fry light

Chicken Biryani

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This is one of the easiest ways of making a delicious and syn free biryani. If you don’t use Fry Light you can replace it with oil and just syn accordingly. You can also use any other brand of Biryani masala, I love the Laziza brand plus it is syn free!

Chicken Biryani

Chicken Biryani

Serves: 6

Syns: FREE

Time Taken: 60-90 minutes

Difficulty: Easy

Ingredients

  • 4 onions, finely chopped
  • 4 tomatoes, chopped
  • 750g chicken breast, cubed
  • 1/2 packet Laziza Chicken Biryani mix (use more if you prefer spicier, I keep it mild so the kids can eat it too)
  • 2 cups of basmati rice
  • Yellow food colouring
  • 1/2 bunch each of fresh mint and coriander leaves, finely chopped (optional)
  • Fry Light

Method

Spray lots of Fry Light in a pan and add the onions. Cook them on a moderate-high heat until golden brown. Add boiling water to the onions to stop them sticking to the bottom of the pan as needed. Keep stirring, this should take around 20-30 minutes.

Onions

Onions

Add the chicken, tomatoes and the spice mix and cook for a further 5-10 minutes until the tomatoes have softened and the chicken is no longer pink.

Chicken, tomatoes and spice mix

Chicken, tomatoes and spice mix

Lower the heat, cover the pan and cook for 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, cook the rice. Add the rice to double the quantity of boiling salted water and cook till half done, around 8 minutes. Drain the water, rinse it in cold water and set aside till needed.

Once the chicken is cooked you can start to layer it with the rice. Use the pan you’ve used to cook the rice and add a third of the rice to the bottom of the pan. Top it with half of the chicken, then rice again, chicken, and finish off with a layer of rice reserving some to mix with the food colouring to add colour to the rice. Add the mint and coriander if using at this stage.

Cover the pan and cook the biryani on a low heat for 30 minutes.

 

 

Aldi Shopping Essentials

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Below are my Slimming World friendly goodies I picked up from Aldi today. I find Aldi such good value for money. My must-haves I get from there:

  • Cauliflower rice – I usually make pizza with this (recipe here)
  • Cottage cheese – Aldi one is the best cottage cheese. I absolutely love the onion and chives cottage cheese, it is syn free too! I top a jacket potato with it or make crustless quiche with it (recipe here) or eat it straight from the tub! It is sooo good.
  • Fry Light – when on offer I buy a few to keep me going.
  • Salmon – although the price has gone up recently, Aldi salmon is still the best value. I keep it simple by just grilling it for around 10 minutes and add salt and chilli flakes to it once cooked.
  • Quark – you can make so many things with it. Use it for savoury or sweet dishes. I like to make pancakes with it (recipe here)
  • Skinny Latte Brooklea Yogurt – I have to admit that I am slightly fussy when it comes to yogurts. My absolute favourite are the Alpro yogurts. I tend to find other yogurts a little bit too thin in texture. I like the creamier versions and this one from Aldi although is not as creamy as I’d like it to be, it is an amazing flavour and syn free unlike the Alpro yogurts!
  • Passata – you can this in most of the supermarkets and I don’t think there is much difference to the taste. Passata is great for pasta sauces or curries. Syn Rree and Speed Food.

What are your must-haves? Please comment below with your favourites.

 

Aldi Essentials

Aldi Essentials

 

 

 

Chips – Slimming World Style!

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I didn’t realise I hadn’t posted a recipe for my favourite food EVER – CHIPS!! I do have them quite often in a week, so glad potatoes are a Free Food!

Serves: 1

Syns: FREE

Time Taken: 30 minutes

Difficulty: Easy

Slimming World Chips

Best Ever Slimming World Chips

Ingredients

  • 2 medium potatoes, peeled and cut into thick chips (I prefer using red potatoes)
  • Low calorie cooking spray

Method

You can use your oven (if so preheat your oven to 200°C/180°C Fan/Gas 6) or an Actifry, Halo Fryer or Air fryer instead. I do recommend investing in one as the chips always turn out best when cooked in it. You can also cook lots of other food in it too.

If you do use an Actifry you can put the cut up potatoes straight in without parboiling! Spray with low calorie cooking spray (fry light!) and they take about 20-25 minutes.

If using your oven you need to parboil the chips first. Basically boil the chips for 4-5 minutes in a pan of hot water. Drain well, return to the pan and cover.

Leave to cool slightly, then shake the pan to roughen their edges. Line a baking tray with baking paper and put the chips on top in a single layer.

Spray with low calorie cooking spray (fry light!) and bake for 15-20 minutes, or until golden.