1 New Recipe A Week Challenge

This week I've tried not 1, but 2 new recipes! Dinner is where I usually find myself quite 'bored' shall we say but seeing as it was pancake day I decided I would try a clean pancake recipe and a new dinner recipe - chicken Jalfrezi.

So here we go :)

Banana & Coconut pancakes. Serves 1 (big portion)

You'll need:
1 really ripe banana
2 eggs
33g of desiccated coconut
1 handful of blueberries
Coconut oil (for frying)

1. Whisk 2 eggs in a bowl
2. Mash the banana (I used a fork)
3. Mix the eggs and banana together and mix around so it's well combined
4. Add in the coconut & blueberries and give it another stir
5. Heat coconut oil in a frying pan and add the mixture to the pan once hot - I did them one at a time as it was the first time using this recipe - I just used a big tablespoon.

I must admit these are not the easiest to flip! They're extremely flimsy so I found I had to get a spatula as far under as I could and then use a fork as well to flip them quickly. I ended up with about 6/7 small pancakes from this - and yes I ate them all! I avoided the maple syrup and dusted some cinnamon over the top of my stack et voila! Gluten free, dairy free pancakes. These taste very strongly of coconut and banana (no surprise there). These are two of my favourite things so obviously I loved them but if you're making these expecting them to taste like ordinary pancakes you will be disappointed. Surprisingly, the texture was not much different! The coconut must have thickened them up.

I was really happy with these and very much looking forward to making them again, they'll make the perfect weekend brunch <3
Next up I decided to make chicken Jalfrezi, now this recipe does make quite a lot - I always make my dinners in big batches so I always have left overs for lunch or a healthy dinner in the freezer when I have no time to cook.

A word of warning, this curry had my nose running! I don't think it was spicy but it does have quite a lot of ginger paste in it which I think you could easily put in less of OR completely miss it out if you really hate ginger. Also I was aiming to make the recipe for about 3 portions so used 2 chicken breasts but kept all the other ingredients the same. Now that I think about it that was rather stupid.
I quite like ginger though and I find it gives it quite a fresh taste, it gave me a nice warm feeling in my belly, you know that feeling you get when you see puppies? Or someone you really hate looking miserable? It's definitely a guilt free, no nonsense, flavoursome curry! So enough about it - here's the recipe.

Chicken jalfrezi. Serves 4-6
4 tbsp vegetable or grounds oil
8 skinless, boneless chicken thighs sliced - I just used chicken breasts (on a smaller scale)
1 large onion
2tbsp garlic & ginger paste
2 green peppers (I used one orange and one red) deseeded and chopped
1 large fresh green chilli deseeded and finely chopped
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground coriander
1/4-1/2 tsp chilli powder
1/2 tsp ground turmeric
1/4 tsp salt
400g canned chopped tomatoes
125ml water
Chopped fresh coriander to garnish

Heat half the oil in a frying pan and add the chicken pieces, cook for around 5 minutes and then put aside.
Add the rest of the oil (if necessary) add the onion and fry until golden brown, sir in the garlic and ginger paste and stir frequently for 2 mins. Add the peppers and keep moving again for 2 mins. Stir in the fresh chilli, and the spices, add the tomatoes, and water and bring to boil. Reduce the heat to low and bring to simmer, pop the chicken back in and leave for 10mins.
Just make sure the peppers are cooked to your liking and the chicken is definitely cooked through. Sprinkle with coriander if you have it - I had it and still forgot! I had this with a small portion of couscous Instead of rice but brown rice would also be a good option.

There you have it, a really easy weeknight dinner that is just as good (if not better) reheated for lunch the next day. Much better than a sandwich!

I hope you guys enjoy them and maybe give them a go!

Minnie
xXx