Chicken Nuggets & Onion Rings the Crispiest way...!

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The best part of  making such snacks at home is that you know what you put in them, it is without any taste enhancer,glutamate,spices whose names you have never heard and  above all they are handmade, I love it when they all are not in one shape and size, they are small, thin,thick,round and square.

I must say I so enjoyed making them and the first bite of it was like WOW what a crisp!.

Of course not to forget my special crumbs I use, have a great part in it, if you remember I told you I use my Rusk crumbs for my coating, as this is light and gives an incredible crisp to fries.

 

The batter i use here is known as the “Beer batter” but without Beer, made with Soda water: D

The Soda water gives it a light airy structure it is not heavy and this gives the meat a nice crispy layer.

We had a cooking competition show here in the Tv where the cook made this batter to fry the prawns. He used the real beer in it, but mentioned that the soda water has the same effect.

Since then I use this batter for many things, I made my onion rings in the rest of the batter after I had fried all nuggets. The nuggets stayed crispy quite long at least 3 hours after frying , the onion rings get softer after an hour, so don’t think that they  will stay crispy for a life time …lol….

 

 

I have taken pictures of all steps, though it’s easy but I thought to make it more easier for many of you to make these :D

 

 

 

 

 

200g Chicken breast fillet,washed and cut in pieces you like, square or round or triangle

1 Cup plain flour

1tsp corn flour

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1 tsp black and white pepper

1/2 tsp Paprika powder

1/2 tsp salt or to taste

1/2 tsp garlic salt

(if not at hand, grate 1 fresh pod of garlic)

 

 

1 Cup of Soda water to mix into a creamy batter

 

This is how it bubbles and exactly this is what makes the batter light and gooey

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The batter will give you this look, smooth and creamy

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dip the chicken cubes in this batter and cover them with the help of a spoon

I made the coating Crumbs before hand sp this si what you do:

 

 

 

 

 

6-8 Rusks

Grind them into a fine powder

and this is how it Looks:

 

 

 

 

 

 

so now toss and twist the chicken pieces in the crumbs so all sides are well covered

 

 

Now heat the oil well but not too hot as they will burn and turn dark Brown, just around the mark 3 and they turn lovely golden in Color

 

 

Fry around 2-3 minutes and they are ready, take them out on a kitchne paper so the extra oil is absorbed and there you have your Ultra yummy Nuggets ready :)

 

 

 

 

 

I made the sweet sour sauce with it and i must say it is far far much better than the one you get  at any Mcdonald’s or Burger King. It is just a matter of experimenting around.

 

 

 

I was reading the ingriedeints behind the bottle of this sauce and thought , well if I exclude all the “not important” ingredients I can try it at home, it is simple no special chemistry in it :)

 

So this is what I did and it is Super!!! Do try, I made it in a very less quantity to test and now I can make it more when needed.

I set the onion rings on a stick like bangles but had no stand to hang them :) so i let the stick stay in the middle so they stay crispy, incase you wonder what's the stick doing in the rings ..lol...
 

 

 

 

 

 

The Sweet & Sour Sauce:

50 ml Pineapple Juice

1 tsp plain ketchup

1 tsp soy sauce

1 tsp honey

1/2 tsp vineger

1 tsp flour

Mix all in the Juice and let it cook on a medium flame till it gets thick, cool and serve
 
 

 
 

**Monkey Bread / Pull-Apart Bread**

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It’s a strange name  and many object on naming it this way but… people have chosen it coz its similar to the pull apart function  : ) It’s soft and nice and very cinnamonyyyyy and I love all baked with cinnamon in it

The dough is similar to my German Butter cake made with fresh yeast. In this dough we add sugar so it’s called the Sweet dough,

We can of course make our own dough at home from the scratch but honestly that s too much work; I’d rather bake a pizza from that dough when it’s ready lol…

 

   look at the sticky honey yummmy balls :D

 
So I bought this readymade packed biscuit dough and it’s a work of hardly half an hour with a great result, just one thing,don’t keep the bread after its bakes, too long because it looses its soft yummy taste after its cold, my experience, I thought I’d eat it the next day but it was not at all tasty as it was when fresh baked. 

I reheated it but the dough in my toaster but it had a strange structure like old bread from last two days :/

 

But it is a try worth as it really yummy.. And once it is served it is already gone in no time, one cannot resist the aroma and taste of the Cinnamon and goooey honey in it ..yummmmzzz : D

 

So here’s what you need for it:

 

2 cans of Pillsbury biscuits dough

1 cup brown sugar

2 tsp cinnamon powder

150 gr butter (melted)

1 cup chopped nuts

(Walnuts/Almonds/Hazel nuts) Depends on ur choice

100 gram raisins

-cut the biscuit dough in four triangles (4 reach)
-Mix the sugar with 1 tsp of cinnamon powder in a bowl

Melt the butter and mix in the other 1tsp of cinnamon in it
-Take a Bundt baking form

-grease it slightly
-now  first dip each piece in the butter/cinnamon then put all pieces of dough in the cinnamon/sugar bowl and mix  all thoroughly so that the pieces are good coated with it

Place it in the form so that it takes a shape of a cake  
-spread the nuts and raisins on it
-cover with a second layer the same way
-when the form is full, pour the melted butter all over the bread covering all pieces with it
-Bake it in a pre-heated oven on 180 C for around 25-35 mints
-you can do the tooth pick test, if it comes out clear, it’s done
-Take it out and turn over gently onto a deep tray as it is still warm
-Be careful as the melted butter will leak out from sides

-let it stay for 5-8 mints and eat hot as later it starts turning a bit hard because as the butter gets cold the biscuits will become hard.

They stick to each other when we dip each piece in the sugar /butter mixture

 

 

 

 

Salmon Steak Spicy and Juicy

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Once a week every Tuesday or Wednesday it’s a fish day at my place :)

I keep doing changes, either it is a Fish curry or it’s a Desi Fried one but too often it’s this style, with fried steaks, boiled potatoes, steamed Vegetable later fried in little butter and a delicious sauce :) This time I made the Cream sauce instead of the Pepper Roux. It is endless delicious with no doubt and a 100/100 according to my loving Family!!
 

 

Although I just marinated the steaks for around 2 hours but the extra ordinary taste  was felt till deep in with a great taste, spicy and yummy juicy.

I bought the frozen Salmon Steaks thick and lovey peach color and this is how I made them

 

 

5 Salmon Steaks (thawed)

5-6 garlic pods (grated)

2tbs chickpea flour

                                                                      3tbs oil

¾ tsp red chili flakes

1tsp level salt

¼ tsp black pepper powder

½ tsp crushed carom seeds ( Ajwaain)

3-4 tbs fresh lemon Juice
 

-mix all spices in the chickpea flour and pour the oil over this ad make a thick paste, sprinkle the lemon juice and make it into a smooth paste

-carefully prick the fish steak with a fork and rub the spicy paste well on both sides of each steak and let it rest at least 3-4 hours, best is to prepare this in the morning so you have it done till your lunch time.

*In this mean time you can prepare the side dishes, boil the potatoes, peel them and keep aside

*Mix the Vegetable and stir fry then leave it in the steam so they stay crunchy

*I use tin red kidney and maze, fresh carrots, green beans and the red paprika

*cut all in bite size, stir fry in oil, season with salt, red chili some Tabasco and just tunr off the stove and leave it on the stove.

*I have an Electrical plate so it stays warm longer so if you have a gas stove then keep it on the lowest mark so it stay warm and gets cooked too.
*I fried the peeled Potatoes in a little bit of oil so they tasted like roasted ones

Okay what i totally forgot t mention was i fried them, i checked after a member asked me this :D
I shallow fried them in around 50ml oil,heat the oil well not at boiling point of course and fry the Steak turning each side after 2-3 minutes.
The chickpea  flour makes it crispy and the Steaks get a lovely firm look.
 

 

My Ultra delicious cream sauce, which is ideal for all type of steaks, beef or mutton fish or shrimps : )

Goes best with Potatoes and vegetables too.

My Super recipe for this sauce:

200ml Vegetable stock

200ml liquid cream

50ml fresh milk

2tbs flour

1tbs tomato paste

2 tbs butter

2 pods of grated garlic

 

 
                        *heat the butter; add the grated garlic, fry for few seconds

*add the tomato paste and fry till it turns a bit brownish but not burnt!

*pour the Vegetable stock, mix all well, add the liquid cream to it

*season with black pepper and salt according to your taste

*now pour the flour water slowly and whisk all gently and then let it simmer till it starts turning thick

*taste in between to check if the salt is okay or else add accordingly.

*cook till it forms into a smooth and slightly thick Sauce

 

Serve this with any fried meat, with any pasta dish it is a great combination with both : ) Serve with baguettes or any whole meal bread.

 

 

**Cabbage Parcels**

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Cabbage; a wonderful Vegetable to enjoy raw or cooked.

I bought this very soft and juicy cabbage at my TUrkisch shop to make coleslaw  but then I was watching a show where they were making the grape leaves roll, so I thought well why not make this with cabbage leaves :)

It’s nothing difficult, the effect Is the same, either to cut and make it with the minced meat or you roll it in the leaves.

We all love eating Cabbage in raw form, few know the positive side effects of this great Vegetable.It is rich in vitamin A-B-C-K , a super supplier of Calcium, Magnesium and Iron.A special kicker for the metabolic system, a good helper for patients of Gout.

Do include this in your weekly meals in a form of salad.

I prepared the mince as we do it for any mince dish, you can find many recipes in the archives, just plain and simple for filling.

 

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We blanch the leaves ot make them soft and foldable, for that you just need to cook water and lay the leaves in it for around 2-3 minutes,  drain and dry 

Cut off the stem part as it is hard and won’t fold easily and then start filling each leave.

Place  the mince in the middle and start wrapping like a parcel, or a roll making sure the sides are secured, so the mince stays in it while frying

 

I tuck a tooth pick on each end to seal it, many tie a thread too, but it holds firm if the leave is soft and wrapped tightly.

 

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I used half butter and half oil to fry them, the butter gives it a very nice touch in aroma : )

Fry it on a medium heat and keep it turning with the help of a fork so you achieve an even color and the leaves do not burn

I hardly used 2 tbs of fat in this as I took 1tbs butter and 1 tbs of oil.

Why mixed oil in it?? This prevents the butter to burn or turn brown so I always spray some oil if I am using pure butter in anything being fried.

 

You can have them with salad and any whole meal bread or with rice which is what I did.

Ultra delicious and a full filling lunch :)

Have fun in making them and enjoy!