The flavors of New Orleans & Cajun inspired chicken in a spiced cream sauce

I’ve been in love with New Orleans for years! I’ve never been and hope to someday. The colorful culture & mix of ethnicity’s intrigues me. The music; amazing jazz wows me! The food…ooooh the food…unique, tasteful with the influences of the French, the Spanish, the Creole & the Caribbean, its simply amazing! Thick sauces, jambalaya’s, étouffées and fresh seafood…yum! I have to admit that I am no real expert on the differences & uniqueness of Cajun vs Creole cooking however both are extremely delicious which is all that matters! Key cajun ingredients are the cajun vegetables (called the “Holy Trinity” of cajun cooking :-), cajun spices & the roux, each imparting a lovely taste to you dish.

This chicken inspired dish gets its name from the cajun spices fried off with the chicken to give a wonderful kick to the sauce.

And while probably no one in New Orleans would use basterma, think streaky bacon, I eat halal & kosher, so basterma it is 🙂 & the basterma gives a lovely taste to the dish!If you don’t have basterma use any cured or air-dried and slightly salted thinly sliced meat that crisps up well (But no beef bacon please! It turns to leather when cooked!).

The sauce is light as it’s cut with chicken broth. And to make it lighter, I thicken with cornflour instead of the traditional roux (You can of course thicken with a roux; 50 gm clarified butter (or oil) & 50 gm flour, melt the butter (or heat the oil) first till hot then stir in the flour. Keep it on a medium low heat (It should be bubbling slightly like a simmer) stirring continuously for at least 3 min to cook the flour. It should remain “blond”. Take it a little darker “red-brown” for a more pronounced nutty taste. You will need 2 to 3 tbsps of the roux to thicken the sauce).

It’s low on calories, clocking in at 575 calories including 140gm of steamed basmati rice (1 cup cooked).