I'll be honest, I don't often eat at Nando's but every so often I do find myself craving some piri piri, or PERi-PERi, chicken and some Nando's sides.
My nearest Nando's is a good six miles away but I kept seeing a video on TikTok that explained in easy steps how to make your own "Nando's" at home, which may well be what had caused the craving in the first place, and thought I'd give it a go.
The recipe includes using an air fryer, but luckily I have just got my hands on one after months of debating whether to or not, and I was keen to see whether the new device would help me on my quest for the perfect fakeaway.
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For anyone who might be wondering, the newest addition to my kitchen is the COSORI Lite 3.8 litre smart air fryer. It costs £99.99 from Amazon, features WiFi and, more importantly for me, is fairly idiot-proof.
It has a number of settings including, handily, ones for chicken and for fries, is sturdy and sleek, and actually looks good in my kitchen. Alternatively there are similar models on sale for £150 at Argos, and at Robert Dyas for £149.99.
TikTok user Fraser Reynolds' clip explains that as well as your air fryer, you will need wraps, chicken, potatoes, lettuce, halloumi, Nando's seasoning, Nando's sauce and piri piri salt. I'm not the biggest fan of halloumi so I left this item out.
First you coat the chicken breast in the seasoning before air frying for 13 minutes at 190C. You then coat the breast in "secret" sauce, which is just Nando's sauce mixed with honey, and return to the air fryer for four more minutes.
The chips are made by chopping a potato, coating it in piri piri salt, and air frying at 200C for 20 minutes.
Once cooked, the chicken and the chips were looking very good and I was convinced I'd nailed the assignment - until it was time to assemble the wrap.
You add lettuce, chilli jam and mayonnaise before wrapping the whole thing up ready to eat. But Nando's wraps look good, they are well put together and are sturdy, and this was not the case with my version.
It was a sloppy mess no matter which way I tried to do it. I just could not imitate the look of a Nando's wrap. (Granted, this may be because I love food and I'd put too much chicken in.)
Presentation aside, though, the thing was delicious. I'd honestly say it was on par with the real deal, but it saved me a trip. I only wish I'd got an air fryer sooner.
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