Air fryer recipes: Chefs share favourite – and healthy – dishes

From lemongrass-infused fish to samosas and crisps with minimal oil, here are some DIY plates

Chicken satay takes 15 minutes to cook in an air fryer. Photo: Lily Hoa Nguyen / Vietnamese Foodies

With air fryers now a common appliance in many households, we ask three UAE chefs for some top recipes ranging from snacks and starters to hearty and healthy mains.

Here are four to try.

Grilled chicken satay skewers

By chef Lily Hoa Nguyen, co-founder of Vietnamese Foodies

Serves 2

Ingredients

460g chicken thigh

5½ tbsp barbecue sauce

3 tsp curry powder

½ tsp lime leaves

1½ tsp pepper and salt, in equal measures

Chopped chilli, to taste

Carrot and papaya pickle, optional

BBQ bamboo sticks

Method

Cut the chicken thigh into 1.5cm x 1.5cm cubes.

In a large bowl, mix the cubed chicken with BBQ sauce, curry powder, lime leaves, salt, pepper and cooking oil and set aside for at least 30 minutes (or even overnight).

Put five pieces of marinated chicken cubes along with one BBQ stick in the air fryer at 200ºC for 10 minutes, then flip to the other side and cook for five more minutes. Repeat for as many batches as you make.

Skewer the cubes and serve with chopped chilli on the side, and carrot and papaya pickle on top, if using.

Air-fried veggie chips

By chef Christos Lymperis from his latest book Waterfront Market Recipe Book: From the Market to Your Table

Serves 4

Healthy veggie crisps are only a 15-minute air fryer turn away. Photo: Christos Lymperis / Waterfront Market

Ingredients

1 medium courgette

1 medium red beetroot, peeled

1 large carrot, peeled

1 medium sweet potato, peeled

½ tsp pepper

1 tsp salt

1 tsp dried spring onion seasoning

1 pinch smoked paprika

Method

Using a mandolin, slice the vegetables to 0.5cm thickness

Place in a single layer in an air fryer at 180ºC and bake for between 15 and 18 minutes flipping halfway through. Check regularly so they don’t burn.

Add vegetables to a bowl, then toss in the seasoning powders.

Tip: Depending on the size of your air fryer, you may need to work in batches. It’s best to cook each vegetable separately based on their cooking time.

Healthy samosas

By chef Ranveer Brar, who opened Indian restaurant KashKan in Dubai last year.

Makes 10

Most air fryers have a samosa setting with a run time of about 12 minutes. Photo: Ranveer Brar / KashKan

Ingredients and method for samosa dough

1 cup flour

½ tsp carom seeds

2 tsp ghee

Salt, to taste

Cold water, as required

In a bowl, combine the flour, salt, carom seeds and ghee well until the mix resembles bread crumb consistency.

Add cold water and knead a hard dough. Cover and keep to rest for at least for 15-20 minutes.

Ingredients and method for samosa masala

1g coriander seeds

½g cumin seeds

1g fennel seeds

In a pan, lightly roast the coriander seeds, cumin seeds and fennel seeds.

Transfer into a mortar and pestle and crush coarsely and keep aside.

Ingredients and method for samosa filling

4 potatoes, boiled and slightly mashed

¼ tsp green peas

¼ tsp asafoetida

1 tsp ghee

½ tsp Degi chilli powder

1 tsp turmeric powder

10-12 raisins

2 green chillies, chopped

2cm ginger

1½ tsp prepared samosa masala

1 tsp dry mango powder

½ tsp black pepper powder

In a pan, saute the ghee, ginger, garlic and green chillies for one minute.

Add the raisins, turmeric powder, red chilli powder, asafoetida, potatoes and green peas, then mash coarsely, mixing properly and cover and cook for four to five minutes on medium heat.

Remove the cover and cook on high flame for three to four minutes or until lightly charred.

Add the prepared masala, black pepper powder, dry mango powder and salt, and mix well. Keep aside for further use.

Assembly

Take a medium portion of the dough, make a round ball then roll it thin in an oval shape. Cut in from the centre, take one half and make a cone shape, then add the filling in.

Apply water on the open ends of the cone and fold it towards you, keep it down and give it a gentle press so it can stand. Repeat for others.

Oil the raw samosas lightly, then cook in the air fryer at 180ºC for 12 minutes.

Serve hot with tomato ketchup or mint chutney.

Grilled seabass

By chef Lily Hoa Nguyen, co-founder of Vietnamese Foodies

Serves 2

Marinated seabass needs to be cooked in an air fryer for 15 minutes. Photo: Lily Hoa Nguyen / Vietnamese Foodies

Ingredients

600g sea bass fillet

45g shallots, skin peeled and thinly sliced

25g garlic, skin peeled

23g ginger, sliced

23g lemongrass, use the white stalk only and thinly sliced

1½ tsp brown sugar

¼ tsp black pepper

2 tsp fish sauce

1 tsp turmeric powder

1 ½ tsp Holland red chillies, seeds removed

Method

Cook the sliced shallot and lemongrass in the air fryer for five minutes at 190ºC. Remove the mix once golden in colour and aromatic.

In a blender, add garlic, ginger, brown sugar, black pepper, fish sauce, turmeric powder and Holland red chillies, and blend until smooth.

Mix the seabass with the blended sauce and shallot-lemongrass mix.

Cover well with aluminium foil and put in the fridge to marinate for 30 minutes.

Cover the air fryer base with aluminium foil and cook the fish for 15 minutes at 180ºC, skin side down.

Serve hot, with rice as an optional accompaniment.