dried fruit Archives - My Halal Kitchen

Spicy & Sweet Tropical Snack Mix

by Yvonne Maffei | Mar 23, 2015 | Appetizers & Snacks, Gluten-Free, Halal-Certified Products, Vegetarian

Snacks are so popular in America, and for good reason. Who doesn’t love something crunch, salty, even spicy any time of day? We work long hours, get hungry, don’t have a lot of time for complete meals, etc. etc. etc. The problem with snacking is that much of the pre-packaged options are filled with too much salt and sometimes even additives that are questionable at the very least. If you can’t pronounce it or if it sounds like something that came from a chemistry lab, should you really eat it?

That’s why I prefer to make my own snack mixes at home, sort of like making your own granola or trail mixes. You can buy the ingredients separately then mix at will. This keeps items fresher for longer (only opening up packages when you need them), and you know exactly what’s going into your mix.

I’ve made these before, slightly different, and this is a new one I particularly love because I have been craving spicy foods a lot lately. Since recipe testing for my new cookbook (insha’Allah), my taste buds have been all over the place, but I always go back to the spicy stuff. Also, dried fruits are almost always in my pantry and recently I was given two packages of dried mango from the Philippines that seemed too unique to simply eat alone. The ingredient that takes this snack mix to the next level, however, is the Bombay Spice Crunchy Chickpeas by Saffron Road.

There’s simply no other snack on the market that I know of or like that is quite like it- crunchy and spicy and good enough on their own, they’re really what makes this snack mix special. Mixed in with the sweetness of coconut, banana, mango, and pineapple and the additional salty and crunchy texture of peanuts, and you’ve got a great on–the-go snack or something you can munch on at your desk or at home. I particularly love it with a glass of tea, or some sort of Indian-spiced chai.

Here’s what you need to make it- and it takes literally under two minutes to do this:

One bag of this Bombay Spice Crunchy Chickpeas (you can locate them at a store near you by going to this page), or just get them online at the link highlighted.

Dried mango. I used two types- ‘green’, which has a yellow flesh and the more common one with the deeper orange colored flesh. You can typically find these anywhere, too, but head to an Asian grocery store for some of the more interesting varieties. The ones I’m using come from Profood International, but more specifically they are Philippine mangoes.

I use kitchen shears to cut both up, as the green ones are quite lumpy and the orange ones too long for this dish unless cut.

These are the dried ‘green’ mangoes, which obviously look more yellow.

I also add dried banana- you can find these salted or unsalted, your preference. I like my snacks salty, but that’s just me. Same goes for the peanuts, if they’re salted (not pictured).

Coconut flakes are so lovely in this mix. If you get the large flakes, they smell heavenly and really go incredibly well with the heat of the Bombay Spice Crunchy Chickpeas, which aren’t too hot, in my opinion. I don’t have a super high tolerance for hot foods, so I’d call the heat pretty mild in those.

I love the softness in the texture of ‘dried’ pineapple, as the center should still be pretty chewy. I don’t get the kind with added sugar on top, but if that’s what you like, go for the ‘candied dried pineapple’.

There’s no particular order in which to mix everything together, but I like to start with the dried fruits on the bottom and put the chickpeas on top since they have all that spice and then fold it all into the rest of the ingredients- sort of like when you add blueberries to a muffin mix and you don’t want the blueberries to run through the batter, so you gently fold them into the rest.

Then it should end up looking like this.

You can serve in one big bowl, of course, or in several individual ones.

For evening or work-at-home snacks, I love to put these in small bowls for each person to enjoy.

With a cup of tea, of course.

How do you like this snack idea? Is it something you would try? What other Saffron Road Crunchy Chickpea would you use instead, if any?

*This post was sponsored by Saffron Road Food.

[yumprint-recipe id=’66’]

Roast Chicken with Couscous, Prunes, Apricots, Dates & Almonds

by Yvonne Maffei | Jul 18, 2014 | Iftar, North African, Ramadan

I guess this Ramadan proves that I’m drawn to Mediterranean and North African food as my go-to cuisine for the month. The mixture of sweet and savory, the healthy and light fare offered, the aromatic spices. Yes, please.

The original recipe (called Djaj M’Ammar Bil Kesksou) calls for stuffing the bird (chicken, pigeon, squab) with the couscous mixture after the bird has been cooking for some time, but it also says you can place it on the side. Stuffing seemed a bit difficult to me because, well, dealing with a very hot bird and a very hot pan, I honestly had trouble maneuvering around to scoop the couscous into the bird’s cavity. So, I did the next best thing- put the couscous all around the bird and covered the pan while it cooked, hoping it would not burn or dry out the couscous. What resulted was a perfectly moist bird and nicely steamed couscous. I’ll be doing it this way again and again, insha’Allah.

Here’s how you can do it, too:

Preheat your oven to 400° F.

Prepare the chicken (you can get Halal chicken delivered to you from Billy Doe Meats at my affiliate link here) first by gathering the spices (ground cinnamon, ground ginger, sea salt, black pepper), olive oil (for this dish, I recommend the very smooth Mina Moroccan olive oil) and a fairly runny honey that it will cook in first before placing the couscous. The couscous will also cook directly in the pot a bit later.

You’ll need something that’s not too shallow or not too deep, and definitely something that’s completely oven safe. I use the stainless steel Calphalon pans because they can go right from stove top to stove. You could also use a large tagine for this dish, which would actually be quite perfect. Just add them to the pan directly and combine.

Rub a whole chicken (or a whole one cut up) around in the mixture (olive oil, honey, cinnamon and ginger, sea salt, and the

You’ll need something that’s not too shallow or not too deep, and definitely something that’s completely oven safe. I use the stainless steel Calphalon pans because they can go right from stove top to stove.  You could also use a large tagine for this dish, which would actually be quite perfect.  Just add them to the pan directly and combine.

Rub a whole chicken (or a whole one cut up) around in the mixture (olive oil, honey, cinnamon and ginger, sea salt, pepper). Toss it around and be sure you get the whole thing covered up. Add about 1/8 cup of water to the pan, too. This will help prevent burning or drying up of any of the ingredients. 

The directions I’ve read all say to cook the chicken breast side down so that it stays moist and you can flip it later to brown it. I know, chickens look so funny in the pan, don’t they?

The problem I have with that is that the skin usually rips off and it doesn’t look presentable. What I do instead is cook it the whole time, breast side up, but I cover it during the last 40 minutes of cooking. Comes out great- super moist and it’s nice and browned all over. I’ve done it both ways, which you might notice here.

So, while the chicken is cooking, prepare the couscous by adding water and salt to it.

Let it stand for about 5 minutes so it can thicken. I love how quickly and easily this happens! You can sort of tell it’s ready for more by fluffing it up with a fork. That’s when it’s ready to have the other ingredients added to it, before it goes into the pan with the chicken.

 Like the olive oil. 

 And cinnamon, sugar, orange blossom water.

And you can’t forget about the mixture of  dried apricots, prunes (or raisins), and dates. 

The almonds, sautéd in butter, is probably my favorite part- it’s what truly adds all the flavor. So, sauté the almonds in butter for about 2-3 minutes, watching carefully so they do not burn.

Pour onto the couscous mixture.

Add a little fresh or dried citrus zest, if you have it. I think it makes a difference.

Leave this aside until the chicken cooks for a full 50 minutes.  Flip the chicken (if you decide to be a flipper), and cook for an additional 10 minutes before adding the couscous. 

Now place the couscous in the pan around the chicken. Add several pats of butter to the couscous. 

And cover with a lid or foil. Continue to cook for another 30 minutes at the same temperature.

In this picture you can see what happened when I flipped the chicken, as the skin is coming off. Still good, still moist, though. 

Everything is so nice and browned. You can even cover the wing tips with foil if you don’t like them browning more than the rest of the chicken, or you can tuck them to the inside of the bird with bakers twine. 

Smelling this dish was an experience in and of itself. The cinnamon, the apricots, the citrus- they provided my kitchen with the most pleasant aroma it’s had in quite some time.

You can serve directly in the pan, which is nice and rustic, however, if you decide to plate it nicely and neatly that’s great, too. It all comes out so softly. What, with all that butter?

Today’s recipe is sponsored by Zabiha Halal, a Canadian company that produces halal-certified (US and Canada) and hormone-free poultry products such as this whole chicken pictured below, as well as fresh leg quarters, and even all natural and nitrite/nitrate-free deli meat like chicken breast or smoked chicken breast . You can learn more about Zabiha Halal on their website and even enter for a chance to try their products for FREE in this giveaway. They’re also offering a pretty grand contest on their Facebook page where you could win a trip worth $10,000 to anywhere in the world. That’s pretty grand…

Do check out their products and use this recipe as an excuse!

[yumprint-recipe id=’31’] 

” data-wplink-url-error=”true”>black pepper). Toss it around and be sure you get the whole thing covered up. Add about 1/8 cup of water to the pan, too. This will help prevent burning or drying up of any of the ingredients.

The directions I’ve read all say to cook the chicken breast side down so that it stays moist and you can flip it later to brown it. I know, chickens look so funny in the pan, don’t they?

The problem I have with that is that the skin usually rips off and it doesn’t look presentable. What I do instead is cook it the whole time, breast side up, but I cover it during the last 40 minutes of cooking. Comes out great- super moist and it’s nice and browned all over. I’ve done it both ways, which you might notice here.

So, while the chicken is cooking, prepare the couscous by adding water and salt to it.

Like the olive oil.

And cinnamon, sugar, orange blossom water.

And you can’t forget about the mixture of dried apricots, prunes (or raisins), and dates.

The almonds, sautéd in butter, is probably my favorite part- it’s what truly adds all the flavor. So, sauté the almonds in butter for about 2-3 minutes, watching carefully so they do not burn.

Pour onto the couscous mixture.

Add a little fresh or dried citrus zest, if you have it. I think it makes a difference.

Leave this aside until the chicken cooks for a full 50 minutes. Flip the chicken (if you decide to be a flipper), and cook for an additional 10 minutes before adding the couscous.

Now place the couscous in the pan around the chicken. Add several pats of butter to the couscous.

And cover with a lid or foil. Continue to cook for another 30 minutes at the same temperature.

In this picture you can see what happened when I flipped the chicken, as the skin is coming off. Still good, still moist, though.

Smelling this dish was an experience in and of itself. The cinnamon, the apricots, the citrus- they provided my kitchen with the most pleasant aroma it’s had in quite some time.

You can serve directly in the pan, which is nice and rustic, however, if you decide to plate it nicely and neatly that’s great, too. It all comes out so softly. What, with all that butter?

[yumprint-recipe id=’31’]