Quick Coconut Chicken Curry

This is the ideal week night meal when you want a quick,  tasty and satisfying meal.  It may seem like a long list of ingredients but it all comes together and ready for the table in the amount of time it takes your rice to cook.

Ingredients

2 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp coriander seed bruised
½ tsp cumin seed bruised
½ tsp chilli flakes – more if you like it hotter
½ tsp mustard seeds
½ tsp turmeric
2 garlic cloves crushed
1 inch piece of ginger grated
Zest of half a lemon
1 tsp chicken stock powder
1 tsp brown sugar
400g tin coconut cream
4 chicken breasts sliced
Salt and black pepper to taste

Method

1. Heat the oil in a saucepan over a medium heat and add the spices and gently fry for one minute.
2. Add the ginger, garlic, zest, stock powder and sugar and fry for one minute.
3. Add the coconut cream and allow to reduce by one third.
4. Add the chicken and simmer until chicken is cooked through.  Season with salt and pepper to taste.
5. Serve with basmati rice.

 

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Lemon Rosemary Balsamic Chicken

When Pete is away on business, knowing that I am going to get the proverbial suckers on my butt and not leave the computer for most of the day but still wanting a tasty dinner without the hassle of an actual recipe or having to plan and prep in advance, I head to the kitchen to make a cuppa and see what the cupboard has to offer in the way of flavour.  I find chicken is the safest to experiment with and generally you can’t go wrong with throwing a few ingredients at it and bunging it in the oven until it is cooked. So… Lemon Rosemary Balsamic Chicken was born.  I didn’t measure anything – you will have to be guided by the amount of chicken you are cooking and by taste.

Ingredients

Chicken portions
Lemon – mine was from the garden
Rosemary sprig – mine was from the garden
Balsamic vinegar
Black pepper
Coarse Salt

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C.
2. Place the chicken in an oven proof dish and squeeze over some lemon juice.
3. Place pieces of rosemary over the chicken and splash over with a good glug of balsamic.
4. Grind pepper and salt over the top and bake for approximately 45 minutes until cooked through.
5. Serve drizzled with the sauce and a side of roast spuddies and veggies.

Marmalade Chicken

This is another lovely recipe from my SIL Trish, thanks Trishy!  Sorry it took so l o n g to getting around and making this but better late than never as they say.  When I make this again though, I will double the amount of Dijon mustard from one tablespoon to two as I couldn’t quite taste it and think it will enhance the citrus flavours even more.

Ingredients

6 to 8 chicken thighs
½ cup marmalade
1 tbsp Dijon mustard
1tbsp olive oil
½ inch piece ginger grated
1 garlic clove crushed
Juice & zest of 1 orange
Salt & black pepper to taste

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C.
2. Place the chicken pieces in a large oven proof dish.
3. Combine all the ingredients and pour over the chicken.
4. Bake for 45 – 60 minutes, basting every 15 minutes.
5. If the sauce is still runny, reduce in a pan and pour over the chicken before serving.

Sticky Chicken Wings

I have been wanting this recipe from my SIL Elmien for years – I know, how sad that it took me this long to get around to asking for it.  In fairness though, I could always rely on Elmien to make these for us so I never really had to get the recipe but now, she and my brother live over 1000 kilometres away from us so it necessitated me having to make these myself.  You will be sorry if you don’t make these delectable, oh so moreish wings; yip, they are that scrumity and couldn’t be easier to make and I managed to only amend the recipe a wee little bit.  Do you always have the uncontrollable urge to amend recipes?

Ingredients

16 chicken wings
2 garlic cloves crushed
½inch piece ginger grated
2.5ml ground black pepper
15ml brown sugar
15ml sunflower oil
15ml white vinegar
30ml thick soy sauce
30ml honey
60ml sweet chilli sauce

Method

1. Remove and discard the tips of the wings.  If you like, you can cut the wings in half – makes for easier eating 😉
2. Combine all of the ingredients and add the chicken in an oven proof baking dish and stir until well coated.
3. Preheat the oven to 180°C.
4. Bake for approximately 45 minutes basting regularly.
5. If the sauce is still runny, reduce in a pan and pour over the wings before serving.

Baked Spuddy with left over Roast Chicken

Well, this is a bit of a cheat as you bake the spud in the microwave so you don’t get that beautiful crispy outer skin but it certainly satisfies the hunger pang a lot quicker than baking it in the oven.  This is one of those meals which should really qualify as an Un-Recipe and one I enjoy all too often when Pete is away.  As you know, I have my butt planted on my office chair for too many hours in a day which means I need a satisfying meal in minutes.  It’s not because I have not thought ahead of time, it’s just that turning what I took out in the morning into a meal would just take too long.

Ingredients

1-2 potato/s per person
Butter
Thin slices of onion
Crushed garlic clove/s
Left over roast chicken cut into pieces – proof that I cooked the night before
Mayonnaise
Chopped parsley

Method

1. Pierce the potato a few times and bake for 3 to 6 minutes (depending on the size) on high.
2. Cut the potato as desired and top with the remaining ingredients.

Chicken Couscous Stir Fry Stack

Every now and again, I feel like something different – a taste explosion as Pete calls it.  This usually only occurs when all I have on hand are the normal day to day ingredients and nothing out of the ordinary to help produce said taste explosion.  Now, a stir fry is always a winner in my book, as is pan fried chicken breasts and couscous ranks right up at the top of the list too although none really stand out as something different until you throw all of these elements together.  My taste buds were very happy with this lip smacking lunch.

Ingredients

Couscous
Chicken breasts
Spice of choice – I used vegetable spice
Onion sliced
Button mushrooms thinly sliced
Orange bell pepper sliced
Baby cabbage sliced
Ginger finely chopped
Garlic finely chopped
Sweet chilli sauce
Soy sauce

Method

1. Prepare the couscous according to the package instructions.
2. Butterfly the chicken breasts and fry in a little butter with your spice of choice. Cut into strips.
3. Stir fry all of the veggies until al dente.
4. Mix the couscous into the veggies.
5. Stack the couscous veggie mixture and place the chicken on top.
6. Drizzle with sweet chilli sauce and soy sauce.

Chicken Livers in Port and Crème Fraiche

This is super quick, easy and tasty lunch or great appetiser for dinner guests.  You can jazz it up with herbs or leave it plain perched on top of some salad leaves.  If you are feeling adventurous you could add some Melba toast on the side too.

 

Ingredients

250g chicken livers
15ml port
1 large garlic clove crushed
3 tbsp crème fraiche
Salt and fresh ground black pepper
Salad leaves

Method

1. Fry the livers in a little olive oil over a medium heat until browned and cooked through.
2. Add the port and garlic and stir through.
3. Add the crème fraiche, stir through and place on top of salad leaves to serve.

Brined Roast Chicken

Don’t think I will ever roast chicken any other way again.  My mom’s new way of preparing her chickens for roasting is to brine them for 24 hours before roasting which results in the chicken being beautifully tender and moist.  The hardest part is planning 24 hours in advance that you want roast chicken for dinner.

Shame, not sure what happened with this photo - it tasted delicious though.

For every one bird make up the following: –

Ingredients

1 tbsp salt
1 tbsp sugar
1.5 litres of water

Method

1. Soak your bird for 24 hours in the fridge.
2. Remove from the brine, pat dry, season and roast as per normal.

Et voilà, brined and roasted chicken. Delicious.

Savoury Pancakes

The last remains of a roast chicken work perfectly for these tasty and comforting savoury pancakes and butter fried mushrooms with garlic up the flavour while the creamy white sauce balances things our beautifully before rolling up and sprinkling with cheese to melt and bubble under the grill.  Serve with a crispy green salad or just on their own for a delicious lunch or light supper.

Ingredients – quantities depending on how many you are making

Left over roast chicken broken into pieces or fried chicken breasts cut into thin slices
Button mushrooms sliced
Vegetable spice
1 to 2 garlic cloves crushed
White sauce – recipe to follow soon
Pancakes – recipe to follow soon
Grated cheddar cheese

Method

1. Fry the mushrooms in butter until tender and add the vegetable spice and garlic.
2. Add the chicken and heat through.
3. Place a portion of the chicken onto a pancake and spoon over white sauce.  Roll up and sprinkle with cheese.
4. Place under the grill until the cheese is melted.

Marmalade and Wine Chicken Kebabs

Pete and I had an impromptu braai the other evening and all I had out defrosted were chicken breasts – not the most ideal thing for the braai but nonetheless, it was decided that we were to braai so onward with the plan.  We opted to have pap and sous (always a hit) while I very quickly turned the chicken breasts into kebabs with some veg and a little marinade which was absolutely delicious!  The chicken was lovely and juicy while the onions and broccoli were perfectly al dente and the mushrooms were beautifully soft and full of the flavours of the marinade.

Ingredients

Marinade

75ml orange marmalade
60ml red wine
15ml whole grain mustard
15ml olive oil
8 skewers – remember to soak the wooden variety for 30 minutes to an hour before using
3 chicken breasts cut into chunks
1 onion cut into chunks
Broccoli florets
Mushrooms quartered

Method

1. Mix all of the ingredients for the marinade and set aside.
2. Skewer the chicken and veggies in any combination you like.
3. Pour over the marinade.
4. Braai the kebabs (not for very long – you don’t want them drying out) basting with the marinade.

Red Garlic Chicken

I read about this interesting sounding recipe over at Chef in Disguise and immediately went to check if I had all of the spices on hand – all but paprika so off to the shops it was plus a printed copy of the recipe to Mom for her opinion.  We both agreed, a must make it is.  We decided to skip the spuds and serve it with rice, sweet carrots and Brussel sprouts instead.  Next time around I would halve the oil asked for though – maybe the spuds would have absorbed some of the oil had we cooked them with the chicken as asked for in the original recipe.  This is a lovely tasty meal and the garlic flavour is surprisingly very mild.

Ingredients

6 cloves garlic crushed
1/2 tsp dried ginger
1/2stp all spice
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp basil
1 tsp rosemary
1 tsp oregano
2 tsp salt
2-3 tbs tomato paste – we used 3
10ml sugar – our own addition
¼ cup olive oil
¼ cup vegetable oil – we recommend omitting this
1 whole chicken cut into 4 pieces – we used 8 chicken thighs
3-4 potatoes peeled and cubed – we omitted these

Method

1. Whisk all of the herbs and spices together in a bowl while drizzling in the oil.
2. Place the marinade in a ziplock back with the chicken and massage the marinade into the chicken.  Add the potatoes now if you are using them.  Set aside to marinate for a couple of hours.
3. Preheat the oven to 200°C.
4. Place the chicken (and potatoes) in a roasting dish and cover with tin foil.
5. Bake for approximately 45 minutes until the chicken is cooked through.  To add a little bit more colour, place the chicken under the grill for a couple of minutes.

Terry’s Thai Curry with Butternut

Our friend Terry made us this super tasty meal a while back and he was kind enough to share his recipe with me, thanks Terry. 🙂  I made a slight adjustment here and there and served it with basmati rice and pappadums.  It was an absolutely delicious meal which I am sure will be one of those recipes we serve to family and friends for many years to come.

Ingredients

15ml vegetable oil
8 -10 chicken thighs
30ml Thai green curry paste
15ml brown sugar
Zest of 1 lime
400ml coconut cream
10ml soy sauce or fish sauce
500g butternut cubed
Juice of 1 lime
Handful coriander chopped

Method

1. Heat the oil in a wok or large frying pan and brown the chicken then set aside.
2. Add the curry paste and sugar to the pan and cook for one minute.
3. Add the zest, coconut cream, soy or fish sauce and bring to a simmer.
4. Add the butternut and chicken and cook for 30 to 40 minutes until the butternut is cooked.
5. Stir in the lime juice and coriander just before serving.

Chicken Pie Parcels

Last nights supper was put together with left over roast chicken and a half punnet of mushrooms that were taking up space in the fridge.   I keep puff pastry in the freezer for such occasions when I use leftovers for a quick, easy and yummy meal.  Sadly though, I have been unable to get the make of pastry that I like (nothing out of the ordinary for Mauritius) and bought another brand – bad idea.  Firstly, working with pastry in the heavy heat and humidity is not much fun – the best I could do was shape parcels and secondly this pasty was not so much puff as it was short.  Nonetheless, we enjoyed our little parcels with a salad.

 

 

Ingredients

1 medium onion sliced
125g button mushrooms sliced
200g cooked chicken chopped
125ml chicken stock or 10ml chicken stock powder and 125ml water
White pepper to taste
5ml maizena (cornstarch)
Puff pastry
10ml milk

Method

1. Fry the onion and mushrooms in a little butter until the onion has softened and the mushrooms are tender.
2. Add the chicken and stock and pepper to the pan and heat through.
3. Thicken with the maizena mixed in a little water.
4. Set aside and allow to cool.
5. Preheat the oven to 180°C.
6. Roll out the pastry and divide into 2 or 4 pieces and place the chicken onto the pastry.
7. Form into pie shapes and brush with the milk.
8. Bake for 30 minutes.

 

Chicken and Mushroom Pasta

Yesterday started like most other mornings with a power cut – they only last 5 or so minutes and then on occasion it will happen again just as soon as I have reset everything and got back on line.  Yesterday however, was a bit different!  On calling the electricity department I was informed that we would have our power back within a maximum of 3 hours – well those 3 hours lasted the entire day!  There was a trickle of power  for an hour or so which allowed me to get a couple of emails and the like done.  As soon as the power was back, I sat and caught up with my day which lead into the early evening, leaving me little time in the kitchen for our dinner, which is when I came up with the quick, easy and seriously tasty dish.  It is amazing how much flavour was produced with so few ingredients.

 

Ingredients

125g mushrooms sliced
Vegetable spice
3 chicken breasts
Chicken stock powder
250ml cream
5ml maizena (cornstarch)
5ml garlic crushed
Black pepper
Fettuccini pasta cooked according to package instructions

Method

1. Fry the mushrooms in a little butter sprinkled with the vegetable spice until tender and set aside.
2. Flatten the chicken breasts with the palm of your hand, sprinkle with the stock powder and fry in a little butter until lightly golden on both sides and cooked through.  Remove from the pan and slice thinly.
3. Pour the cream into the pan you cooked the mushrooms and chicken in and heat.
4. Mix the maizena with a little water and stir through the cream to thicken.
5. Add the garlic, mushrooms and chicken to the cream and heat through.
6. Grind black pepper to taste and stir through.

Serve over  the pasta.

Crumbed Chicken Breasts

This is not the healthiest meal around but it is very tasty and oh so moreish.  Pair it with a crisp green salad and vinaigrette dressing for a healthier touch and then just for good measure, a few crispy chips (French fries).

Ingredients

3 chicken breasts sliced through butterfly style
Spice / herbs of choice
3 cups bread crumbs
2 eggs
2 tbsp water

Mehtod

1. Sprinkle the breasts with your choice of spice or herbs.  I used powered chicken stock and vegetable spice.
2. Place the bread crumbs in a shallow bowl.
3. Beat the eggs with the water in a shallow bowl.
4. Coat both sides of the chicken pieces in the bread crumbs, then in the egg and back into the breadcrumbs.
5. Heat a little oil in a pan (just enough to cover the bottom) over a medium heat and fry the breasts until golden brown on both sides.

Pete’s Chicken and Shrimp Kebabs

I interrupt my scheduling again today for the brilliant recipe my husband made yesterday.  

We were having my brother and his family over for a braai (barbecue) and we were wanting to serve something different for a change so when my husband woke up yesterday morning and suggested kebabs, we set off to our local store to see what they had on offer.  We went through a few iterations of goodies in our basket until we settled on chicken breasts, shrimps, red peppers and onions.  For the marinade, my husband used a bottle of beer, which in hindsight should have been half a bottle, just because the marinade was a bit too watery for basting and a bottle of sweet chilli sauce.

These kebabs were absolutely delicious and are well worth making.

 

Ingredients

18 wooden skewers soaked in water
4 chicken breasts cut into cubes
1 packet frozen shrimps defrosted
2 red peppers de-seeded and cubed
1 large onion cut into cubes
1/2 bottle beer
295ml bottle sweet chilli sauce

Method

1. Combine the beer and chilli sauce in a bowl and add the chicken and shrimps and mix through.  Cover and refrigerate for 2 hours.
2. Alternate threading the skewers with the peppers, chicken, onion and shrimp – any order will do.
3. Braai over mediums coals basting with the marinade.

 

Submitted by:   Pete Frielinghaus, Mauritius

Mauritian Chicken Curry

This is another dish that Nanda sends home for me from the office and it is divine.  It is a super quick and easy meal to prepare so is ideal for any busy week day dinner.  If you prefer your sauce a little thicker, you can stir through a little cornstarch just before serving.  Enjoy this dish with rice or more traditionally with baguette.

 

Ingredients

2 large potatoes peeled and cubed
Salt and pepper to taste
1 punnet white mushrooms halved
8 chicken thighs cut into pieces
1 large onion sliced
4 large tomatoes roughly chopped
3 garlic cloves crushed
½ inch piece of ginger root grated
2 red chillies seeds removed and finely chopped
1 cup water
Coriander for serving

Method

1. Fry the potatoes in a little oil until tender and set aside.
2. Fry the mushrooms until cooked and set aside.
3. Fry the chicken pieces until just cooked and add the onion and fry for a further 5 minutes.
4. Add the tomatoes, garlic, ginger and chillies and stir through.
5. Add the potatoes and mushrooms and stir through.
6. Add the water, bring to the boil and simmer for about 10 minutes to reduce and thicken slightly.

 

Submitted by:  Nanda Seebaluck, Mauritius

Low Gi Chicken Kebabs

Even though for a lot of you, the weather is getting cooler, we are heading into warmer weather, which means we will be enjoying a lot more meals outdoors on the braai (barbecue) and these kebabs are a perfect start to the season.  Pair these with a Low GI Apple and Cabbage Salad.  Yummy.

Ingredients

500g chicken breasts skinned and cubed
Button mushrooms
Onion cut into thick slices
Alternatively any vegetables of your choice

Marinade

1 garlic clove crushed
65ml soy sauce
65ml lemon juice
½ small onion peeled and grated

Method

1. Place the chicken on the skewers alternating with the vegetables and place in a shallow dish.
2. In a glass bowl, mix the garlic, soy sauce, lemon juice and onion and microwave on high for 1 – 2 minutes to cook the onion.
3. Pour the marinade over the kebabs and marinate for 1 hour or longer if time permits.
4. Braai (barbecue) the kebabs turning every 2 minutes until cooked.  Alternatively, grill the kebabs in the oven.

 

Submitted by:  Desiree Visagie, Johannesburg

Ginger Ale Chicken

This is an absolute must try recipe.  I may be a bit biased since this is another childhood favourite of mine, but it truly is an extremely tasty and super quick, easy recipe.  Enjoy with rice and baby peas.

 

Ingredients

12 chicken thighs
60g packet white onion soup powder 
500ml ginger ale

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 180˚C.
2. Place the chicken pieces in a casserole dish.
3. Mix the soup powder and ginger ale in a large bowl or jug as it bubbles up quite a bit and pour over the chicken.
4. Bake for 45 minutes stirring twice through the cooking process to ensure the sauce does not go lumpy.

 

Submitted by:  Mandy Frielinghaus, Mauritius

Quails with Onions

This lovely quick and easy recipe is perfectly paired with potato croquettes and green beans.

 

Ingredients

4 Quails
Butter for frying
4 large onions
125ml liquid cream
Salt and pepper to taste

Method

1. Fry the quails in the butter until golden (not cooked through).
2. Cut the onions into large chunks and place over the quails and cover.
3. Turn the heat down to a minimum and cook for 25 to 30 minutes until the onions are not over the quails but amongst the quails.
4. Add the cream to make a sauce.  
5. Add salt and pepper to taste.

 

Submitted by:  Patricia Piper, Mauritius