Wednesday 11 April 2018

Chicken Schnitzel.



Assalamu alaikum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuhu!

In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful

Guys, I cannot believe it took me so long to try out a chicken schnitzel.
It's a very classic recipe that I'd always see here and there and make a mental note to cook for myself.
But as usual, I'd forget about it until the next time I saw it and the whole cycle would start again. If you've done this too then consider me your schnitzel alarm bell, ringing to tell that you that it's finally time to give this lovely chicken dinner a go.

Schnitzel is the name given to any meat which is pounded until thin before being coated in crispy breadcrumbs and fried until golden brown. When made with chicken, in my opinion, it's basically one giant chicken nugget. And, who could resist that?!
I made these ones with chicken breast which had been thinly sliced by my butcher. You can also just put a chicken breast between two pieces of clingfilm and give it a good bash so that it's the same thin thickness all over. That's the beauty of this recipe - the thinner the chicken, the faster it'll cook.
And, I don't know about you but I am all about fast dinners these days. With the days getting considerably longer and Ramadan soon on the horizon, I find myself cooking less often and wanting to spend more time spring cleaning (super proud of my huge freezer sweep at the weekend) and being outside enjoying any occasional bursts of sunshine. The schnitzel comes together pretty quickly and I have three options for side dishes depending on the weather:
1. Hot weather - with your favourite salad.
2. Cold weather - with mashed potatoes, mixed vegetables and gravy.
3. When the weather cannot decide what it's doing - buttered potatoes, carrots and spinach plus a squeeze of fresh lemon.

Chicken Breast, previously: spiced chicken in yoghurt sauce // peruvian baked chicken // mozzarella chicken in tomato sauce

A Simple List of Ingredients:
1. Eggs
2. Dried Parsley
3. Garlic
4. Salt
5. Black Pepper
6. Breadcrumbs
7. Cheddar Cheese
8. Chicken Breasts
9. Butter
10. Vegetable Oil

Bismillah, let's begin!

Guys, this is such an easy dinner recipe and it all begins by preparing the coatings. Into a shallow dish, crack 2 large Eggs.

Then, dried parsley. Apart from salt and pepper, this was the only seasoning I used in the schnitzel. You may add other ground spices here but honestly, I loved the simple flavours as they were.

Sprinkle in 1/2 teaspoon Dried Parsley.

Add in 2 peeled and finely minced Garlic Cloves or 1/2 teaspoon Garlic Paste. Both work really well.

Add Salt and Black Pepper, to taste.

Whisk with a fork so that everything is well combined.

Next, the breadcrumb coating. You'll need about 200g Breadcrumbs. I made fresh ones by toasting 4 slices white bread until golden and crispy, letting them cool then blending until I had crumbs.

To the breadcrumbs, add 100g Cheddar Cheese, finely grated. The cheese adds great flavour to the coating.

Sprinkle in Black Pepper, to taste. No salt here as I felt that the cheese and bread were salty enough.

Stir up and our bread coating is ready.

Finally, prep the chicken. You'll need 4 Chicken Breasts that have been pounded to 1/4 inch thick - put the chicken piece between a clingfilm and bash. If you don't want to pound the chicken, slice each breast through the middle so that you have thin slices of chicken.

Let's recap. We have:
- egg coating
- breadcrumb coating
- chicken pieces

To prepare one piece of chicken, sprinkle Salt and Black Pepper on both sides. If you want your schnitzel with a bit of spice, just marinade your chicken in spices before coating.

Dunk the chicken in the egg, flipping so that both sides are covered, and letting the excess drip off when you're done.

Then, dip the piece into the breadcrumbs on both sides. For a thicker coating, repeat the process again with egg and breadcrumbs.

To cook the schnitzel, heat a little Butter and Vegetable Oil in a frying pan. Butter for flavour and oil to stop the butter burning.

Add in the schnitzel. You can fry as many as you can get in the pan but don't overcrowd the pan too much.

Fry the chicken until it's golden brown, crispy and fully cooked through. The time will vary depending on how thick the chicken piece is. Mine took around 5-10 minutes.

Serve the schnitzels immediately whilst they're still crispy and hot. Because the weather was kinda hot but also kinda cold, here's what I served mine with.

Baby carrots and baby spinach.

Plus buttered baby potatoes.

And, lots of lemon to squeeze over!

This chicken schnitzel was one of the tastiest things I've made this year. You guys have got to give them a go soon!

Chicken Schnitzel.

chicken breasts in a golden brown and crispy coating.

Prep Time: About 20 minutes.
Cook Time: About 20 minutes.
Serves: Makes 4 chicken schnitzels.

Ingredients

2 large Eggs
1/2 teaspoon Dried Parsley
2 Garlic Cloves, peeled and finely minced OR 1/2 teaspoon Garlic Paste
Salt, to taste
Black Pepper, to taste
200g Fresh or Packet Breadcrumbs (see recipe notes for fresh instructions)
100g Cheddar Cheese, finely grated
4 Chicken Breasts, pounded to 1/4 inch thick
Butter, as needed
Vegetable Oil, as needed

Prepare the coatings:
In a shallow dish, whisk together the eggs, dried parsley, garlic, salt and pepper. In another shallow dish, mix together the breadcrumbs, grated Cheddar and black pepper. Sprinkle salt and pepper onto both sides of the chicken.

Coat the chicken:
Dip the chicken into the egg mixture and then the breadcrumbs until well coated. You may do this twice for a thicker coating.

Cook the chicken:
Heat the butter and vegetable oil in a frying pan over a medium heat. Fry the chicken in batches until golden brown, crispy and cooked. This may take 5-10 minutes depending on how thick your chicken is.

Serve:
Serve the chicken schnitzel with boiled potatoes, carrots, spinach and lemon. I also love serving the chicken with mashed potatoes, mixed vegetables and gravy.

Recipe Notes

  • For fresh breadcrumbs, toast 4 slices white bread until golden brown and crispy. Cool completely then blend until you have crumbs.
  • For a spicy schnitzel, marinade the chicken in spices before coating.

Keep me in your duas please, and enjoy your chicken schnitzel.

Assalamu alaikum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuhu!


Spice Enthusiast
© copyrights This Muslim Girl Bakes, All Rights Reserved. Branding & Blog Design by Sadaf F K.