Nutty Chicken Strips

Have you ever taken an online test? In today’s life, where the computer steals most of your time, its no surprise what the answer is! I guess there are online tests for just about every topic you can think of…

But have you taken the test of patience? I don’t think you’ll see one online, though there is an offline one! Just spend an hour trying to feed a toddler! (I can see many young mother’s nodding their heads vigorously!) I’m not saying all toddlers are difficult to feed, but I guess the majority falls into this category.

I usually get a call from my friend around noon time asking me to drop in to her place. She has a sweet little angel, but all her sweetness somehow vanishes when you try to feed her :) My friend starts the feeding session with story telling, singing, dancing, playing hide n seek and what not! I’ve even see her diving from behind at times! But this little cutiepie is one smart cookie, she’ll strategically stand in the corner of the room, so my friend can’t spoon feed her from behind!

I’m her 911, when all else fails :) So my role is to go there and play with this little angel and try to distract her or make her laugh somehow, so that when she opens her mouth, my friend can act like lighting and spoon feed her! You see timing is very important!

If you’re thinking that these little munchkins behave like this all the time, guess again. Try placing a plate of french fries or some nuggets or a packet of Lays infront of them, you don’t need to say or do anything… the plate will be empty in just a few minutes… with a naughty grin on their face.

When I saw this recipe in AWW cookery book, I first thought of all those little princes / princesses who test their mom’s patience :) I also receive mails/comments very often asking for kid’s recipes. I guess this is very apt for them, I do really hope your little one enjoys this small treat. The original recipe doesnt call for any strong spices powders (pepper/red chilli flakes), so you can avoid it if you wish. I really wish this recipe gives you a peaceful feeding time without any 911 calls ;)

Ohh..I forgot to tell you, we two big kiddos absolutely enjoyed this nutty chicken, that’s how we washed away the healthy cookie ;)

Here is the recipe:

1. Boneless Chicken – 250 gm
   Salt
2. Plain flour (maida) – 2.5 tbsp
3. Egg – 1, lightly beaten
   Milk – 1 tbsp
4. Ground almonds – 1/2 cup (refer notes)
   Bread crumbs – 2/3 cup
   Pepper powder/Red chilli flakes – 1 – 1.5 tsp
5. Oil

Clean the chicken and cut into thin strips. Marinate the chicken pieces with salt and roll in plain flour. Shake off the excess flour. Combine the beaten egg & milk and dip the chicken pieces in this mixture. Combine almond flour, bread crumbs & pepper powder/chilli flakes. Roll the chicken pieces in almond & bread crumb mixture.

Refrigerate the coated chicken pieces for 1 hour. Deep fry the chicken strips in hot oil until lightly browned . Drain on absorbent paper. Serve  hot with sauce/dip of your choice.

Notes: The original recipe doesnt use any pepper/chilli flakes. If you are making this for little kids, you can avoid it completely. I used spiced breadcrumbs and so I didnt add any pepper/chilli flakes.

Homemade Almod flour/ground almonds:

1 cup almond flour = To make your own almond meal place 1 cup (100 grams) sliced (blanched (skins off) or natural (skins on)) almonds

with 1 tablespoon (14 grams) granulated white sugar in a blender or food processor and process until finely ground.  Sugar or flour is added to the almonds to prevent clumping as it absorbs the oil exuded from the almonds.  Toasting the almonds first dries them which also helps to prevent clumping.

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MariasMenu is a popular food blog written by Maria Jose with its no nonsense simple, tasty and delicious recipes – all tried and tested by readers, family and friends alike. Read more about Maria and her venture.