Fathers Day Fried Chicken

The Ingredients (for three servings):

• 12 chicken wings
• 15 g (or 5 to 6 cloves) of garlic
• 15 g (or a 1-inch piece) of ginger 
• 35 ml (or 2 tablespoons) of soy sauce
• 35 ml (or 2 tablespoons) of sherry
• 70 g (or ½ cup) of chick-pea flour
• 70 ml (or 4 tablespoons) of plain yogurt
• 2 g (or ½ teaspoon) of salt
• 2 g (or 1 teaspoon) of white ground pepper
• Cooking grade olive oil

The Method:

1. Approximately 24 hours before you plan to fry the chicken, wash the wings, drain, and cut through the wings at both joints. Discard the wing tips.
2. Use a knife, a food processor, or a garlic press to finely dice the garlic and ginger.
3. Place the wing pieces in a bowl and add the garlic, ginger, soy sauce, and sherry. Mix well, cover the bowl, and place it in the refrigerator.
4. Turn or shake the wing pieces in the marinade a couple of times during the marinating period.
5. Approximately 40 minutes before you plan to fry the chicken, drain the fluid off the chicken wings.
6. Place the chick-pea flour into a bowl and add the salt and pepper.
7. Stir the yogurt into this mixture until all of the chick-pea flour is moistened.
8. Add a tablespoon of water at a time to the bowl, stirring and grinding out lumps with each addition, until the mixture is the consistency of batter. The total amount of water added will be 50 to 70 ml (or 3 to 4 tablespoons).
9. Allow the batter to rest for 30 minutes before beginning to fry the chicken.                                 
10. Place sufficient olive oil for deep frying the chicken into a deep fryer or a stove-top pot.
11. Heat the oil to 190°C (or 375°F).
12. Place the drained chicken pieces into the batter and mix to coat each piece with a thin covering of batter.
13. Place as many pieces at a time into the hot oil as the frying vessel will accommodate in one layer.
14. When the initial bubbling subsides, use a wooden spoon or similar utensil to gently lift and turn the chicken pieces, to prevent the batter from sticking to the pot or the metal basket.
15. Cook for approximately 5 minutes, or until the largest wing piece is done. (Pull a test piece out of the oil and cut through to the bone to check.)

Squid Row Top Hit

Menu Note:

This recipe was adapted from one in the booklet that was bundled with our Cuisinart compact deep fryer. We enjoy the squid rings dipped in Marzetti ranch dressing and accompanied by a fragrant ale.

Ranch dressing: soybean oil,
buttermilk, vinegar, egg
yolk, salt, sugar, garlic,
spices, xanthan gum.

The Ingredients (for two people):

• 230 g (or ½ lb) of small squid, or squid rings
• 235 ml (or 1 cup) of milk or buttermilk
• 1 egg white
• 125 g (or 1 cup) of chick pea flour (besan)
• 15 g (or 1 tablespoon) of salt
• 6 g (or 1 tablespoon) of freshly ground white pepper
• 6 g (or 1 tablespoon) of cayenne pepper
• 12 g (or 2 tablespoons) of paprika
• Cooking grade olive oil

The Method:

1. Clean the squid and cut them crosswise into 1-cm (or ⅜-inch) rings.
2. Beat the egg white into the milk or buttermilk, then stir the squid rings into the mixture and allow them to stand, occasionally stirring, while preparing the crumb mixture and heating the frying oil.
3. Heat an appropriate amount of the olive oil to 185°C (or 365°F) in an electric deep fryer, or over moderate heat in a deep pot or a large wok.
4. Combine the chick pea flour, salt, white and cayenne peppers, and paprika, and mix well to distribute the seasoning evenly.
5. Drain the squid rings of excess egg mixture and coat them with the spiced chick pea flour. This can be done by lightly tossing them with the flour in a large bowl or by shaking them with the flour for 20 seconds in a medium-size paper bag.
6. When the oil temperature has reached 185°C (or 365°F)  gently add sufficient floured squid rings to the oil to make one layer.
7. Fry them for approximately 4 minutes, until the coating turns a medium brown color and feels crispy when picked up with tongs.
8. If it is necessary to fry the the squid rings in batches, make sure to check the oil temperature between batches and reheat it to 185°C (or 365°F) if necessary.

The Story:

I cannot tell you how many times I have heated oil in an open wok until it spontaneously ignited, because I stopped counting after the second panicked occasion. Luckily the wok lid was nearby, I smothered the flames, then raced the wok out the door so the toxic-smelling smoke would not fill the whole house.
When I recently saw this compact deep fryer in an online catalog, I realized here was our answer to the occasional yen for fried calamari, chicken wings, falafel, the list goes on. The deep fryer uses an economical amount of oil. The frying basket can hold one generous portion or two small portions of fried food, which is just enough to satisfy our appetites. By using chick pea flour instead of white wheat flour, and pure olive oil, I can make even deep-fried foods as diabetic-friendly as possible.

Papad-yums

Menu Notes:

• This is the appetizer for my Thanksgiving Menu 2012, and both the raita and the mint chutney double as condiments for roast lamb on the same menu.

The Ingredients:

• Uncooked papad
• Cooking grade olive oil

• 355 ml (or 1½ cups) of yogurt
• 1 cucumber
• Several sprigs of dill
• 30 ml (or 2 tablespoons) of lemon juice
• 5 ml (or 1 teaspoon) of Cayenne pepper
• 2.5 cc (or ½ teaspoon) of salt
• Sugar substitute equivalent to 5 ml (or 1 teaspoon) of cane sugar

• Approximately 235 cc (or 1 cup) of mint leaves and tender stems, loosely packed
• Approximately 235 cc (or 1 cup) of cilantro leaves and tender stems, loosely packed
• 1.3-cm (or ½-inch) piece of ginger
• Approximately 118 cc (or ½ cup) of chopped onion
• 1 small green chili
• 30 ml (or 2 tablespoons) of lime juice
• 15 ml (or 1 tablespoon) of tamarind concentrate
• 15 ml (or 1 tablespoon) of ground cardamom

The Method:

Papadums

1. Pour olive oil into a shallow skillet to a depth of 2.5 cm (or 1 inch).
2. Place a large, shallow dish next to the stove and line it with paper towels.
3. Heat the oil until it immediately cooks a small break-off piece of the papad.
4. Using tongs, slide one papad into—and totally beneath the surface of—the hot oil. 
5. If the oil is hot enough, the papad expands and crinkles immediately. Turn it over with the tongs and allow it to cook for a few seconds on the other side, then remove onto the paper towel to drain.
6. Repeat for as many papadums as there are people to eat them.
7. Serve immediately. If papadums get soft, reheat in the oven at a low temperature for 5 minutes, or until they are crisp again.

Raita

1. Seed the cucumber and grate it.
2. Squeeze it to remove much of the water.
3. Add it to the yogurt in a small bowl.
4. Rinse, dry, and finely chop the dill, then add it to the yogurt mixture.
5. Add lemon juice, Cayenne pepper, salt, and sugar substitute to the yogurt mixture.
6. Mix thoroughly.

Mint chutney

1. Wash and dry the mint and cilantro, and place them in a food processor or similar machine.
2. Add all of the other ingredients and process until the mixture is blended. Add water if needed to improve consistency.

Mint chutney

Raita