Perfectly crunchy and crispy Nando’s style Peri-bites

Obsession is a dangerous thing to have and once you get something in your head, it is impossible to let go of. For me, recreating restaurant recipes at home is one such obsession and at times, it drives me to the edge of insanity.

Nando’s Peri-bites has been an OCD of mine ever since I first tried it some five years back. These are deep-fried green chilies stuffed with a succulent, cheesy chicken filling that just melts in your mouth (and sets it ablaze). A few years back, I successfully created a Peri-bites recipe that tasted much better than the original; there were two problems I consistently faced:

• the coating kept falling off
• the filling kept oozing out

Not all chilies were affected, though, but a sizeable percentage (around 60-70%) had one or both of these flaws. Therefore, I kept on going back to Nando’s for my Peri-bites fix – my fellow Peri-junkies should be able to relate to this. On one of my more recent visits to Nando’s, I found several issues with my appetizer:

• lack of chicken in the filling
• the taste was a bit ‘off’
• the coating wasn’t as crisp as it should be

With a broken heart and a huge disappointment (that would put Mt. Everest to shame), I put my culinary skills to the test and gave the recipe one more try. This recipe that I’m about to share is an absolute 110% improvement on the Nando’s original. I promise you will not be disappointed with the results.

Prep Time: 30 mins

Serves: 3-4 people

Ingredients

• 1 medium egg
• ½ cup milk
• ¾ tablespoon corn flour
• ¾ tablespoon all-purpose flour
• 2 cups bread crumbs (for dry coat)
• ½ chicken breast (1-inch strips)
• 2 teaspoon peri-peri sauce for cooking (hot or wild flavor)
• 1 tablespoon peri-peri sauce for mixing in
• 1 tablespoon mayonnaise
• 3 tablespoon grated mozzarella
• 1 tablespoon grated cheddar
• 1 tablespoon cream cheese
• 8-10 green chilies (approx. 3-4 inches in length – use banana peppers for a milder flavor)
• Canola oil (for deep-frying)

Method

1. In a sauce pan, put a teaspoon of oil and add the chicken breast
2. Mix in the peri-peri sauce once the chicken is tender and turn off the heat after cooking for a minute; let the chicken cool
3. After the chicken has cooled, add in cream cheese, mayonnaise, cheddar, mozzarella, and peri-peri sauce; mix well
4. To fill the chilies, make a T-shaped incision from the base of the chili (as shown in the picture below) and take out the seeds
5. Take about 1-2 teaspoon of the chicken filling (make sure there are chicken chunks in each portion) and stuff it gently into the chili; do not over stuff as the incision may not close and the filling may come out during frying
6. In a bowl, mix the egg, milk, corn flour and all-purpose flour
7. Dip each stuffed chili into the egg mix and roll it into the bread-crumbs; repeat this step twice for each chili
8. Put a pan with oil on medium heat for deep-frying
9. Gently drop each chili into the oil; try not to touch them for a minute to let the coating stick to the chili
10. Cook them for a few more minutes till the chilies are crisp and golden
11. Serve them immediately with a peri-peri sauce of your liking!

So what are you waiting for? Get started on a batch right away; it’s sure to knock your socks off and set your head steamin’. I hope you enjoy this recipe; comments would be appreciated!

The Incision – ‘T’ marks the spot