OUTDOOR GRIILED CHICKEN AND ROAST PLANTAIN (BOLI)

It's the braai/barbecue season in most parts of the world. So we thought to set the season braai in motion over here too. Had a beautiful weekend cooking outdoors....Chicken, fish, plantain etc.

And we took turns...my hubby and myself.
I made the roast chicken while he made the fish, lol. Beautiful moments...a lotta tender loving care, with resultant yummy meals. I hope hubby can be a guest on our blog one of these days so he can share his own recipe as the fish was super tasty. And that beautiful tilapia fish came right out of his little farm. Nothing as fresh and nice as eating homegrown stuff. Really great feeling.

Also made Roast plantain to go with the barbecued chicken. The roast plaintain AKA boli was served with red oil, pepper and lots of onions. Finger licking goodness.

For our Sunday lunch, made my special Fried rice (https://cuddleskitchen.blogspot.com.ng/2016/07/my-easy-fried-rice-recipe.html)
Served the rice with coleslaw and left over roast chicken plus the grilled tilapia. All came together beautifully well...the spicy rice, the smoky meat taste and the crunch of the carrots and cabbage from the coleslaw, just awesome.

Now let's talk about the braai

INGREDIENTS

.1 medium size whole chicken...well cleaned

.5 tablespoons Dry ginger ground

.3 tablespoons Dry garlic ground

.1 tablespoon Dry yellow or chilli pepper ground

.1 teaspoon Dry Thyme

.1 tablespoon Curry powder

.1/2 teaspoon Black pepper

.2 teaspoons Barbecue Seasoning...I use robertson's

 1/4 cup of Olive Oil

.Salt

RECIPE

1. Thaw the whole frozen chicken in some brine water at room temperature...Brine water is simply salt and water. Do not add too much salt...For a 2.5 -3 litres, add about 3-4- tablespoons of salt, levelled. 

Allow to brine for an hour. (If chicken isn't frozen, just add to the brine water for same period).

Then flay open with your kitchen knife or hacking knife....better referred to as SPATCHCOCKING. (Spatchcocking involves opening up and flaying the chicken and removing the backbone without totally cutting through. Allows the chicken to cook fast, reducing cooking time by almost half)

2. With a fork or a little pointed knife, poke holes on the flesh of the Chicken especially at the breast area and thighs. This allows the spices to get into even the thickest and fleshiest parts.

3. Rub the Olive oil all over the chicken...on the Skin and flipside over 

4. Mix your  ground spices and do a dry rub on the chicken....massage for about 5minutes and allow to rest for 10minutes or a little more while you set up your outdoor grill

5. Once the charcoal in the grill starts glowing softly, spray some oil on your grill and transfer the chicken on to the grill  skin side up.

6. Cover the grill and allow the chicken about 10-15minutes before turning the chicken. Chicken starts getting done when you see clear fluid (not blood fluid) oozing out of the bird. 

Open intermittently to check on the meat and to adjust the fire...sometimes fluid from it could smoulder flame. So you may need to fan the embers to rekindle the flame. 

7. Cook each side alternately until fluid stops running out of the chicken

8. Then allow each side to brown. ...You may coat with barbecue sauce (brown sugar, some soy, some oilive oil, some chilli, ginger and garlic mixture) using a basting brush. 

*Will take about an hour and half (or a little more) to cook thoroughly. If you like your meat rare or medium rare then grill for less. I love my meat very well done.

9. Bring down and allow to cool a bit before slicing and serving.

Serve with roasted palantain, roasted corn or grilled potatoes 

FOR THE ROAST PLANTAIN

1. Just skin some firm but ripe plantain (As many as you like), poke holes into it with a fork or little pointed knife. 

2. Rub a little bit of salt...make sure not to lover salt

3. Roast on moderate heat 

4. cover the grill and open to turn the plaintain fingers intermittently until cooked through and browned on all sides... about 60% browned on all sides. 

You may also need to scrape the browned back as some of it may become too dark and dry while trying to ensure that the entire plantain finger is cooked thoroughly.

(Will take about half the time used for the chicken to get the plantains well done)

5. Fry some red oil (little quantity) with lots of onions and chopped scotchbonnet pepper. Sprinkle on the roast palntain and serve with your roast chicken or fish.

MY EASY FRIED RICE RECIPE

Fried rice is a very popular dish in Nigeria originating from Asian cuisine. Lovely dish, a little cumbersome to prepare but I recently twicked the usual recipe a little to make it less cumbersome. I call it my multicoloured and easy rice.
Below is my recipe and a few pictures to help with each step.
Before you start, put together all you need.
You'll be needing a large non-stick pot or a large frying pan/wok. very important for my style of fried rice as we will only be frying just once.

You also be needing a lot of meat stock( either chicken or beef or both). This is the main stay of a tasty pot of fried rice. Thus proper seasoning of your meat before cooking is advocated so as to produce very flovorful stock for your rice.

Fresh veggies in Fried rice also adds to the beauty of the rice and the crunch addition. You may use frozen veggies if fresh ones are out of your reach.

We will be frying the veggies with butter instead of cooking oil. Butter enhances the flavour of Fried Rice and also gives it a very lush look.

Ingredients:
4 cups of long grain Rice.
4 cups of chicken/beef stock
5 tablespoons butter (You may use vegetable oil if you please)
1 medium-sized red onion chopped
1/2 of each medium sized bell peppers(RED,GREEN,YELLOW,ORANGE)
1 large scotch bonnet chopped
1/2 cup green beans (or peas)
1/2 cup spring onions sliced
5 medium-sized carrots chopped
1 cup diced liver/kidney...I use Liver most often
3 garlic cloves minced
Some freshly groundginger(1 tablespoon too)
1 tablespoon curry powder
1 teaspoon thyme(dry)
A few Sprigs of fresh rosemary
1 teaspoon white pepper
1 teaspoon tumeric
1 teaspoon black pepper
2 knorr cubes
1 Royco cube
1/2 teaspoon preferred spice, I use Aromat or any fried rice seasoning
Salt to taste

Directions:
1. Season your meat with some knorr cube, thyme, ginger, garlic, salt  and onions...Remember to use half of the measuremnts as the rest will go into the rice.
Then cook till tender, strain out the stock. set meat aside

Directions:
1. Season your meat with some knorr cube, thyme, ginger, garlic, salt  and onions...Remember to use half of the measuremnts as the rest will go into the rice.
Then cook till tender, strain out the stock. set meat aside for frying or for the grill.

2.  Parboil and Wash your rice thoroughly till the water runs clear. You need to get as much starch out as you can to avoid sogginess. When it’s properly washed, pour into a pot, add the chicken/beef stock, water to cover, curry, thyme, white pepper, some tumeric and fried rice seasoning(gives characteristic yellowish green colour of fried rice) and allow to cook on medium heat till it’s cooked to a firm but soft texture...al dente. The trick is to cook on medium heat then not to add extra liquid. Once the initial liquid dries up, just bring down and cover tightly. The heat will cook the rice through. Do not let the rice burn as this will make a mess of the taste.

3. Once the rice is done cooking, get a large non-stick pot, wok or frying pan, place on medium heat. Add the butter and leave to melt.
When it’s melted, add in the chopped onions and green beans, season with a pinch of salt, curry, black pepper and a royco cube. sauté for a minute  or till green beans is soft but still a little crunchy.
Add the garlic, chopped bell peppers, chopped scotch bonnet, carrots,  diced liver, spring onions, then fry for about 2-3 minutes… aim is not to let the veggies become soft and soggy.
Add  the remaining ground ginger, garlic , curry powder and a few spriggs of your fresh rosemary then continue to fry for another 2 minutes…

4. When the veggies are all fried, pour in the cooked rice and stir for a bit. Taste for salt and other seasoning then adjust to your taste.
Allow to simmer for about 5-7 mins while still stirring.

And your fried rice is ready!
Serve with your grilled or fried chicken and a veggie salad if you please.

MY GOAT-HEAD RECIPE (ISI EWU).

So on Father's day, I had a laid back day. Hardly did any cooking. Very Unusual right? Lol.

Well, twas for a reason. My mother-inlaw said to me..."You guys don't come over to eat. I cook and no one comes over". Gosh, I felt kinda bad. 

So on this Fathers' day, I did her the honors of letting her cook for us. I Let her cook her son. I let her cook for her baby again. I know it made her happy. So we went to church then came home to already cooked really tasty food. Then lay in bed the rest of the day and watched movies . Quite awesome!;-)

For me, everyday is special I thought. So I could always make my special dishes for my crew anyday of the week.

Made some burgers for breakfast that day though...used some burger rolls bought off the shop, some meat patties, tomatoes, onions, mozzarella cheese and some frilly greens then smothered in some spicy mayo (Try the Heinz hot and spicy mayo). 

Then later in the evening, made some grilled chicken parts for snacking cum dinner...cos after Oma(grandma in German) fed us, we sure weren't gonna be needing any heavy meals cos we were super sated :-)

Then sometime in the week, made hubby a special...he did request for it. Made Goathead A.K.A Isiewu. He had been craving local foods, lol.

Also made him some Afang soup to top up the local food cravings. Afang soup is my favourite too. And I'm sure you can guess why...All them beauties in one pot. Getting better and better at making it as well.

For the midweek specials, made some minced beef tomato sauce garnished with bellpeppers and carrots served with pasta....my son is a sucker for sauces. You should see his face when the aroma wafts into his nostrils, Lol. That garlicky, herbie aroma. You'd want a taste too lol.

And for the protein, oven-roasted some pork spiced up with fresh herbs and some barbecue spices. Pork tastes really yummy...the fat oozes out and leaves the back crispy with the insides very tender...it's a must try.

#CuddlesKitchen

#SharingKitchenInspirations

For my ISIEWU RECIPE.

INGREDIENTS.

.Goathead chopped into sizeable bits plus the brain (I usually ask my butcher to put the brain matter into it's own separate  polybag)...To have enough meaty bites, procure both the goat head and the neck.

.Ash/potash (I personally don't use potash)...Ash is made from burnt Palm Fruit head (Isi akwu after the kernels have been removed from it)
.Local spices...Efu, Ehuru(African nutmeg) and uziza (Benin pepper)
.Onions
.fresh(Red or Yellow Scotch Bonnet) or dry pepper
.Maggi
.Salt

.Scent leaves(Nchanwu...a few)
.Anara leaves(Garden Egg leaves) or utazi leaves for garnishing
.Red oil

RECIPE. 

.Pound fresh pepper with some onions, scent leaves and onions and set aside.

.Prepare ash to get the NCHA by pouring boiling water into it, Sieve off severally with a sift to ensure particles and sand don't remain. What you'll make use of is the greyish liquid got after sieving the ash.

. Season 

with maggi/knorr/Onga classic, lots of  Onions and some salt then boil meat till tender - I try to boil mine with very Little water so I end up with little or no stock. (You can strain off any excess meat stock and us for soup or any other dish)

. Allow the meat to cool a bit. 

.Also cook up your goat brain with a little salt and onion in a little pot. Mash up and set aside.
.Mix your red oil(Palm oil) with the ash water until it becomes thick and pale. 

Then add a teaspoon of grounded Efu, a teaspoon of grounded  Ehuru, a pinch of grounded Uziza seeds plus the grounded fresh pepper, Scent leaves and Onions. 

.Add the Mashed up goatbrains to the Ncha. 

.Mix all with the cooled goat chunks, then add salt and maggi to taste. 

.Garnish with onion rings and finely chopped Garden Egg leaves or Utazi leaves(Quite bitter so use a little) 

.You may enjoy this alone or Served with roasted or boiled yam...Goes as a meal in my home. 

*NB - Use of the Goatbrain matter is optional...Some people may want to avoid  it for health reasons but there has been no proof of any health-related problems from consuming goat/lamb brain. But for anyone's peace of mind, skip if you aren't comfy with it.

;-).... .... 

MY SWEET COCONUT PUFFIES (Puff puff)

I love to cook a whole lot but this past sunday I didn't do much cooking. Really didn't feel up to it for some personal reasons. I'm going to be needing a lot of self psyching for the next few weeks.

Made an effort the previous day before letting myself slump into a not-so-good mood. 

Started out with some coconut puffs....inspired by the so much loved Nigerian Puff puff. Had some lil cuties I wanted to send some over to. Got an awesome feedback too.
My son Ethan loved the puffies as well. I'm so glad he's beginning to try some new things. Had refused to try such breadlike textures in the past. Maybe because we had kept him away from pastries all these while because of his egg allergy.
The coconut puffs were really nice...tried it with the desiccated coconut shreds and replace water with coconut milk and some cinnamon. This combination of flavor packs a punch. Not for weight watchers cos it's eat one, want more.;-).

Then for Saturday lunch, I made some Spaghetti with canned plum tomatoes(thanks to scarcity), chicken strips and some diced up Russian sausages left over from the previous weekend....nothing goes to waste in my home.;-).

Also made some sticky lamb chops to go with our Lunch. Made them with mixed seasoning and as usual panseared them before coating with barbecue sauce and sweet chilli sauce before grilling them.

Spiced up some smoked chicken chunks for in between snacking....You should try smoked chicken. Really lovely. I didn't smoke it myself. Bought it off the deparmental store shelf already smoked and salted...then did justice to it with my own blend of seasoning and onions.

Then finally on Sunday morning, made some Chicken gizzard assortment A.K.A Gizdodo or Dodorishi (Dodo with orishirishi) and we had that with the previous days leftover pasta.
Try the Gizdodo. ..your kids will love it.
I always improvise when i'm out of some stuff. couldn't get my sweet bell peppers over the weekend so just deseeded the big chilis i had, chopped them up with the readily available green pepper and used in place of my red and yellow bellpeppers. the important thing is to give colour to the food and some heat too, Lol.

Had the traditional boiled rice and Goatmeat and kpomo(Cow hide) stew for our Sunday lunch. and because I was determined not do any real cooking, I used our leftover stew from a previous week so the goatmeat and cow hide were super tender and properly infused with the stew....mouthwatering innit? :-D

So for every post will share atleast one recipe. 
Just leave a comment if you try it and enjoyed it.

MY RECIPE FOR COCONUT PUFFS...

INGREDIENTS.

*2¼-teaspoon active dry yeast (1 packet)
*1/2 cup of sugar (or less for weight watchers).
*1 teaspoon salt
*About 1&1/2 cups of coconut milk (You can still use coconut powder if you can't get the milk. In that case, still use liquid milk for the mixture)...you'll have a nicely rich mixture.  
*1/4 cup of warm water or less.
*3 cups of all purpose flour
*1/2 teaspoon of grated nutmeg
*1  teaspoon of Cinnamon. 
*A teaspoon of vanilla powder or I spoons of liquid vanilla essence. 
*Sweetened desiccated coconut shreds...about 1/2 a cup
* Veggie Oil for deep-frying
*Some fine sugar (confectioner's sugar or icing sugar) for dusting the puffies after frying. 

INSTRUCTIONS. 

1. In a small bowl add the warm water, a teaspoon of sugar, and yeast. Set aside for 5 minutes...should bubble up to show yeast is alive.

2. In another bowl, Sieve your flour. Add the cinnamon, vanilla powder,  nutmeg, coconut milk powder (if that's what you are using) and half a teaspoon of salt.

3. Then add  the activated yeast  plus liquid milk or coconut milk and mix with a wooden spoon. Mix well and ensure the dry mixes with the wet properly.

4. Set the mixture in a warm area and cover with a kitchen napkin or clingfilm and let it rise (double in size) for approximately 1- 2 hours. 
I prefer the clingfilm as it's see-through and you can monitor the mixture without opening severally and thus prevent interfering with the rising process. You'll see the mixture bubbling up at the top once the mixture is ready. ..this is the tricky part. If you don't get it right , you will have a bun instead of a puff.

5. Once the mixture has doubled in size, sprinkle the desiccated coconut and mix minimally to preven making the risen mixturefall (lol, complicated English huh?)

6. In a large, sauce pan or a wok, pour a good quantity of vegetable oil, until it is atleast 3 inches deep (or about 5 centimeters) high (too little will result in flatter balls), and place on medium heat.

*The dough is going to be sticky so use your hands to grab a little bit of mixture at time and drop in the oil or use a spoon to spoon up the batter, and another spoon or spatula to push it into the oil, forming the shape of a lil ball. The hand works better too but not for a 1st timer. (I used to use my cookie scoop but not anymore)
*Do not overcrowd the pan.

7. Fry in batches....Fry for a few minutes until the bottom side is golden brown.Turn the ball over and fry for a few more minutes until the other side is golden brown. Most of the time, they'll turn themselves if the texture is right...you just watch them flip over as they get done.

*Use a large perforated spoon  to scoop them out of the oil.

8. place them on paper napkins right away to soak up the excess oil.

Take out the napkins after a few minutes, then sprinkle your fine sugar on the puffies and flip them up and down in a bowl...just to ensure the sugar touches all your puff balls.

Serve with a glass of fresh juice or cocoa beverage.

#Cheatmeal
#YouGottaWorkOffTheCalories

#CuddlesKitchen

#HomeCooking

#SharingKitchenInspirations

#HappyTummies

#BusyMomma

#YoucanDoItToo