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How To Cook Egusi Soup Frying Method -Our Top Online Recipes!
Contents1 The Best Recipes For Making Egusi Soup (Frying Methods)1.1 What Is Egusi Soup?1.2 Tips […]
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In the fast growing health conscious world we now live in, air fryers are becoming a popular alternative to traditional frying, due to the convenience of their speed, clean up and use of minimum oil during cooking. The Tefal Actifry 2 in 1 in particular also allows you to cook two meals at the same time such as one main and a side for up to 6 portions! A handy little gadget to have in your kitchen.
The Tefal brand and Actifry range is no stranger in the kitchen appliance world. They have models ranging from a new XL air fryer, to an 'express' speed fryer and even a special family sized fryer. The Actifry models all have automatic timers and safety feautures so as you don't have to spend unnecessary time in the kitchen while your tasty food is cooking away.
Now, lets get into the specifics about the Tefal Actifry 2 in 1.
The Tefal Actifry 2 in 1 boasts the ability to cook a whole meal with two cooking zones included in one fryer, meaning you can be cooking up a crispy chicken for your family while the 'less than 3% fat chips' are also cooking in the other zone. The Tefal Actifry is a hands free way to be cooking your food as it's hot air flow combined with its automatic stirring paddle does all the work for you, meaning that your food will be evenly cooked through with little to no effort.
Capacity wise this air fryer is 1.5kg meaning it can cook up to 6 portions of food therefore making it an efficient investment if you have a family. Most importantly to make things cleaner, the air fryer has the ability to come apart into separate pieces making it easy to pop in the dishwasher. The pan and tray can also be wiped clean due to the non-stick ceramic coating.
On the technical side, this Tefal Actifry model comes with four programmes for cooking; meat, chicken, fish and desserts. Tefal Actifry also generously includes a in box recipe book with up to 150+ different recipe ideas to use in your air fryer and a downloadable mobile app full of more recipe ideas too.
The design of this air fryer is appealing and simple. The appliance has a transparent lid so you can even watch your dinner cooking away. The size is also big but not too large, meaning it can fit neatly in the corner of your kitchen. It comes in a black colour which is sleek and keeps clean compared to most standard white appliances.
It's main features can be seen here -
So, as someone who loves cooking gadgets which can save me time, but also give me the same results as if I had spent hours in the kitchen, air fryers do excite me.
I thought it would be fair to test out this Tefal Actifry with one of its recommended recipes from the app and then one of my own so as I could see if they both turned out to a good standard.
I started with basic chicken and chips, making sure to read the manual and all the instructions were pretty straight forward. The first huge benefit of the air fryer was that I didn't have to wait for it to preheat the way I would have to with my traditional oven. I cut up my own thin chips then washed and dried them for better results and used the recommended one spoon of oil. On top I used the air fryer tray for some chicken pieces, after around 30-40 minutes I could happily say the chips were nice and crispy and the chicken was cooked through. I would say that for cooking chips you need to keep them thin and extend the cooking time for them to be crispier.
Some major positives of cooking with this air fryer; there was barley any smell and you can leave it to do its job while you get on with a different job. I also found out that the timer on the appliance is removable so you can take it with you while moving around! However I did find that after the timer is done, the appliance still carries on cooking the food and I do think that for the price, it would have been handy if they had an auto turn off so as you can avoid any possibility of overcooking or burning the food. I cooked for four of us and we had good portions, for 6 however I would say it might be a stretch. Despite those small negatives it tasted absolutely wonderful and not to forget guilt free! Everything was cooked through, with the chips crispy on the outside and fluffy on the inside. Perfect.
Now for more of a difficult meal to test on the air fryer I decided to try out the Tefal's Chicken tikka masala recipe. I marinated the chicken as per usual then put it into the air fryer with some onions to cook away for 10 minutes. I followed the recipe and accordingly added in some tomatoes and water halfway through then added up another 10 minutes on the timer. Overall I had a tasty chicken tikka masala with hardly any mess in just 30 minutes! I was little disappointed they didn't include how to cook the rice in the recipe but at the same time but it's pretty easy to work out. After cooking I easily took the air fryer apart and loaded it up into the dishwasher.
Based on my experience I can confidently say this air fryer really is a handy piece of equipment to have in your kitchen and you don't have to be an expert cook to produce some delicious meals when using it. Also in comparison to other air fryers I have used in the past, I had no problems with any fat collecting in the fryer or food sticking after cooking.
Well, if your looking to upgrade your existing air fryer or just try out a new appliance in general this is a pretty good deal. With nutritional benefits and the fact it has an option to cook a main and a side at the same time, it's a good choice compared to some other standard air fryers on the market. Some things to consider would be that for an average family size of three-four people this fryer would give a decent portion size, but as I said above for six people the portion size may be on the small side, it might be more suitable to check out the Tefal Actifry Express XL for that job. The noise level is also on the louder side and the lack of an auto switch off when the food is done cooking is a feature that for the price, I really think Tefal should have considered including. But as an air fryer that is easy to clean, easy to cook with and gives satisfying results, the Tefal Actifry 2 in 1 does a wonderful job.
Price wise the fryer is as low as £199 on aawp at the moment, which may seem slightly pricier than other options on the market but for the quality and it being a reputable brand it's a fair price.
Overall to conclude, if you are looking for a no-fail, good sized and easy to use air fryer then the Tefal Actifry 2 in 1 is 100 percent worth adding to your appliances.
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