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Monday, 27 June 2011

Tandoori Chicken

Ingredients


1 lb fresh Chicken (you can use Fillet or pre diced with no fat)
100g virtually fat free Yoghurt
1 tbsp Tandoori Paste
2 tsp Garlic
½ tsp Ginger
1 tsp Cumin seeds
1 tsp ground Coriander
½ tsp Garam Masala
½ tsp Chilli powder
½ tsp Turmeric powder

Salt and freshly ground Black Pepper


Method

Peel and finely grate the ginger and garlic cloves, if needed dice the chicken and grind the cumin seeds.

Take a large food bag ( a press and seal food/freezer bag) and add the tandoori paste, chilli powder, ground coriander, ground cumin seeds, garam masala, yoghurt a little salt, mix all the ingredients together.

Add the chicken pieces to the mixture and seal the bag, rub the mixture into the chicken pieces and leave in the fridge to marinate for about 2 hours. The bag makes this a less messy process, saves on the washing up and is easier to store in the fridge.

Pre heat the oven to 240c/475f/gas mark 9, place the chicken pieces onto a baking tray and bake in the oven for about 12 minutes, then reduce the oven to 120c/240f/gas mark 1/2, continue to cook until the chicken is tender (don't  let it get too dry).

Serve with minty Indian Raita, lettuce, tomatoes and sliced onions.

Sin Values: Red Day -  Tandoori Curry paste 2 sins per tbsp

Tuesday, 21 June 2011

Sweet and Sour Pork

Ingredients

For the Stir Fry

1lb/454g Pork Fillet
1 large Carrot or 2 small Carrots
1 small Green Pepper or half a large Green Pepper
1 small Red Pepper or half a large Red Pepper
2 circles of fresh Pineapple
A handful of Water Chestnuts (optional)
1 small Onion
Fry Light

For the Sauce

142ml /Quarter of pint of Chicken Stock
8tbsp Tomato Passatta Sauce
2tbsp Rice Vinegar
2tsp Corn Flour
2tbsp Artificial Sweetner
3tbsp Light Soy Sauce
2tbsp Dark Soy Sauce

Method

Peel and chop the onion, peel the carrots and chop into strips/batons/julienne, wash, deseed and chop into strip the green and red pepper. Cut the pineapple rings into pieces, drain your sliced chestnuts and finally slice your pork fillets into thin strips and that's the stir fry ready.

Take a saucepan, fill with water and bring to the boil, turn off and the carrot strips. Leave the carrot in the hot water until they are slightly tender, then drain, this takes off the raw bite of the carrots when you eat them (known as Blanching).

Take a saucepan and add the passatta, the chicken stock, the rice vinegar, artificial sweetner and the two types of soy sauce, stir to combine. In a cup add 1tbsp of water to the cornstarch and mix together, add this to the sauce as it heats, this will thicken the sauce, continue to stir. Once boiled bring to a simmer.

Next take a wok or frying pan and spray with Fry Light, when the pan is hot add your pork strips and fry, toss the pork around so that it evenly cooks, add the carrots, onion, chestnuts, peppers and pineapple and continue to stir the ingredients.

Get the bowls ready, once the stir fry is cooked divide into portions and then spoon over the sauce. This dish can be served with rice or noodles (don't forget the added sins).

Sin Value - Red Day 2 sins (cornflour 1 level tsp = 1 sin)

Chicken Chow Mein

Ingredients


Shredded cooked chicken
1 section of dried egg noodles
A handful of fresh bean sprouts or alternatively 1 tin of bean sprouts (mung beans)
1 small Onion 
A handful of Shitake Mushrooms but Button or Closed Cup Mushrooms will do
Soy sauce to taste 
Salt and white pepper


Method


Peel and chop the onion, wash and chop the mushrooms. Take a saucepan and fill with water, bring to the boil and add the dried noodles, (cooking times will be shown on packet's instruction but usually about 4 mins), drain the noodles and place to one side.Take a frying pan or wok and spray with Fry Light, fry the onions for about a minute, then add the mushrooms, fry for another minute then add the beansprouts, a little Soy Sauce and cooked chicken and heat through, at the last minute add the noodles and combine all the ingredients together. Add seasoning and if required add more soy sauce to your own taste.


Sin Value - Green Day - FREE (without chicken or chicken as a healthy b)

Thursday, 24 March 2011

Sweet Chilli and Lime Noodles

I tried this for the first time at a food fair in Manchester UK, it surprisingly tasty for such few ingredients and really quick and easy to make.

Ingredients

dried Noodles (quantity depends on how hungry you are)
Lime Juice (you can use fresh lime juice or bottled from your supermarket)
1 tbsp Sweet Chilli Sauce (you can you shop bought brands like Encona Sweet Thai or Blue Dragon)

Preparation

Take a saucepan, fill it two thirds with water and bring to the boil. Once the water is boiling turn off the heat and add your noodles. Leave the noodles in the hot water for about 4 minutes to soften.

Once the noodles are cooked and softened, drain the water from the saucepan and place the noodles into a bowl, add the chilli sauce and lime juice to the noodles and mix together.

Taste, if you need more lime juice then add, likewise with the chilli sauce but remember the chilli sauce has sin values.

Place the noodles into individual bowls and serve.

You can add to this dish by sprinkling spring onion on top or crushed unsalted peanuts to give it texture, again peanuts have sin values and beware of allegies.

Sin value per serving:  Green Day - 1.5 sins (for the chilli sauce)

Wednesday, 9 March 2011

Chinese Turkey Skewers

Ingredients

150g/6oz Turkey
1tsp Tahini Paste
1 tsp Garlic granules/powder
2 tsp Chinese Five Spice
2 tsp Dark Soy
1 tsp Honey
1tsp Water
Fry Light

Preparation

Slice the Turkey meat into small strips or chunks (strips are thinner so will absorb the marinade easier) and place into a bowl with all the other ingredients. Mix well, cover and place in the refrigerator for at least an hour but overnight would be ideal as the ingredients need to marinate the meat.

Take out some bamboo skewers and place into water for about 30 minutes, this will stop them burning when you grill the meat.

Preheat the grill, medium high

Take the bowl out of the fridge and thread the lumps of Turkey onto the bamboo skewers, you could thread chunks of onion, pineapple and green peppers in between the Turkey for variety and to bulk out the meal.

Take a baking tray and spray with Fry Light, place the skewers onto the tray, if there is any mixture left spoon it over the skewers as you grill on both sides, grill until piping hot and cooked all the way through.

Sin Value - Red Day - Honey 1 sin, Tahini Paste 1.5 sins

You can use this recipe with chicken or Pork, I had Turkey Steaks in the fridge on this occasion.

Here's a picture of the kebab skewers before I put them under the grill, I left some plain too and sprayed them with fry light.

Thai Fish Cakes

Ingredients

75g/3oz Prawns
275g/10oz Cod Fillet
2 Spring Onions
1 clove of Garlic
1 red Chilli
1 stalk of Lemongrass
4 tbsp fresh Coriander
Freshly ground Salt and Pepper

Preparation

Preheat the oven to 190c/375f/Gas Mark 5.

Peel and crush the Garlic clove, trim and chop the Spring Onions, deseed and chop the Chilli, peel and chop the Lemongrass stalk and roughly chop the Coriander leaves. Place these ingredients along with the Salt and Pepper into a food processor and blend to mix.

Take out your Prawns (you can use frozen Prawns but the must be defrosted thoroughly) and your Cod Fillet (you can use other fish such as Coley for this recipe, which I suggest as I am a great believer in sustainability of fish species), pat them dry and add them to the food processor containing the other ingredients, blend until the mixture is roughly chopped.

Take a baking tray and spray with Fry Light Oil. Dampen your hands and divide the mixture into 12 portions, roll each portion into a ball and then flatten into a patty/disc shape. Place the patties onto the baking tray and cook for 12- 15 minutes, make sure they are piping hot and cooked through. Turn the patties over half way through the cooking time.

Serve with Thai Chilli Dipping Sauce and salad leaves.

Sin Value: Red Day - FREE

Thai Chilli Dipping Sauce

Ingredients

2 red Chilli Pepper
2 Shallots
1 tbsp freshly squeezed Lime Juice
3 tbsp Thai Fish Sauce
1 tbsp freshly Coriander

Preparation

Peel and finely chop the Shallots, deseed and thinly slice the Chilli Peppers, cut a fresh lime in half and chop the fresh Coriander.

Place all the ingredients into a bowl, stir and leave to marinate for at least 15 minutes.

Sin Value: Red and Green Days - FREE

Suggestions:

If you want it hotter, don't deseed the Chilli Peppers, if you want Sweet Chilli Sauce then add sweetener to your own taste. If you want to use this as a glaze you could add a small amount of Honey instead of sweetener but you will need to count the sin value of the Honey.