New Year parties, or cosy, lively evenings at home welcoming 2025, will need plenty of finger foods, the more scrumptious the better.
Chef Ganesh Gaonkar offers a sweet and savoury recipe for a chicken snack. Chicken mince is stuffed with cheese, deep fried and served with a maple and orange juice sauce. Intriguing, isn't it?
The corporate chef at group that runs The Game Palacio, Mumbai, among other gaming spots, for the past five years, Chef Ganesh devotes plenty of time in conjuring up delectable snackies for gamers that visit their gaming arcades.
For more ideas on what to serve for New Year, do have a look at 25 Fantastic Recipes For New Year's Eve.
Photograph: Kind courtesy Chef Ganesh Gaonkar
Maple Chicken Poppers
Serves: 2-3
Ingredients
- 150 gm chicken mince
- 5 gm fresh green parsley, chopped
- 60 gm Cheddar cheese
- 5 gm peri peri spice powder
- Salt to taste, about 1 tsp
- 1 tsp black pepper powder
- 2 eggs
- 100 gm bread crumbs
- 50 gm maple syrup
- 30 ml orange juice
- Oil for deep frying the poppers
- Handful microgreens
Method
- Spread the bread crumbs on a plate.
Keep aside.
- In a bowl, mix chicken mince with the pepper, salt, parsley, eggs.
Roll into small, bite-size popper balls.
Flatten and stuffed with cheese and roll back into balls or little cylinders.
Roll in the bread crumbs.
Refrigerate for 30 minutes.
- Meanwhile, in a saucepan, over medium heat, warm the orange juice and the peri peri powder.
Allow it to reduce a bit.
Then add maple syrup and stir.
Keep aside.
- Take the chicken poppers out of the fridge and deep fry in the oil, over medium heat for 6-8 minutes, flipping so they turn golden brown on all sides.
Drain onto a tissue or paper towel-lined plate.
- Serve hot, garnished with the microgreens, with the sauce.
Chef Ganesh Gaonkar is based in Mumbai.
