Jerk Chicken

I first heard of it on TLC in Jamie Oliver's show. This Jamaican grilled chicken recipe draws its flavor (Read HEAT) from the deadly Habanero chillis (which are touted to be hotter than our own 'Bhoot Jholoka') and allspice. The spice mix seemed heavenly to me and the recipe quite easy to follow. Moreover it is a grilled recipe which is quite healthy and low on the calories. I had been looking for something different from our regular tikkas to serve for starters to our guests (most folks aviod the oily/fried varieties these days) and this one fitted the bill perfectly.

Hence I got some 'Allspice' powder from Hypercity and tried it (alternatively you can buy it online from Bigbasket). Mindblowing. One word is enough of suffice this one. (Do choose the chilli carefully so that you can bear its heat.)

Read on for the recipe (Note - I have made some little changes to Jamie's recipe. Incase you like to lookup his version, checkout his site)

Preparation Time - 30-35 mins

Ingredients - 2 chicken breasts, 5-6 shallots, 2-3 spring onions ( use the whites ), 3-4 garlic cloves, 1/2 inch ginger, 1/2 tsp chilli flakes, 1 tsp peppercorns, 1 1/2 tsp brown sugar, 1/2 tsp honey, 3-4 cloves, 1 inch cinnamon, 1/2 tsp allspice powder, 1 green chilli ( preferably a hot one ), 1 tsp light soy sauce, half of a lemon, 1 tsp olive oil/canola oil/ricebran oil, salt to taste.

Preparation - Take all the ingredients ( except chicken ) in a mixer jar. Pulverize to get a fine paste.

Clean the chicken and put little cuts in the skin. Rub the spice paste all over the chicken preferably with your hands (wear gloves though).

Cooking - Pre-heat a oven to 250 degrees (Celcius). Put the chicken on a griller and place it in the middle rack of the oven with both the top & bottem heating elements switched on. Cook for 20-25 minutes or till it is done. Take care to regulate/lower heat because the marinade tends to burn easily as it contains sugar/honey.

Serve hot with some lettuce, sliced carrots and blanched tender beans.

Note - Leg/Thigh pieces turn out to be juicier than the breast ones but are higher in fat content. So if you do not mind the calories, use the leg pieces for preparing jerk chicken.

Schezwan Chicken Recipe

Another Indo-Chinese fusion recipe from my kitchen . Read on:

Ingredients:
For marinate : Boneless chicken pieces ( 30a0 gm ), egg white( 1 no ), cornflour ( 1 tsp ), maida ( 1 tsp ), vinegar ( 1/2 tsp), soya sauce ( 1 tsp ), fish sauce ( 1/3 tsp), finely cut garlic ( 1 tsp, heaped ), salt.

For the saute : Capsicum ( 1 small ), carrot ( 1/2 of a small ), onion ( 1 small ), spring onions ( 1 tbsp, finely chopped), schezwan sauce ( 2-3 tsp), fish sauce ( 1 tsp ), soya sauce ( 1/2 tsp ), finely cut garlic ( 1 tsp ), pepper powder ( 1/4 tsp), salt, tomato sauce ( 1 tsp ), cornflour ( 1 tsp), oil ( 3 tsp ).

For deep frying : oil .

Preparation: Mix all the ingredients for marination in a large bowl. Keep aside for 2 hours.

Cut the capsicum, carrot and onion into long strips.

Cooking: Heat sufficient oil in wok for deep frying the chicken.

Add the chicken pieces in small batches. Lower the flame. Fry for 3-4 mins.
Remove from wok and keep aside.

Mix the cornflour with 4-5 tbsp water so that no lumps remain.

Heat 3 tsp of oil in a wok. Add the schezwan sauce. Saute for 2 mins.

Add the cornstarch paste and stir till it starts thickening.

Add the fried chicken along with tomato sauce, soya sauce, fish sauce and garlic. Fry on high flame for 2-3 mins.

Add all the vegetables. Sprinkle pepper powder and a pinch of salt. Toss it well. (Add a few teaspoons of water if it is too dry or sticking to the pan )

Serve hot as an appetizer or even a side dish.