Category: Chicken

Meatballs are one of my favourite things to cook because it is so versatile. A little change in flavour can take you to India, Italy or even Thailand. They cook incredibly fast, are super cost effective and depending on the type of meat used can also be very healthy.

It should come as no surprise that my go to is an Indian spiced version which has been adapted from my mom’s recipe and just lightened up a bit. My mom favours lamb but I have swapped this out for turkey which drastically reduces the fat content.

These can be served in a spicy tomato chutney or as I will be serving it today in a “butter chicken” sauce to change things up a little.

The recipe uses 500g of minced turkey and produces 24 meatballs.

Let’s get cooking…

Start by frying the onion in oil until golden then allowing it to cool. I like to fry the onion here so that meatball doesn’t become too soggy with the raw onion and there’s an extra bit of flavour brought in by the caramelized onion. Next, combine all the ingredients in a large bowl until it is well mixed.

Grease your hands and start to shape the meatballs into ping pong ball sizes. I find this size is perfect as it doesn’t dry out or become too “meaty” with not enough flavour. Bake at 200 for 20-25 minutes and add directly into a makhani sauce.

My very favourite take out meal is a box of Nando’s spicy chicken strips and rice. Now since we’ve all been put under lockdown and restaurants have had to close I have been missing the convenience of the occasional take out meal. I’m not a huge fan of takeout but the attraction for me is not having to bustle about the kitchen for long periods of time.

Recently while trying to clean out my heaving fridge, I realised that I had some leftover rice and chicken. I instantly thought of the Nando’s meal and my lunch blues were sorted.

This meal is super easy to put together if you have leftovers but can also be freshly prepared with very little effort.

Let’s get cooking…

Fry some onion and pepper in a little oil until starting to brown and soften. Stir the saffron into the rice and set aside. Add the chicken into the pan with onions and peppers and stir until it’s warmed through and coated in all the flavourings. Add the Nando’s sauce to coat everything then add the rice. Once everything is warm, serve and enjoy.

Chicken Kalya is a Pakistani chicken curry that has the most gorgeous deep, rich flavour that comes from the caramelized onions but is actually very light and surprisingly easy to prepare.

The first time I had ever tasted or even heard of this dish was on a sunny Sunday out at the beach in Durban, South Africa. My mon’s friend had come fully prepared with a picnic basket that contained this amazing curry and I have been wanting to recreate it ever since.

It’s taken me a few years to actually get started but I’ve finally come up with a version that is so moreish and satisfying, it will have you hooked.

Let’s get cooking…

The process seems to be a bit arduous but it’s a lot of idle time in between. The key here is to marinade the chicken for as long as possible so that the flavour is really infused and the meat is meltingly tender. First up, fry your sliced onions until golden and crisp. You’ll know that you’re on the right track with the onions because the smell that permeates throughout the kitchen is heavenly. While the onions are frying you can start to mix together the other ingredients for the marinade. Add in the onions when they are ready and toss everything together to coat all the pieces of chicken with the herbs, spices and yoghurt. Pop into the fridge and forget about it for at least 4 hours or overnight if you can.

 When you’re ready to cook, begin by peeling and halving the potatoes. Toss them with oil and salt and roast until tender. This step usually requires frying but I find that roasting is a lot healthier, less messy and time consuming and it produces the same results as oven roasting. You’re after a crisp exterior and fluffy, soft interior. Next boil a few eggs.

While these are roasting, start braising the kalya. Add whole spices to the oil that you fried the onions in, this adds even more flavour to the dish. Then add in the marinated chicken with all of the marinade. Cook on a medium heat, stirring regularly and adding a little water if the sauce dries out too much before the meat is cooked, the marinade should create a lovely thick sauce. Once the chicken is cooked add in the boiled eggs and roasted potatoes, toss to coat in the sauce and remove from the heat. This should be served with saffron rice or roti’s to mop up all the luscious gravy.

Alternatives, can be cooked using lamb, or soya pieces for a vegetarian option. The addition of lentils to the sauce would bump up the heartiness and stretch this meal further.

This meal is inspired by one of my favourite take-out meals in South Africa. It is a chicken, garlic and chilli noodle dish that is just so moreish. It is a very adaptable recipe so you can swap in any veg that you like and also any type of protein. Or just leave out the meat based protein to keep it vegetarian.

This is the perfect weeknight supper, it is so quick and easy and comes together in in less than 30 minutes.

Let’s get cooking…

Get your wok or frying pan onto a really high heat, add in some vegetable oil and a few drops of sesame oil for flavour. Once the oil is good and hot add in the very thinly sliced chicken and season immediately with a little salt. Add in the veg as soon as the chicken starts to get some colour and stir around for about 5 minutes. The veg should still have a bit of a bite. Add in the cooked noodles to the pan, instant ramen noodles works very well here also.

In a separate bowl mix together the ingredients for the marinade. Pour it into the pan with the chicken, veg and noodles and toss quickly to coat everything with the sauce. Serve immediately with a sprinkle of toasted sesame seeds.

Sausages are some of the best staples to have in the freezer, you can serve them up for breakfast, lunch or dinner and there are endless ways of making them more interesting but you’re guaranteed great flavour regardless of how it is served.

The key is to use good quality sausages that aren’t too processed. A little trick to really get the flavour into this particular dish is to remove the outer casing of the sausage which allows the flavours to really get into the meat.

This meal can be thrown together in minutes and you can forget about it as it bakes which frees up time to do just about anything else after a busy day.

Let’s get cooking…

First up let’s remove the skins from the sausages. Make a small slit down the length of the sausage and the skins should easily peel off. Then place it into a roasting tray along with some chopped up peppers and onions. Mix up the ingredients for the marinade and pour over the sausages and veg. And hey presto you’re done!

Pop into an oven and forget about it for 40 minutes. Once it’s cooked, serve up immediately on a pile of buttery mashed potatoes.