Cajun Chicken Alfredo

I want to rant so bad today but I won't because whenever you say something on the internet it becomes public property and most of the public is such an ass that they will say whatever they feel like regardless of your situation.

So I keep most of my personal life and stuff to myself because people usually don't understand shit until they have to go through it themselves.

Anyway, once in a while there comes a pasta recipe that is extremely easy to make and very delicious to feast on that you all of a sudden forget all of  your problems are willing to ignore your strict diet routine.

Cajun Chicken Alfredo is one of those pastas.

Yes you heard it right. Cajun seasoning is an all purpose seasoning which is used in a lot of foreign recipes. I bought it from Green Valley (Mall of Lahore) but you can also get it from Al-Fatah and essajee's if you are from Lahore.

Even if you can't find Cajun seasoning you can make it at home by compiling the following things:

2 teaspoons salt

2 teaspoons garlic powder

1 teaspoon onion powder (optional)

2 1/2 teaspoons paprika

1 teaspoon ground black pepper

1 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1 1/4 teaspoons dried oregano

1 1/4 teaspoons dried thyme

1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes

Just combine all of these ingredients and you'll get your Cajun spice mix.

Now let's get down to our recipe.

INGREDIENTS:

4 tablespoons olive oil

4 cloves garlic, chopped

450 grams of penne pasta

4 cooked chicken sausages, sliced

500 grams chicken breasts, thinly sliced

1 tablespoon cajun seasoning

Salt 1 tablespoon

400 grams cream

1/2 cup of milk

1 cup grated parmesan cheese

1/4 cup grated mozzarella

1/4 cup parsley/coriander

Boil the pasta as per the directions of the packet.

Meanwhile the pasta is being boiled you can finely chop your coriander/parsley and garlic cloves.

Drain the pasta and rinse with cold water. Keep it aside.

How on medium head add olive oil to a pan.

Add chicken, sausage slices and chopped garlic.

Cook until chicken is cooked and keep stirring so the garlic doesn't burn.

When the chicken loses the pink color add salt and cajun seasoning.

Mix and cook it with the pasta.

When the chicken is completely cooked and the spice mix has blended in, turn the heat to low and add the cream and milk.

Now add the grated parmesan, mozzarella and chopped coriander.

Give everything a good mix.

Add the pasta to the white sauce with chicken and mix it well until the pasta is completely coated. 

This is it.

Sprinkle some more chopped coriander over it and Cajun seasoning. Enjoy the creamy treat and get lost in the rich Cajun flavor.

Chicken Mandi

Chicken Sajji is one of my favorite things to eat when I am up for a take away. It is mostly because it is a complete meal and I also really really love the Kabuli pulao.

If you ever give me a choice of meeting my favorite person or eating chicken sajji I will more likely do the latter.

There is an Arabic version of Sajji which is known as Mandi. A recipe from Yemen which is popular among the Gulf and I have seen many people ODing on it on my Snapchat. It always intrigued me that I kinda waited for years to travel to some Gulf country to taste this thing but sadly I never got the chance because BROKE AF.

So, I took it to myself and decided to make this thing. After enough searching I found the perfect recipe and with a little adjustment to the ingredients I was good to go.

The most interesting part of this recipe is making the spice rub for the chicken marination and then the marinating process. The spice rub is very unique and nothing I have ever tasted before and it is known as Hawaij.

INGREDIENTS FOR HAWAIJ:

Coriander seeds 1.5 tablespoons

Cumin seeds 1.5 tablespoons

Whole Black peppercorns- 1.5 teaspoons

Whole cardamom 1 tablespoon

Whole cloves 1 teaspoon


Whole cinnamon 2 inch stick

INGREDIENTS FOR CHICKEN:

1 whole skinned chicken weighing 1.5 kilograms

4 tablespoons butter

1 teaspoon black pepper

1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder

2 tablespoon Hawaij

3 teaspoons salt

INGREDIENTS FOR RICE:

2.5 cups basmati rice soaked

1 roughly chopped onion

6 green chilies

3 bay leaves

2 tablespoons oil

2 cloves

3 whole cardamoms

2 inch cinnamon stick

1 teaspoon whole black peppercorn

1 teaspoon saffron soaked in 2 tablespoons of water

1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder

5 cups of water

We start off with preparing Hawaij by roasting all the ingredients in a medium heat pan for 4 minutes.

Then we let the roasted spices cool down and then add them to a grinder to turn it into a powdered mixture.

Now we marinate the chicken by combine melted butter with Hawaij, salt, turmeric and pepper in a bowl.

Brush the spice rub thoroughly onto the chicken and inside the chicken as well.

Wrap the chicken with a plastic or aluminum foil and let it marinate for at least 4 hours to overnight.

I had it in the fridge over night and trust me the chicken tasted way better with more time to the marination.

Now we prepare the rice by frying chopped onions in a pan over medium heat with 2 tablespoons of oil in it.

When the onions become translucent, turn off the stove and add, rice, green chilies, bay leaves, pepper corns, cardamom, cloves, turmeric, water and salt according to your taste.

Mix it properly.

Place a wire rack over the pan and carefully place the chicken breast side down over it.

Pre-heat the oven on 425 F and place the pan with the chicken on top and bake it for 15 minutes.

At this time we will soak the saffron threads in water so by the time the rice are cooked they are completely diluted in the water.

After fifteen minutes turn the temperature of the oven down to 325 F and cook the chicken for 1 hour.

NOTE - The time of cooking the chicken may vary upon size. So please despite of this recipe and timing instructions keep a check on your chicken and rice both after at least every 15-20 minutes.

After 1 hour take out the pan and carefully flip the chicken to breast side up. BE VERY CAREFUL THE CHICKEN WILL BE VERY HOT SO USE A CLOTH OR UTENSILS.

Put the pan with chicken on top back for another 45 minutes.

After 45 more minutes the rice are cooked and the chicken is baked. Take both things out. Separate the chicken and let it cool down.

Add Saffron to the rice and mix it well as that will give color and flavor to the rice.

Put the rice on a platter and place the chicken carefully over it. You can top Mandi with roasted almonds and lemon wedges as well.

CHICKEN MANDI IS READY TO BE ANNIHILATED.

Crispy Chicken Buffalo Sandwich

I have been often told by the people who have seen me that I look very intimidating and I look like I will pull a knife on them.

Fear not, I am not that harmful. I am good man the laaltain and you can talk to me about anything related to the food. Sure you can keep the personal Q & A to yourself but yes anything related the food and I am all ears.

I have never apologized this much for making a recipe that I have while making this one. This is southern style Crispy Chicken Buffalo Sandwich made with nothing but love and little hate for the people I dislike.

INGREDIENTS(FOR 3 SANDWICHES):

3 boneless chicken breasts cut in half

2/3rd cup butter milk (you can make your own butter milk by adding a tablespoon of lemon juice or vinegar in a cup of milk and leaving it for 15 minutes)

1 teaspoon ginger powder

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1/2 teaspoon paprika

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

1 teaspoon salt

2 eggs

1 cup flour seasoned with salt, garlic powder and black pepper

Buns of your desired shape, I chose classic buns

Mayo for dressing

Buffalo Sauce for drizzling over chicken

Thick tomato slices for dressing

Iceberg lettuce for dressing

First and foremost we have to dip the chicken pieces in the butter milk. The we will add salt, paprika, ginger powder, garlic powder and pepper to it.

Mix it well and let it marinate for 4-6 hours.

Chicken will marinate in 4-6 hours and you can be useful by doing something good for someone meanwhile.

Now after 6 hours we will take out our chicken and prepare the breading station.

Start heating the oil in a frying pan on medium heat.

Put all purpose flour in a deep flat tray and season it with slat, garlic powder and black pepper.

Place this next to a chicken along another flat deep tray that has egg wash in it.

Now do as following numerically

1. Take out the chicken.

2. Dip it in the egg wash.

3. Cover the chicken piece in flour.

4. Fry the chicken for 3-4 minutes on both sides.

Repeat this for all the chicken pieces.

Now it is time to assemble the sandwiches.

Slice the buns in half and toast them in the oven for 1 minute.

Now follow the below steps numerically: (I am also teaching you all how to count)

1. Put mayo on the bottom bun.

2. Tomato slices over it.

3. Place 1 or 2 chicken pieces over it.

4. Generously drizzle buffalo sauce on it. Let it rain because you don't want to hold back.

5. Place the top buns and have more buffalo cause on the sides as a dip

Eat them with fries, coleslaw or any side that you prefer but let me tell you one thing. You will love this sandwich more than your best friend.