Croquetas de Pollo con cúrcuma - Chicken croquettes with turmeric

Croquettes are the kids' favourites in every single Spanish house and I bet they are grown ups' too! It's such a delicious simple bite. Have them hot or cold or as a tapa with a glass of wine... any time and any way is good for Croquetas.

These ones have a new secret ingredient that is known for its antitumor function, antioxidant, antiartritis, and anti-inflammatory properties. It can also be used to treat malaria, prevent cervical cancer, and may also interfere with the replication of the AIDS virus... 

I'm talking about turmeric. My good blogger friend Nathan, posted about turmeric in his post: Turmeric Rice, and I was really curious about it and more than happy to know about all these fantastic medical applications (wikipedia source).

So, I thought that it would be great to start using it in my kitchen! Since it's full of good reasons it would be foolish not to take advantage of this plant's root. I bought it in powder and it smelled like chalk, but once used, it gives a nice aroma and flavour to the croquetas.

I used just a little bit this time to get to know the strength that will give to the food and I'm really happy with the result :D.

Ingredients for 4 to 6 servings: A whole chicken's breast (It could be either roasted or boiled. Roasted is always better for obvious reasons), 3 table spoons of wheat flour, 2 middle onions, half a litter of milk, some ground nutmeg, half a teaspoon of turmeric powder, olive oil, 1 egg, breadcrumbs and salt.

• Cut the chicken's breast in small pieces. Prepare a big pan with some olive oil and when hot add the onions (peeled and cut in small pieces). Make them sweat at low heat and when transparent add the chicken. Stir and cook for 5 minutes aprox and then add the flour. Let cook while stirring for another 5 minutes and then add the milk little by little while stirring with a wooden spoon. Pour the nutmeg and the turmeric. Stir some more.
• When you get a thick dough that doesn't get stick to the pan's wall, it means that it's done. Taste and add some salt.
• Turn heat off. Place the pan on the kitchen counter and cover with a clean kitchen cloth. When cold, place inside the fridge.
• Once is completely cold (let rest for 2 hours at least). Prepare a pan with olive oil to fry the croquettes. Don't ever let the oil burn.
• Prepare one plate with the beat egg and another with the breadcrumbs.
• Shape the croquettes with your hands, place in the egg and coat in breadcrumbs. Fry and place over kitchen paper to leave there the oil.
• Eat hot or cold... either way they will be delicious :D