“As a child my family’s menu consisted of two choices: take it or leave it.”
Buddy Hackett
What do you do when you hardly have any time on hand & hungry kids hounding you? Get the grill going, slap on some chicken patties…then sit back, relax & enjoy their glee!! Rediscovered this easy-peasy chicken patty recipe which I came across a while ago, bookmarked, & awaiting experimentation. No words to waste…it was simple, quick & full of flavour! Surprisingly easy, with yogurt as an ingredient, a happy marriage of spices; I certainly didn’t think I’d sail through this one as calmly.
This is a great one to have on hand if you are rushed for time, or just in a plain lazy mood. I think these will make excellent finger food too. Serve them with a ‘pomegranate molasses’ dipping sauce, a lime-mint-coriander chutney or maybe tzatziki … YUM!! I made these moist burger patties from this recipe I found here @ Akalaty.
Sumac Powder – 2 tsps (the original recipe doesn’t have this. I had sumac, so I added it) Sea salt – 1 1/2 tsps Freshly ground black pepper Garlic – 5 cloves / minced (original had 2 cloves;I like loads of garlic, but this wasn’t overpowering) Fresh coriander leaves – 1/4 cup / chopped Minced lean chicken – 500gms Plain yogurt – 1/4 cup (I hung it to get rid of excess whey; was scared the patties would be mushy; surprisingly they weren’t) Pomegranate molasses – 3 tbsps for brushing (didn’t have any unfortunately!)
Method:
Heat the olive oil in a skillet, add the onion, cinnamon, coriander, pepper flakes, and season with salt and pepper. Cook until onions are tender, about 5 minutes. Stir in the garlic, coriander & sumac (if using) and cook until garlic is fragrant, about 1 more minute.
Transfer to a large bowl and let cool slightly. Stir in the chicken and yogurt until the onion are evenly mixed. Season with salt and pepper. (I refrigerated the mince overnight at this stage. They were perfect & easy to handle the next morning. I personally feel that the mixture should be chilled for at least an hour for mingling of flavours & easy handling.)
Shape into 4 1/2-inch thick patties.
Cook in a nonstick skillet over medium heat until browned and cooked through, about 5 minutes on each side, or until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the sides of the burgers registers between 165 and 170 degrees F.
Brush burgers with the pomegranate molasses and set aside to rest for 5 minutes. Serve on toasted buns with fixings.
Enthusiastic enough to go a step further & make your own hamburger buns too? Check out my post for home-made burger buns here. The recipe for my mint-coriander-lime chutney can be found here.And of course, this too is on it’s way to Ruth @ Ruth’s Kitchen Experiments for her Bookmarked event.
“Do not dismiss the dish saying that it is just, simply food. The blessed thing is an entire civilization in itself” Abdulhak Sinasi
Turkish Adana Kebabs…from a cuisine which is unique!
Here’s something new I made yesterday…Adana kebabs. The recipe comes from my younger sister who’s known as the ‘chicken queen’ of our family. We’re constantly digging into her reservoir of recipes because she’s always trying different chicken recipes from cuisines across borders. These days she’s exploring Turkish & North African cuisine, & I sit & wait for ‘reviews & must try recommendations’! Lucky me…these kebabs from her Turkish-Mediterranean Cookbook were on the list of ‘must tries’ & were certainly worth the recommendations. The only hard work is the chopping…so for those of you who are game to chop, take out your Santuko knives & hit the deck!! My life is a lot easier & fun ever since my sis presented me with my 2 fave kitchen tools…the microplaner & Santuko knives.
Turkish cuisineinherited its Ottoman heritage which could be described as a fusion and refinement of Central Asian, Middle Eastern and Balkan cuisines.Adana Kebab is a long, charcoal grilled, minced meat brochette mounted on a wide skewer. It is named after Adana, the fourth largest city of Turkey, in the Mediterranean region.The people of this region have a passion for spicy hot food. By far its best-known dish is the namesake Adana Kebab — a spicy hot, grilled meat specialty. And when the cooking of it begins, guests gather round the mangal (BBQ) grill to engage in pleasant conversation.
Moist & delicious…as hot as you want them!
Adana kebabs are traditionally made out of lamb mince, then skewered & grilled over a BBQ. This is a pan-fried chicken version; can be grilled too. Time for the recipe then…
Ingredients: Chicken mince – 1 kg Onions – 2 medium, finely chopped (like for a dip) Garlic cloves – 6 big ones, finely chopped Red bell pepper – 1 finely diced
Red chili flakes – 1/2 tsp (adjust or omit according to taste) Green chili – 1 , deseeded and finely chopped Fresh coriander leaves – 1 big cup, finely chopped Ginger paste – 1 tbsp Garlic paste – 1 ¼ Tbsp Paprika – 2 tsp Sumac powder – 1 ½ tsp (I didn’t have this :0( ) Roasted Cumin powder – 1-2 tsp Salt Pepper Lime juice – from 1 lime Oil – 1-2 Tbsp
Method:
Mix all the ingredients together working quickly; make sure the mixture is all well blended. Let it marinate for at least about 30mins to 1 hour.
Put a heavy bottom pan on medium high heat & coat the bottom with oil.
Form kebabs with the chicken mixture…approx 4” long, & thin & flat. The mixture will not be firm, but a bit squishy, but just work quickly forming the kebabs & keep putting them into the pan. Make sure they’re sort of flat coz they tend to swell up a bit when they cook..& you don’t want them very thick.
Let them cook for a few minutes, till you see the bottom turning white & getting firm, then shake them around a bit.
After 4-5 minutes flip them over & cook the other side; keep shaking them around to cook on all sides, incl the edges.
When they are a nice medium brown & the juices stop flowing out, they’re done. Don’t overcook or they’ll get tough.
Note: Serve with a nice crisp salad, or a chutney, sliced onions & lime wedges. YUMMY!! Can even cut them into bite-sized pieces & put toothpicks and serve as finger food.
Another idea from her is to use hot dog buns; or even make a few round kebabs like burger patties and they’d be fine in burger buns.…with lettuce, tomato, onions & cheese.
This makes about 25-30 kebabs, & they can be frozen after frying too.
Food across cultures…a fascinating journey!
“Kebab” is a category of food which is typically Turkish dating back to the times when the nomadic Turks learned to grill and roast their meat over their camp fires.
