Recipes that are simple and delicious.
It’s funny how some things come about. For example this recipe stemmed from a conversation I had with some of our neighbors. We got on the topic of food, as we pretty much always do, and we started talking about soup, as it is nearing […]
As you may or may not be aware, my wife and I are completely falling in love with Indian cuisine. There is something about the warm flavors, and most likely the vegetables and non-meat options, that are so satisfying. One of their key, and important, […]
Bhel puri. I know you are probably questioning, ‘what the heck is bhel puri?’. I don’t blame you, but that’s why I’m here; to expose you to another great ethnic snack dish known as bhel puri. It’s a mixture of all types of textures and flavors that when eaten is something really, truly awesome. This is basically an Indian snack made of puffed rice, along with tomatoes, chutneys, onions, some spices, and something called sev.
I was first curious about this when I visited a local Indian grocery outside of Milwaukee called Best Indian store, and that’s when I really began to explore more and more Indian cuisine. This is really easy to throw together, and the trick is to eat it pretty quickly as the chutneys will soften the puffed rice rather quickly. This is a savory snack and is just packed full of flavor and texture. A real winner.
Let’s get started.
You can find all of these ingredients at your local Indian store, and the chutneys (which I will post later) can be made at home.
Start by heating a skillet on medium-low heat. Add the puffed rice, and gently toast for a few minutes, agitating along the way.
To a mixing bowl, add everything but the lemon juice. Gently stir, and mix, ensuring that the chutneys get mixed well, then sprinkle on the lemon juice. Now you are ready to serve.
I molded my mixture in a bowl and served. The textures, the flavors, and the experience made this all a perfect snack. My wife and I dug into this and really enjoyed it.
If you are looking for a great snack, and a great introduction into Indian snacks, give this one a shot. I know I’ll be making this throughout the year. Hope you enjoy!
Often times I hear my wife say how much she loves broccoli and cheese soup. I do to for that matter, but in all honesty it is something that I have never made. I know how to make it, but again, something I have never […]
I was in the mood to do something fun this past weekend, and when I mean fun, I mean something to make with the waffle iron. By now you probably know that I make some fairly crazy stuff from time to time. Things like waffle […]
The things I do for my kids, I tell you. The simple things, I should say. This past weekend was not only a great one, but it was the start of football season, Packers season if you will. My boys, who are not in their first time fantasy league, were stoked to say the least, and as my wife (and I for that matter) gets really excited for football Sunday, they all get excited for the food that I make. That always makes me happy when they get excited. With that said, one of my boys was really excited that I had brought home some seasoning from our local wingery, and one of his favorites. As soon as he saw it, he asked me if I could make chicken wings for him on Sunday. Of course I would, but the night before I decided to take a bunch of chicken thighs and dump them into my slow cooker along with a ton of vegetables, and before doing that, I removed the skin from each thigh, reserving them for this slow baked and crispy chicken skin. Lord were these great.
I had no idea what I was going to expect, but the goal with this idea was to basically come up with a crispy chicken skin, much like a chip, and all I have to say is ‘whoa’. These things were dynamite and everything you love in fried chicken, just without the chicken.
Let’s get started.
Ingredients:
That’s it. Chicken skin. Seasoning. Time.
Heat your oven to 300 degrees. I like to slow cook my chicken wings in the oven, slowly getting them nice and crispy. I’m not a fan of rubbery wings. You know the ones. Not a fan at all. All this requires is time, and a few removals of excess chicken fat.
Once the oven is heated, lay the chicken skin on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Make sure the chicken skin is lays flat for even cooking. Sprinkle on some of your favorite seasoning (in my case it was chipotle seasoned salt) and a few dashes of maggi seasoning onto the skins and place into the oven, cooking slowly until crisp, roughly 2-3 hours.
Keep an eye on them, and carefully drain any excess fat along the way. I did this twice. Once the skins are crisp, remove from the oven and dig in.
I’m not kidding you when I say how awesome these things were. Super crisp, and everything I love about fried chicken, just in snack form. My kids were kind of giddy when I presented these. The problem is they were gone in a matter of seconds, and so next time I’m going to make a heck of a lot more. Have you tried these before, and if so did you love them as much as we did?
