginger
  • 1 tbs fresh garlic
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1/2 tsp red food colouring
  • 1 lemon or lime, juiced
  • 1/2 Tsp turmeric powder
  • 1/2 Tsp extra hot chilli powder
  • 1/2 Tbs tandoori masala powder
  • 1/2 Tbs cumin powder
  • 1/2 Tbs coriander powder
  • 1/2 Tsp ground pepper
  • 1/2 Tsp citrus powder

Cut 600g chicken breast into skewerable chunks. Add to the marinade and stir about until coated. Marinate at least 6 hours. Cook in a pan in the Ooni at high temperature. Make naans too.

Chinese Sesame Chicken

Like many Westernised Chinese dishes, this probably bears little resemblance to an authentic dish. It is popular in American restaurants but not so prevalent in the UK although it bears a passing resemblance to variations of sticky chicken and sweet-and-sour. This recipe is for four people.

Mix the following then set aside:

  • 1 tbs sesame oil
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 tbs Chinese rice vinegar
  • 2 tbs honey
  • 2 tbs sweet chilli sauce
  • 3 tbs tomato ketchup
  • 2 tbs brown sugar
  • 4 tbs soy sauce

Mix and put in a bowl:

  • 1 cup plain flour
  • 0.5 tsp salt
  • 0.5 tsp white pepper
  • 0.5 tsp garlic powder
  • 2 tsp paprika

Now take:

  • 3 chicken breasts or thigh meat cut into bite sized chunks
  • 3 tbs cornflour
  • 2 eggs beaten
  • A good slug of rape seed oil

Assemble a production line of your chicken, then cornflour, then beaten egg then the flour mix. Put the oil in a wok and heat to sizzling. Dip each chicken piece in the cornflour, egg and then flour mix before dropping into the wok. Fry and stir until the pieces are golden and cooked. Remove the cooked pieces, put in a bowl lined with kitchen paper and transfer to an oven to keep warm. Tip #1: this can be a fiddly operation and you could end up with the first lump burning by the time the last lump goes in. Assemble the floured lumps on a plate so they all go in the pan together. Tip #2: you will probably need to do this in two batches anyway.

While the chicken is keeping warm tip your sauce mix into the wok and bubble away until thick and sticky. Return the chicken to the pan and roll them around until they are coated.

Sprinkle with sesame seeds and chopped spring onions, and serve over plain boiled rice. A side vegetable dish would complement this perfectly, such as mushrooms and pepper fry.

Simple Foolproof Biryani

From Nadiya Hussein (BBC Good Food), who knows. To serve 4.

First make the chicken part:

  • 450g diced chicken (thigh or breast)
  • 100ml olive oil
  • 3 onions, chopped
  • 5 garlic cloves, crushed and chopped
  • 2 tbs tomato puree
  • 3 tbs garam masala (I used a low-cinnamon version)
  • 1 tbs paprika

Toss the whole lot together in an oven-proof, lidded casserole dish. Add and mix in

  • 2 tbs cornflour

Cook in the oven 170C (fan) for 30 minutes.

Meanwhile make the rice.

  • 250g basmati rice
  • 750ml water
  • healthy pinch saffron
  • Cinnamon stick (optional)
  • 0.5tsp salt

Boil for five minutes. Drain and rinse in cold water. When the chicken is cooked, take the casserole out of the oven. Put the rice over the chicken and cover again. Turn the oven off and put the casserole dish back in the oven. Leave for 20 minutes. Serve with lemon wedges and sprinkle with chopped spring onion.

Jamaican Jerk Chicken

Serves four and makes a great meal alongside Rice ‘n Peas. Remember to allow time to marinade first. To make the marinade:

  • Bunch of spring onions or chives
  • 2 tbs grated ginger
  • 2 garlic cloves
  • 1/2 a small onion
  • 2 red chillies
  • 1/4 tsp dried thyme
  • Juice of half a lime
  • 4 tsp soy sauce
  • 4 tsp oil
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 2 tbs brown sugar
  • 1.5 tsp allspice

Mix that lot to a paste, ideally using a stick blender. Coat

  • 8 skinned chicken thighs

Put in a plastic bag or bowl and leave to marinate overnight. When you are ready to cook, either barbeque low and slow or put in the oven with half a lime, covered in foil for 45 minutes at 160C (fan oven). Squeeze the roasted lime and pan juices over the chicken and serve. Add more hot sauce if you like it hotter, depending on what chillies you used in the marinade.

Alabama Spatchcock BBQ Chicken

This is amazing and creates the most delicious tender, moist chicken inside a taste-bud bursting crispy skin. Want to find out more? The secret is to slow cook your chicken slathered in this Alabama sauce, then finish off under the grill or over the BBQ. First make your sauce:

  • 100ml mayonnaise
  • 100ml buttermilk or yoghurt
  • 3 tbs cider vinegar
  • 2 tbs horseradish sauce
  • 1 tbs English mustard
  • 1 stp garlic granules
  • small bunch of chopped dill.

Mix. Divide equally into two bowls. That’s the first bit done. Now take your chicken and slow cook it:

  • 1 spatchcocked chicken, any size but if really large check it is cooked properly with a meat thermometer
  • A rub mix made up of
    • 1 tbs smoked paprika
    • 1 tbs ground cumin
    • 1 tsp salt
    • 2 tsp garlic powder

Rub the rub all over your chicken. Lay it out in a tin, and cover tightly with foil. Cook in the over at 140C (Fan) for 1 hour 30 minutes or until cooked. At this point you can take it out and leave it to cool before finishing off under the grill. When ready to finish:

Fire up the BBQ or switch on the grill. Smother the chicken both sides with one of the bowls of sauce. You may need to skewer it to hold it together for handling, as it may otherwise fall apart. It will still taste as good but won’t look pretty! Grill/BBQ each side for 3-4 minutes. Brush with more sauce or juices and repeat until the skin is charred and crispy enough. If you had left it to cool you may need a few more turns but if transferred directly from the oven, a couple of cycles will probably be enough. Leave to rest and firm up for 10 minutes, then serve with the other bowl of sauce for dipping/more smothering.

Karahi Chicken Curry

Next time I’ll take a photo before the family tucks in. Authentic and simple. This serves 4 if you include rice, naans and a vegetable side. You can use any cut of chicken, bone in our out, but I prefer boneless thighs for flavour and convenience.

  • 1 onion, sliced and chopped
  • glug of oil

Gently fry the onion until transluscent. Add

  • 1 crushed garlic clove
  • 1 tbs grated fresh ginger

Cook for another minute. Add

  • 4-6 skinless, boneless chicken thighs, chopped into bite sized chunks

Cook away until coloured. Add

  • 2-3 tomatoes, chopped.

Cook for a few minutes. Add

  • 1 green pepper, halved and seeds removed
  • 0.5 tsp chilli flakes
  • 0.25 tsp turmeric powder
  • 1.5tsp garam masala or chaat masala
  • 1.5 tsp cumin powder

Stir in and cook for a few more minutes. Add

  • 1 cup /250ml boiling water

Stir, cover and cook for 30 minutes. Add

  • 2-3 tbs chopped coriander
  • salt to taste

Cook for another ten minutes. At this point it is ready. If you like thicker sauce, you can add a bit of cornflour to thicken to your preferred consistency.

Chicken Pakora

Great for an appetizer for an Indian meal, on their own or even as a side. Serves 3-4 as a starter

  • 250g chicken breast, cubed into bite sized chunks
  • 1 egg white
  • 1tsp garlic paste
  • 1 tbs grated fresh or frozen ginger root
  • 0.25tsp tumeric
  • 1tsp chilli powder
  • 1 tsp cumin powder
  • 0.5-1 green chilli, seeded and chopped
  • 1tbs chopped fresh coriander leaves
  • 0.5tsp salt
  • Juice of 1 lemon

Mix that lot up and leave for a few minutes while you heat up a pan of oil for deep frying. Warm your oven and have a plate with kitchen towel on handy.

Go back to your chicken and add

  • 2tbs gram flour
  • 1 tbs rice flour or plain flour

Mix into your marinating chicken. Add a bit more gram flour if necessary to make a sticky coating. When your oil is about 160C, drop pakora individually into the hot oil and fry for 3-4 minutes until brown and crispy like the photo abouve. Do this in batches so the pakora don’t clump up and the oil remains hot. Removewith a mesh or slotted spoon and drain on your kitchen towel. Keep warm on the plate in your oven while you fry the remainder.

Great served with a dipping chutney or riata.

Mama’s Jamaican Chicken

Serves four as a main course. One tricky part and the rest is very easy. Marinaded, seared then simmered. First make your marinade.

  • 2 spring onions
  • thyme – leaves from 3 sprigs
  • 2tbs chopped coriander leaves
  • 1tbs chopped parsley
  • 1tsp chopped ginger root
  • 2 garlic clives
  • dash of vegetable oil
  • half a lime, juiced
  • dash of Angostrua bitters
  • dash of hot chilli sauce

Blend all that with a stick blender to make a green sauce.

  • 8 chicken thighs, skin on

Marinade the thighs in the sauce for at least four hours or overnight.

  • 5 tbs caster sugur

Remove the chicken from the marinade. Scrape off the marinade and keep it. Here’s the tricky part. Spread the sugar over the base of a cast iron casserole and heat until it turns brown and smokes. If you let this go slightly too far it will burn and you’ll have to start again. At the right moment, put your chicken thighs on the pan skin side down so it sears in the hot caramel. After five minutes turn them over to sear the other side for a few minutes more. They should look nicely brown. Add the marinade you kept, and a dash of water. Cover and simmer for 30-40 minutes, adding more water if it is drying out and catching. When the chicken is cooked and you have a nice syrupy sauce, serve with rice ‘n’ peas.

Sri Lankan Chicken Curry

Thank you Aedy for bringing this one to Arford Books.

Mix

  • 1kg chicken, jointed or pieces preferably bone-in
  • 2.5tsp Sri Lancan roasted curry powder
  • 1tsp cayenne pepper or red chilli powder
  • 0.5tsp turmeric
  • 2tsp salt
  • 1tbs white wine venegar

Marinate for 30 minutes

  • 3tbs oil
  • 1 onion, chopped

Saute until translucent. Add

  • 1tbs minced garlic
  • 1tbs minced ginger

Saute for another two minutes. Add your marinated chicken plus

  • 2 sprigs curry leaves
  • 2 green chillies sliced

Stir and fry for two minutes. Add

  • 1 large roma/beef tomato chopped

Let it cook down. Add

  • 80ml tomato passata/sauce/puree OR 1tbs tomato paste with 2 tbs water
  • 250ml water

Let it come to the boil then cover and simmer for 30 minutes. Add

  • 80ml coconut milk

Simmer uncovered for 10 minutes. Adjust the seasonings and serve with rice, naan or roti.

Rotisserie Chicken

If you have a rotisserie. If not use your grill and keep turning!

Make a rub mix by mixing:

  • 1tsp paprika
  • 1tsp dried thyme
  • 1 tsp garlic powder
  • 1tsp onion powder
  • 0.5tsp salt
  • 0.5tsp ground black pepper.

This amount will just cover a medium chicken. If you like plenty of flavour or have a larger chicken, just double it but keep the ratios the same

  • 1 medium chicken
  • 2tbs oil
  • Rub mix

Mount your chicken on the rotisserie skewer. Smear oil over your chicken then spinkle the rub all over. It will stick, if you actually rub the rub it will come off on your hands which is pointless.

Grill for 75 minutes, basting every 20 minutes, then test with a thermometer – it should be 75C in the centre of meat mass, so check breast and thigh. If it’s not, grill a bit longer. When done, let it rest for 15 minutes while you make the sides. Roast sweet potato mash, corn and green beans works well!

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