Cajun Chicken Alfredo

The very important ingredient in Cajun Chicken Alfredo is blackening spice mix. I use store bought blackening spice mix. Its sold as Cajun spice mix in India. If you are in the US, it will be sold as blackening spice. It has a lot of flavorful ingredients like salt, pepper, onion powder, garlic powder, paprika, cayenne pepper, cumin, Italian seasoning etc…. Buy Cajun Spice Powder Online in India

We will be using 2 boneless chicken breasts for today’s Cajun Chicken Alfredo . Cut the chicken breasts into cubes. Rub the chicken well with 3 tablespoons of Cajun Spice powder. Be generous with the spice mix!!! It has a lot of flavor. Make sure the chicken pieces are evenly coated with the spice powder. Let it marinate for 30 minutes.

Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a pan until hot on medium flame. Add in the chicken pieces and cook for 5 minutes on each side. It should nicely brown and some bits on the chicken would turn black. Don’t worry. Its just that the spice coating is blackening. It is not burning. You are on the right track.

Once the chicken is cooked, add in the finely chopped garlic and saute for a minute. Add in the milk and the cream. The original recipe uses all cream. But I make it as a lighter version with milk and cream. The original recipe uses sun dried tomatoes too. But I don’t add sun dried tomatoes as I don’t get them here. If you have sun dried tomatoes, add a couple of tablespoons of chopped sun dried tomatoes now.

Let the mixture boil for 5 minutes on medium flame. Add salt and taste for seasoning. The Cajun spice mixture already has salt in it. So go easy on the salt. Look at the beautiful color it becomes after adding cream. Add in the boiled Spaghetti and Parmesan cheese. Mix well for a minute to let the sauce coat the pasta. Switch off the flame and garnish with spring onions.

Not super complicated, easy, flavorful Cajun Chicken Alfredo pasta is ready!! Serve hot. This recipe has to be had as soon as its made else the pasta tends to dry out.

For the Marination

• 2 chicken breasts, boneless
• 3 tablespoon blackening spice powder / Cajun spice powder

Other ingredients

• 2 tablespoon olive oil
• 5 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1 cup Milk
• 1/2 cup cream
• 2 tablespoons sun dried tomatoes (optional)
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 250 grams spaghetti, cooked
• 3 tablespoon Parmesan cheese
• 3 tablespoon chopped spring onion ( 4 stalks)

1. Cut the chicken breasts into cubes. Rub the chicken well with 3 tablespoons of Cajun Spice powder. Let it marinate for 30 minutes.
2. Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a pan until hot on medium flame. Add in the chicken pieces and cook for 5 minutes on each side.
3. Once the chicken is cooked, add in the finely chopped garlic and saute for a minute. Add in the milk and the cream.
4. Optional – Add a couple of tablespoons of chopped sun dried tomatoes.
5. Let the mixture boil for 5 minutes on medium flame. Add salt to taste.
6. Add in the boiled Spaghetti and parmesan cheese. Mix well for a minute to let the sauce coat the pasta. Switch off the flame and garnish with spring onions.

Notes

I used Amul cream for this recipe as that’s what is easily available in India. You can substitute more cream instead of milk if you want a rich sauce.

• Author: Kannamma - Suguna Vinodh
• Prep Time: 30 mins
• Cook Time: 20 mins
• Category: Pasta
• Cuisine: Italian American

For the Marination

• 2 chicken breasts, boneless
• 3 tablespoon blackening spice powder / Cajun spice powder

Other ingredients

• 2 tablespoon olive oil
• 5 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1 cup Milk
• 1/2 cup cream
• 2 tablespoons sun dried tomatoes (optional)
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 250 grams spaghetti, cooked
• 3 tablespoon Parmesan cheese
• 3 tablespoon chopped spring onion ( 4 stalks)

1. Cut the chicken breasts into cubes. Rub the chicken well with 3 tablespoons of Cajun Spice powder. Let it marinate for 30 minutes.
2. Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a pan until hot on medium flame. Add in the chicken pieces and cook for 5 minutes on each side.
3. Once the chicken is cooked, add in the finely chopped garlic and saute for a minute. Add in the milk and the cream.
4. Optional – Add a couple of tablespoons of chopped sun dried tomatoes.
5. Let the mixture boil for 5 minutes on medium flame. Add salt to taste.
6. Add in the boiled Spaghetti and parmesan cheese. Mix well for a minute to let the sauce coat the pasta. Switch off the flame and garnish with spring onions.

Notes

I used Amul cream for this recipe as that’s what is easily available in India. You can substitute more cream instead of milk if you want a rich sauce.

• Author: Kannamma - Suguna Vinodh
• Prep Time: 30 mins
• Cook Time: 20 mins
• Category: Pasta
• Cuisine: Italian American

Find it online : https://www.kannammacooks.com/cajun-chicken-alfredo-cajun-spiced-alfredo-sauce/

I love seafood. We never cooked seafood at home when I was young as both my parents are vegetarians. My parents used to cook chicken for us but never fish. The smell of fish is something they cannot appreciate. I have this fond memory of my dad getting us fried fish on his way back from work. He is a civil engineer and he had a job that involved a lot of travelling. My dad was involved in a huge project in the 90’s for his company in a place called Thalavady near Sathyamangalam in Tamilnadu. He used to go there at-least twice a week. On his way back, he would stop at Bavani (famous for Bavanisagar dam). He would get us fried fish from Bavani. He used to tell that the fish was so freshly caught, I knew you guys would love it. So for almost 5-6 years till the project was over, we had fried fish dinners at-least once a week. The fish was fried along with curry leaves and came as a double wrapped parcel. Once with the banana leaf and then with a news paper. It was loosely tied with a white twine. It smelled oh so good! My dad has taken me and my brother many times to Thalavady during our holidays for wild animal sighting. He would be busy with his meetings and me and my brother would be with the care taker of the land Mr.Channappa. Channappa Uncle would take us into the forest to pick goose berries. He would scare us not to leave him and stay close to the jeep as he knew that the area was frequented by Sandalwood Bandit Veerappan at that time. We were really excited and super scared at the same time. Every trip was so thrilling. Wonderful days. This recipe has been inspired from Thalavady days!

I have tried and re-tried many recipes before arriving at this one. The fried fish from Bavani always had a battered coating. So I used egg for binding the ingredients. That little oil in the marinade helps to emulsify the masala so the masala is smooth. I doubt if the original recipe used corn flour but I have used very little in this recipe for binding the Masala well and to coat the fish evenly. Here is what you will need. Scroll down to the bottom of the page for detailed measurements.

Grind all the Masala ingredients to a fine paste. Don’t add water while grinding. The liquid in the egg and the oil will suffice. Pulse it several times until you get a fine paste. Rub the paste on the fish steak on both sides and let it marinate for 30 minutes. I used seer fish today.

Heat sunflower oil in a pan until really hot. Add in the fish steaks and just place a sprig of curry leaf on each of the steak. After 1.5 to 2 minutes, turn the fish to the other side. Turn with the curry leaf along. It might very slightly splutter. Be cautious. Cook the other side for 1.5 to 2 minutes and remove from oil. Drain on paper towel.

Serve hot. I like to squeeze a little lime juice on the fried fish just before serving. Yummy Spicy Fish fry just for ya!

Masala Ingredients For Marinade

• 1 tablespoon Coconut Oil
• 1 Egg
• 2 heaping teaspoon Red Chilli Powder (use more if you want really spicy)
• 1 teaspoon Turmeric Powder
• 1 teaspoon Black Pepper Powder
• 1 tablespoon Corn Flour
• 2 iinch piece Ginger
• 5 Garlic Cloves
• 1 teaspoon Salt
• 1 sprig Curry Leaves

Other Ingredients

• 500 grams fish steaks
• 1/2 cup Sunflower Oil / Vegetable Oil
• 10 sprigs curry leaves for deep frying
• 5 Lime / Lemon wedges for serving

1. Grind all the Masala ingredients to a fine paste. Don’t add water while grinding. Pulse it several times until you get a fine paste. Rub the paste on the fish steak on both sides and let it marinate for 30 minutes. I used seer fish today.
2. Heat sunflower oil in a pan until really hot. Add in the fish steaks and just place a sprig of curry leaf on each one of them. After 1.5 to 2 minutes, turn the other side. Turn the curry leaf along. It might very slightly splutter. Be cautious. Cook the other side for 1.5 to 2 minutes and remove from oil. Drain on paper towel.
3. Serve hot. Squeeze a little lime juice on the fried fish just before serving.

Notes

#Don’t let the fish to marinate for more than 30 minutes. I have noticed that the texture of the fish becoming hard if marinated for too long. #You can omit the curry leaves if you do not like them. #Always cook fish in really hot oil. That’s the trick to getting crisp and juicy fish. #Fish cooks faster than you think. So eyes on the hot pan. If you cook fish for too long, it might become really dry.

• Author: Kannamma - Suguna Vinodh
• Prep Time: 40 mins
• Cook Time: 20 mins
• Category: Appetizer
• Cuisine: Tamilnadu