Persian Fried Chicken Food

KOTLET (PERSIAN MEAT PATTIES)

Steps:

• Place all the ingredients in a mixing bowl. Mix and knead it well for 5 minutes, like you would knead dough. The consistency should not be too dry nor too wet, must be easy to shape. Let it rest for half hour. Tip: Squeeze the juice from the grated onion and add it back later only as needed.
• Divide the meat mixture into 10 to 12 portions. Roll each portion and flatten into an oval disc. Keep the shaped patties aside.
• The kotlet may be pan fried in two batches in a skillet that has enough room for six patties.
• For each batch, heat 4 tablespoons oil in the skillet at medium high. Once the oil is hot enough, slide six meat patties and lower the heat to medium.
• Shallow fry one side and flip it before it becomes too brown. Then you may flatten the patty slightly, using a flat flip spatula. Let the other side brown a little. Flip it again and fry both sides until dark brown.
• So, you will end up frying both sides twice. It should take at least 5 minutes total cooking time on each side. Some people do cook the kotlets longer on a low medium heat.
• Once done, transfer to a plate lined with paper towels.
• These kotlets can also be served with rice or flatbread, as an appetizer, snack or can be used to make sandwiches.

FESENJAN (PERSIAN POMEGRANATE CHICKEN)

Steps:

• Toast and grind the walnuts: You can toast the walnuts in one of two ways. You can either spread them out in a single layer in a large skillet, and toast them on medium high heat, stirring frequently until lightly toasted, OR you can spread them out in a single layer in a baking rimmed baking sheet, and toast at 350°F in the oven for 8 to 10 minutes. In either case, once toasted, remove from heat and allow to cool. Once cool enough to handle, pulse in a food processor or blender until finely ground.
• Brown the chicken pieces on all sides: In a large pan, heat 1 tablespoon of butter and 2 tablespoon of olive oil over medium-high heat. When the butter has melted, pat the chicken pieces dry again and place the chicken pieces in the pan, working in batches if necessary to not crowd the pan, and cook until golden brown on all sides. Sprinkle the chicken with salt while they are cooking.
• Sauté the onions: Use a slotted spoon or tongs to remove the chicken from the pan, set aside. Add a tablespoon of butter and a tablespoon of oil to the pan. Lower the heat to medium low. Add chopped onions to the pan and sauté until translucent, stirring on occasion to release the browned bits from the bottom of the pan.
• Add chicken and stock: Return the chicken pieces to the pan with the onions. Pour 2 cups of chicken stock over the chicken and onions. Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer, cover and simmer gently for 30 minutes.
• Add ground walnuts, pomegranate molasses, sugar, spices, cover and cook: Stir in the ground walnuts, pomegranate molasses, sugar, and spices. Cover and cook on very low heat for 1 hour, stirring every 20 minutes or so to prevent the walnuts from sticking to the bottom of the pan. Remove from heat and adjust sugar/salt to taste. At this point the chicken should be fall apart tender.
• Serve: Garnish with pomegranate seeds. Serve over parsi pulao or other favorite rice. Links: Slow cooker pomegranate chicken salad from Lydia of The Perfect Pantry

SERRESH POLLO (PERSIAN CHICKEN AND RICE WITH FRIED ONIONS, RAISI

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
• On low heat, melt 2 ounces of the butter, add salt and pepper to taste and baste chicken thighs with molten butter.
• Bake thighs at 400 degrees F for about 45 minutes.
• While thighs are baking, prepare basmati rice.
• Some minutes before the thighs are done, slice onions and fry in remaining butter (I know, it's a LOT of butter, but that's correct).
• As soon as onions are translucent, salt to taste, then add raisins, heat through (don't let the mixture burn!), then add barberries, turn off heat and let stand until barberries are warmed, too.
• Place chicken thighs and rice on plates, top rice with onion-raisin-barberry mixture.
• Serve with green salad.
• Enjoy!

PERSIAN SAFFRON-BRAISED CHICKEN THIGHS

Steps:

• Place saffron threads into a small bowl and crush them up a bit with a spoon. Add 3 to 4 tablespoons of hot water and stir. Let bloom for about 10 minutes - the water should turn bright yellow/orange. Set aside.
• Season chicken thighs on both sides with about 1 teaspoon salt and freshly cracked pepper.
• Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add chicken thighs and sear on both sides until golden, 3 to 4 minutes per side. Remove and place on a plate to the side. Add onion to the same skillet and cook until soft and translucent, 3 to 4 minutes. Stir in garlic and curry powder and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute.
• Pour in chicken stock and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer and add saffron mixture. Season with remaining 1 teaspoon salt and freshly cracked pepper. Stir to combine. Return chicken thighs to the skillet, cover, and simmer over low heat for 20 minutes, flipping thighs halfway through cook time. Season to taste and serve with the sauce.

HOW TO MAKE FRIED CHICKEN

Steps:

• Delicious fried chicken starts with the bird. You can cut a whole chicken into parts for frying, but if you want all dark meat, or vice versa, or just to save time, you can buy the parts. Maybe you're feeding a bunch of children who prefer drumsticks, or someone who will only eat white meat. Buying parts lets you tailor the meal to their tastes. For dark meat aficionados, go for a mixture of drumsticks and bone-in thighs. For those who prefer white meat, a pack of bone-in breasts will do just fine. Figure on two or three pieces per person, plus leftovers because cold fried chicken eaten the next day is fantastic. A whole chicken of 3 or 4 pounds can be cut into 10 parts for frying: two drumsticks, two thighs, two wings and the two breasts each cut in two, with the backbone discarded. This will feed four people nicely. (Here's a video demonstrating how to do that.)Buy the freshest chicken you can at the store, organic if possible.
• To brine a chicken means to submerge it in a solution of salt and water, sometimes flavored with other ingredients, in order to add moisture and flavor to the meat. You can certainly fry chicken without brining the parts, but we recommend against that. It's very little work, and adds tremendously to the finished flavor.For a basic chicken brine, simply dissolve 4 tablespoons kosher salt in 4 cups lukewarm water. Add the chicken to the solution, cover and place in the refrigerator for a few hours and up to overnight. (You might add a few tablespoons of sugar to the mixture, along with some fresh herbs or chopped garlic.)For many fried chicken aficionados, the only acceptable brine is made with buttermilk. To make one, dissolve 2 tablespoons kosher salt in 4 cups fresh buttermilk, along with a healthy grind of black pepper. Add the chicken to it, cover and place in the refrigerator for a few hours and up to overnight.Put 2 cups pickle juice into a large bowl and add the chicken to it. Cover and place in the refrigerator for a few hours and up to overnight, turning a few times along the way. The result is shockingly flavorful, juicy meat.Combine 2 cups cola in a large bowl with 1 tablespoon kosher salt, 4 cloves chopped garlic, 8 sprigs fresh thyme, and a tablespoon or more of hot sauce. Add the chicken, cover and place in the refrigerator for a few hours, turning a few times along the way. The cola adds a caramel hue and distinctive sweetness to the meat, but after more than a few hours it begins to degrade it, too. Proceed with caution!Cider brine: For a sweet, almost autumnal fried chicken, dissolve 4 tablespoons kosher salt in 2 cups apple cider. Add the chicken to the solution, cover and place in the refrigerator for a few hours and up to overnight.
• A shatteringly crisp crust is a hallmark of great fried chicken. You achieve that by covering the exterior of the meat and skin with starch before cooking.The easiest method for dredging chicken is simply to place the parts in a big paper bag filled with flour that has been seasoned with salt, pepper and occasionally paprika or hot pepper; close the bag; shake it a few times, and then carefully remove each piece and shake off the excess flour before frying. You can of course use a large bowl in place of the bag. Just dredge the chicken pieces through the seasoned flour and proceed as directed. You'll want to dredge the chicken right before frying; leaving the chicken to rest in its coating will gum up the flour, reducing its chances of crisping up in the cooking oil. Not all cooks use all-purpose flour to coat their chicken. Alternative starches include gluten-free flours, bread crumbs, the larger Japanese bread crumbs known as panko, cracker crumbs and potato starch. (Other coatings include - really! - crumbled Cheetos and Doritos.)Whatever starch you use, the precepts remain the same: dredge the chicken in it, then shake off the excess, then fry.
• Once your chicken pieces are coated, you'll gently place them in hot oil and fry them until golden brown and gloriously crunchy. A few tips: Use tongs to turn the chicken a few times while it cooks. And, crucially, do not crowd the pan. You want plenty of oil surrounding each piece of chicken, but not so much that it spatters everywhere. (In warmer months, if you don't want to mess up your kitchen, cook outside, using a gas grill and a pan set on the grate above the burner.)Time was, people fried chicken in shortening. Some fry in lard, others in oil, or in a combination of the two. What you want is an oil that has a high smoke point, which means that it can be heated to a high temperature without burning. Olive oil and butter have low smoke points. Do not use them for fried chicken. Instead, try peanut, canola or vegetable oil. You can deep fry the chicken in a lot of oil, or you can shallow fry it in a little less, but if you go the less-oil route, the fat should rise to at least halfway up the pieces to ensure even frying. As the oil heats on the stove, you might slide a single slice of bacon into it to perfume the fat, but this is hardly a requirement. If you do that, remove the bacon before frying the chicken.The ideal temperature at which to fry chicken is a steady 350 degrees. Monitor that temperature by using a candy thermometer. And, especially if you're new to the chicken-frying game, use a meat thermometer to monitor the internal temperature of the chicken. It's done when it reaches 165 degrees. Make sure that you've brought the oil back up to 350 degrees before you add the next batch of chicken.After you remove your chicken from the skillet, you should let it rest before serving. Some people do so by placing the hot chicken on a paper bag, or on paper towel. This method, however, can lead to soggy skin, particularly on the side that's in contact with the paper. A better technique is to rest the chicken on a wire rack set on top of a baking sheet, sprinkling a little salt on it when it's hot for extra flavor.
• Once you've mastered our basic recipe, explore these fried chicken styles. Adobo fried chicken will take you to the Philippines, while Nashville-style hot chicken will simply set your mouth on fire. (Worth it.) This adobo fried chicken takes its vinegary cue from the braised national dish of the Philippines. It starts with a cooked broth of 2 1/2 cups white vinegar, 3 minced garlic cloves, 4 bay leaves, 1/4 cup soy sauce, 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes, 1 teaspoon sugar, 1 teaspoon salt and 1 1/2 teaspoons black peppercorns, in which you'll simmer the chicken pieces for 15 minutes. Dredge the chicken pieces in a mix of 2 cups buttermilk, 1 cup flour, 1 teaspoon paprika and some black pepper, then fry. Serve with a dipping sauce of 3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice, 2 tablespoons maple syrup, 2 tablespoons fish sauce, 1 tablespoon soy sauce, and 2 sliced Thai bird chilies.Korean fried chicken, or yangnyeom dak, takes its deep flavor and rich heat from an oniony marinade and a coating made with gochujang, the Korean chile paste, and other spices. It's dredged in a mixture of flour and cornstarch coating, which gives the crust an extra dose of crunch. To make Korean fried chicken, smear the pieces with a mixture of 1 grated onion, 2 chopped garlic cloves, salt and pepper, and let sit for about an hour. Dredge the pieces in a flour-cornstarch mix, then fry. Mix together 3 tablespoons gochujang, 3 tablespoons ketchup, 1/4 cup sugar, 2 tablespoons sesame seeds and the juice of half a lemon. Brush the chile sauce liberally on the fried pieces while the chicken is still hot, and serve.Nashville-style fried chicken is hot - so hot that watery eyes and a burning mouth are commonly accepted side effects of eating it. The searing heat comes ghost-chile powder and a generous amount of cayenne pepper. To make it, add 2 tablespoons hot sauce to your buttermilk brine. Then, before you dredge the chicken pieces in flour, dust them in a coating of 3 tablespoons cayenne, 1 tablespoon ghost-chile powder and 1 tablespoon sugar. After frying, dust the pieces once more with cayenne. Serve with sliced white bread and a cold beer.This Persian fried chicken is redolent of saffron and paprika, and is best made with boneless chicken thighs, which speeds up the cooking time. First, make a marinade by combining 1/2 teaspoon saffron with 1 tablespoon water and let soak 10 minutes; purée in a food processor with 2 cups plain whole-milk yogurt and 1 tablespoon chopped garlic. Marinate the chicken pieces in the refrigerator for a few hours or overnight. When it's time to fry, dredge the chicken in a mixture of 2 1/4 cups flour, 2 1/2 teaspoons paprika, 1 1/2 tablespoons dried mint and 1 tablespoon salt. Serve with lemon wedges and chopped walnuts.