Basil Chicken Roast

I love the Herbs.......yes I said it with a cheap reference to weed. This post has nothing to do with that "herb" or Erb! (with accent) but everything to do with the type that is used for cooking. The herb that shall be used in this recipe is Basil. I simply love the flavour, freshness and aroma of the plant and the way the flavours rubs onto your hands.

Sometimes I pretend to be Italian and order a basil pesto pasta  (I'm not too certain if basil pesto or even the pasta is Italian, I have to question the norms because it might not be true), this is a nice dish but quite stingy on the amount of fresh herb used. In a way this is like the achaar used in Indian dishes and the stinginess to which it is used. Pesto to Italians is like achaar to Indians. The theory seems a little stretched.

That is one of the advantages staying in Pretoria, there is the Boremark where I get to visit once a week and get exceptional value in terms of quality vs quantity vs cost. When all 3 items are high there must be a catch and there is, you have to be at the Boremark early on a Saturday morning, preferable between 530am and 7am, to take advantage, this is a middleman free zone. Straight from the farmer to you.

This recipe infuses all the flavour of the basil into a roast chicken. That fresh aromatic herb in a chicken and better still the chicken juices at the bottom also give off that sort of aroma. Soo so good.

Ingredients
1 Bunch Basil (bunch again is at the discretion of the farmer but a more accurate term could be 1 cup diced product)
1 Sprig Curry Leaves (at the discretion of the tree you pick the sprig from)
4 Cloves Garlic
1 Tbsp Ginger
2 tsp Coconut Oil
1,5 tsp Salt
1 Red Onion
1 Chicken

Method
Blend Basil, curry leaves, ginger, garlic, salt and coconut oil until you get a paste
Insert paste between chicken skin and meat
Insert onion into the bird orifice
Place in baking pan or oven container and cook on medium heat (150 Deg C) for 1 to 1.5 hrs
I personally prefer placing chicken on raised stand within oven so that the bird becomes crispy all around

Serves well with butternut chips

Enjoy!

"Fireball" Roast chicken pieces and "white" sauce

I'm a person of Indian origin but I cannot eat "hot" food, (from a spicy perspective). The term "fireball" reminds of the type of bubble gum I used to eat when I was younger, it had a very cinnamony flavor but also had quite abit of heat. Rest assured this recipe has that cinnamon type flavor without the burn.

The "white" sauce is also not in the traditional sense, there is no flour used in the prep of the sauce. It is quite healthy in terms of a natural foodie perspective.

Chicken breasts are really quite difficult to cook. I hate the fillet option purely because of  the way it is cut, moisture is not maintained in the piece. Hence I have developed a couple of options to ensure that the breast piece that is cooked comes out tender and full of flavor. The options are as follows:

• Ensure that the chicken piece is still attached to the bone
• Ensure that the chicken piece still has skin on it
• Cook the chicken piece at low temperatures
• Sear the chicken piece if you need to cook at higher temperature
• Place the pieces in pot that is slightly larger(in terms of size) than what you want to cook, that way evaporation is limited

I'm hesitant to use the term rules, because you cook with feeling and rules just muck up the fun. This in no way shows that I support the black caps because I used the word muck. 

Sometimes you require fillet pieces, like a thai sauce, in that case the wok shape is very helpful.

On to the recipe!!!

Ingredients
1 stick cinnamon
1 tsp pepper corns
1 tsp salt
3 cardamom
3 cloves
3 breast pieces chicken (any pieces would work really)
1 Tbsp butter (melted)
1 onion (sliced)
2 tsp ginger
2 tsp garlic
5 Tbsp Greek Yogurt

Method
Grind cinnamon, pepper corns, salt, cardamon, cloves into a powder
Marinate chicken in powder, ensure to place some spice between chicken and skin
In a shallow oven dish with lid, place and layer, butter, onions, ginger, garlic and marinated chicken
Insert dish into the oven
Switch oven onto 150 degree C for 45 mins (I prefer 100 degree C for 1 hr 15 min, so I can get in a run)
Once chicken is cooked, remove chicken and plate
Add yogurt to the remaining contents of shallow dish, mix and serve this "white" sauce

Please give me feedback when you'll try the recipe

Enjoy!

Springbok Ribs Potjie

The Journey towards this recipe is one of my own realization that a whole people, nation or race cannot be judged (something we should not be doing in the first place) based upon the actions of the past, generalizations and just shear stories. Growing up at the back end of apartheid, I did not experience the true brutality for which it is famous but one of the undeniable results is the brush with which we (non-whites) paint Afrikaans people. It was a lesson that was made possible by my parents with religion which was to be respectful of everybody and never be rude. I try as much as possible to live by these tenants. Try being the operative word.

Generally Afrikaans people have a very hard/robust exterior which might easily give the impression of an intolerant, hardhearted nation. Let me be the first to say that it is not true at all.(judge, book, cover comes to mind) I agree that there maybe plugs among them but there are plugs everywhere. These plugs are responsible for demonizing whole nations and we (as a human race) just never learn and commit the same dumbness again and again. (judging and action on stereotypes)

When I moved to our nations capital, away from the close knit world within which I existed in KZN, I think/believe I grew as a person. I met numerous Afrikaans people, some truly amazing individuals and the plugs. I am a Muslim Indian know of truly amazing people and the plugs within my own race and religion. The similarities between nations/peoples/religions is astounding.

Anyhow I was invited by a set of Afrikaans friends to go hunting, they were hospitable for my dietary requirements (halal), did not force alcohol on me, thought me how to use a gun (for the first time) and I shot 1 springbok (I believe it was by fluke). I knew that was it for me, because what am I going to do shooting more animals than what is required for me and my better half. This action also thought me to respect life no matter what it is draped in, both figuratively and literally.

On the evening I experienced one of the best rugby matches ever, Springboks vs England, on Radio 2000, playing in the Kalahari as the sunset and brought on the cold night, with a blazing fire going and we prepared meat and enjoyed each others company. Curiously enough I made another fascinating realization about a Braai or potjie and that it is NOT the act of cooking meat on a fire or making food in a cast iron pot but rather the whole ritual of preparing the fire, snacking, drinking (non-alcoholic for me), interacting (joking, discussing pressing issues, learning) , then preparing the main course and ultimately closing out the event with something sweet. A Braai or Potjie is an entire event centered around food and camaraderie, it is a way to bring togetherness, understanding and peace. For my international readership a Braai is a barbecue.

Maybe that's the solution to world peace, a Braai! Would love to hear a miss world contestant say that, "the key to world peace is a braai."

When I googled game meat recipes, many required the meat to be soaked in alcohol before the marinade is applied. This is done to remove the gamey flavor because not many people can enjoy that sort of flavor. One recipe that I got on the website, allrecipes.com, reported that the meat can be marinated in apple cider (non-alcoholic) with salt and pepper. Since this sort of apple cider is not available in South, I used apple juice. It worked and was nice but this recipe below is a little different and the meat came out really nice and tender.

Ingredients

1 rack of game ribs
5 Tbsp Salt
1 Tbsp pepper
Water to cover ribs

1 red pepper
1 onion
1 tsp garlic
1/2 tsp chilli powder
1 tsp turmeric
1 tsp salt
3 Tbsp coconut oil
3 cardamom

Method
Treatment to remove gamey flavor
Soak ribs in water,salt,pepper solution for 2 hours

Prepare marinade
Liquidize all remaining ingredients into paste

Marinate ribs in paste and place in potjie pot (the awesome thing about a potjie is that it more bakes food within the pot than cooking it as if on a stove, and the flavors are remarkable)
Place potjie pot over hot coals (no flame)
Cook for 2-3 hours
Enjoy once meat is tender

You might notice that I had modified an older potjie pot to contain the coals of a fire and concentrate it onto the underside of another potjie (where I cooked the ribs). The modification entailed grinding openings onto the potjie pot to allow for air intake to fuel the flame and allow heat to escape through the top (as heat rises). This is just an idea to make the using of coals more efficient and works wonderfully when camping or at picnics.

I would invite family and friends before I made the marinade and let the camaraderie begin!

Enjoy!!

Soaked meat in water, salt and pepper solution for 2 hours

Liquidize pepper, onion, coconut oil, garlic, salt, turmeric, cardamon and chilli powder into paste

Add marinade to treated ribs and pace in Potjie pot

After the ribs cook in the potjie, cut and enjoy, preferably in a plate because I'm not sure about the effectiveness of washing powders in removing turmeric stains from clothes

Roast smoked chicken

Figure 1: Roast Smoke Chicken with yoghurt sauce

The next cooking apparatus I like using is a oven pot. It is sturdy enough to be used in the over at almost any temperature, it has a deep base which plays into this recipes requirements.

Generally I like cooking food that has a quick preparation time and cooks at long "chilled" pace. Not literally chilled then it would be closer to a gravlax, google that! I enjoy cooking food at a slower pace because it gives me the freedom to undertake other undertakings (there is failed attempt at sophistication) at the same time and gives the ingrediants flavour time to infuse with each other because generally I think up my recipes on the fly (I acknowledge that there might be something similar out there but these concoctions have come from my own brain) and the protein/meat does not have time to marinate.

What I like about this recipe is that you use fresh ingredients, whole spices and chicken gets smoked and then roasted in the same pot.

The products or spices being used for the smoking process and then reused to create an alternative sauce where the smoked product mixes with the chicken stock. At the end of the cooking process I take the stock and mix it with double thick Greek yoghurt, just because it feels better and easier to handle when I eat the chicken. The Greek yoghurt addition is one of my favourite tricks and I use it often and you shall see it often on this blog.

Ingredients
1 chicken (free range I feel is generally better but then again it could be mental convincing, cost is roughly the same free range vs conventional (as opposed to an unconventional chicken, which comes with more drumsticks) )
2 Tbsp Ginger
3 cloves garlic
3 cardamom
2 tsp salt
1 tsp smoked paprika (or any dry spice you want to try)
2 sticks cinnamon

Process (the pictures below illustrate the cooking order)
Pre-heat oven at 150 deg C (200 Deg C if you want some speed but then the cooking time is 1 hour)
Liquidise ginger, garlic, salt and cardamom (how very un-paleo of me, I should take a pestle and mortar and grind the marinade together and grow them arms)
Take paste and place between chicken skin and meat
Place paprika and cinnamon in cooking pot (the chicken will inherit a smoked flavour from these ingredients)
Place a raised surface in cooking pot (this will allow the chicken to be roasted all round)
Place chicken on raised surface
Cover and place in pre heated over for 1.5 - 2 hours (the lid should offer a very tight seal but not air tight, you want the chicken to maintain moisture but not create pressure)
Take out chicken and use flavoured stock how you see fit (I use the yoghurt move)

Enjoy!!

Figure 2: Ingredients and apparatus (salt is in hiding)

Figure 3: Liquidise Ginger, Garlic, Salt and Cardamom. Place between chicken meat and skin

Figure 4: Place Paprika and cinnamon at bottom of pot and raised grid thereafter

Figure 5: Place Marinated chicken on raised grid

Figure 6: cooked product, refer to figure 1 for plated visual