Fauzia's Kitchen Fun

Zinger Burger

280

Zinger Burger

The crispiest, crunchiest yet tenderest and most delicious burger recipe ever. By far family’s favourite one!  A definite must-try recipe.
Servings 4 Burgers

Ingredients
  

Ingredients for Chicken Marinade

  • 2 thick chicken breasts boneless and skin removed
  • 1 cup buttermilk - you can make this at home by adding 1 tbsp vinegar or lemon juice to 1 cup of room temperature milk. Let this stand for 5-10 minutes and then use accordingly.
  • 1/4 tsp. garlic paste
  • 1/4 tsp. ginger paste
  • 1/2 tsp. salt
  • 1/2 tsp. black pepper powder
  • 1/2 tsp. dried oregano
  • 1 tsp red chilli powder optional
  • juice of half a lemon
  • 1 tsp. soya sauce

Other Ingredients

  • 4 burger buns
  • 3 tbsp. plain flour
  • 2 tbsp. cornflour
  • 1/4 tsp. baking powder
  • 1/2 tsp. salt
  • 1/2 tsp. black pepper powder
  • 1 cup slightly crushed cornflakes
  • 1 egg beaten with 1 tbsp. milk
  • oil for deep frying

For Assembling (You can use whatever condiments you prefer from these)

  • Lettuce of salad leaves
  • Tomato slices
  • Cucumber slices
  • Cheese slices
  • Ketchup/tomato sauce
  • Mayonnaise

Instructions
 

  • For the chicken – trim any fat and clean the chicken breasts. Slice each breast through the middle to make two thinner layers. If the chicken breasts are a bit lengthy, you can trim a bit from the tapering thinner end so that each slice has a more rounded shape which will better in your burger later. If you don’t mind the zinger jutting out of the burger a little bit, then you can just omit this trimming. No point in wasting chicken! You will have a total of 4 slices from the 2 breasts.  Marinate the slices overnight using the ‘Ingredients for chicken marinade’.
    Have 3 wide bowls or plates ready.  Put the flour, cornflour, baking powder, salt and pepper in one plate and mix it up. In the second plate, beat the egg with 1 tbsp. milk. Then put the crushed cornflakes in the third plate. Set aside.
    Remove the chicken slices from the buttermilk marinade. Shake off the excess marinade from each slice.
    First dust each slice on both sides in the seasoned flour. Then dip it in the egg and finally roll it in the cornflakes. Then again in the flour, followed by the egg and finally the cornflakes a last time. So each slice will have a double coating. This gets a little messy, but don’t worry about that, the results will more than make up for it.  
    Set the double-coated slices on a plate and heat your oil. Once hot, put 2 slices at a time, reduce the heat to medium low and allow the chicken to fry until golden and crispy. It takes a total of about 3 minutes per side to get properly cooked. So no more than 6-7 minutes for each batch.
    Remove from the oil and drain on the kitchen towels. When all the slices are fried, you can start preparing the buns. Slice each bun and toast them lightly. Add whatever toppings and condiments you prefer and top with a crunchy chicken zinger slice. Squeeze a drizzle of ketchup or chilli sauce over it, and then cover with the top half of the bun.  Serve with fries and a cold drink!
    Enjoy! 

Notes

To make buttermilk at home, simply add 1 tbsp. lemon or vinegar in a cup of room temperature milk and let it stand 10-15 minutes, then stir and use. Alternatively, you can mix half cup yoghurt with half a cup of milk in place of the buttermilk. Do not omit this marination step as it helps flavour and tenderize the chicken breast.

Join the Conversation

  1. Salam. Awesome recipe. Is
    Salam. Awesome recipe. Is there any way this can be pre made and frozen, that’s for kids lunch boxes? Thanks

    1. W/Salaam, have actually never
      W/Salaam, have actually never tried freezing these so am not sure how well they would freeze. You may have to do a trial run of freezing one or two pieces and then see how they work out.

  2. Salam o alikum Fauzia…
    Salam o alikum Fauzia…
    I tried this recipe of urs yesterday n this turned out to b yummlicious mashallah…

  3. Hi fauzia, needed to ask, is
    Hi fauzia, needed to ask, is marinating over night necessary? Or a couple of hours is fine

    1. Hi, if you want a really
      Hi, if you want a really tender result then marinate overnight. 2 hours is fine but the results are normally not as tender.

  4. Assalamualaikum Fauzia,
    Assalamualaikum Fauzia,

    Is it possible to cook the zinger chicken in the oven instead of frying it?

    1. W/Salaam. You CAN bake them,
      W/Salaam. You CAN bake them, preheat the oven at 180 C, make sure to grease the baking tray and lightly spray or brush oil on both sides of the coated zinger. Bake for about 8-10 minutes per side or until done.

  5. Fauzia normally when we
    Fauzia normally when we marinate something it has a semi thick paste. In this, it will be liquid? Ryt? Or m wrong sumwhere? plz reply thanku

    1. Marination doesn’t
      Marination doesn’t necessarily mean a thick paste. In this case it has to be a liquid that will tenderise and infuse flavour into the chicken. It is then discarded when you are ready to use the chicken.

  6. Hello. I love your recipes
    Hello. I love your recipes and have tried a few.
    Can you omit the crushed cornflakes, and just bake/fry without? Also, could you use breadcrumbs instead of the cornflakes?
    Thx!

    1. Hi, you can omit them but
      Hi, you can omit them but then it will not be a zinger burger as that is the main feature of this famous burger.

  7. Hello
    Hello
    Can you please specify what do you mean by crushed cornflakes. And whether can I use any cornflakes for this recipe

    1. Hi, just regular cornflakes,
      Hi, just regular cornflakes, crush them either by putting them in a sealed plastic bag and bashing them with a rolling pin or grinding them slightly.

  8. Sister fauzia ur receipes r
    Sister fauzia ur receipes r awsummmm……….beautifully explained…….sis is it possible to bale dis burger buns at home

    1. Thank you, you can use my pav
      Thank you, you can use my pav buns recipe in the breads folder, that is what I use to make home made burger buns.

  9. salam sister, can i make
    salam sister, can i make chicken drumsticks following the same recipe? thanks

  10. After frying… The coating
    After frying… The coating falls apart..what would be the possible mistake?however ,it tastes yummy

    1. Could be that the oil was not
      Could be that the oil was not hot enough, or you moved/handled the slices too much during frying or you did not let the slices rest for a few minutes after coating them before frying. A bit of a rest will help the coating to stick.

  11. Dear Fauzia wil u plz lemme
    Dear Fauzia wil u plz lemme know how much grams does 2 chicken breasts mean?

    1. It really depends on the size
      It really depends on the size you get, it can be as little as 300 g or as much as 500 g.

  12. slms, is it possible to use
    slms, is it possible to use normal breadcrumbs?
    JazakaAllah in advance

    1. W/Salaam, yes it is fine but
      W/Salaam, yes it is fine but the zinger burger has a very crunchy element which is from the crushed cornflakes or even crushed potato chips.

  13. aoa fauzia.i like ur recipes
    aoa fauzia.i like ur recipes thanks for the awesome recipes … today I m going to try this recipe.actualy I have a confusion about butter milk.how many tablespoon we should take for vinegar or lemon?
    in marination u said 1 tablespoon but in tips u said 2 table spoon of vinegar
    1 cup

    buttermilk

    – you can make this at home by adding 1 tbsp vinegar or lemon juice to 1 cup of room temperature milk.
    Tips
    add 2 tbsp. lemon or vinegar in a cup of milk and let it stand 10-15 minutes

  14. I tried this recipe n result
    I tried this recipe n result was perfect.it was too delicious. jazakaALLAH

  15. salam fauzia !!!! i tried
    salam fauzia !!!! i tried many zinger burgers of chef zakir , gulzar and sheerin but it was not like we eat in resturants.. so i saw yours and looks tasty so in this one thing i cant understand that in chicken marination we will mix all ingridents written in chicken marination or somthing else ??????? plz reply with answer because i cant wait for this burger….thanks

  16. Salam sis
    Salam sis
    just wanted to ask if i could make this recipe with drumsticks which have their skin??? As the original kfc chicken has skin will it be crunchy as the original if i use chicken legs with skin??

  17. Aslm sister.cn u plz help me
    Aslm sister.cn u plz help me.i mke singer today.first I bake it for 10 min in oven n then I see the coating is remaining same color so I remove n fry it.alhmdulillah the chicken is very soft n juicy but then I hv a problem with the cornflakes coating.it turn out to b very hard n flour little uncooked.cn u plz help me finding my fault.jazakallah
    my Allah bless u

    1. W/Salaam, am not sure why
      W/Salaam, am not sure why that is, best to fry the zinger as per this recipe. 🙂

  18. some members of my family dnt
    some members of my family dnt like burgers.they find it difficult n messy to chew.they just like da chicken inside.can i just make this chicken fr them..or there is some other zinger chicken recipe fr it??

  19. What do we do if we don’t
    What do we do if we don’t have boneless chicken available? And can we use oats instead of cornflakes?

    1. You could make your own
      You could make your own boneless chicken, check YouTube for video instructions on how to debone a chicken. Not sure about the oats coating, results may not be the same.

  20. dear dear dear fauzia i tried
    dear dear dear fauzia i tried it today.OMG i felt awesome because of you.my family loved and praised.you are the source of this pleasure .jzakilla 🙂

  21. Salam, is there a substitute
    Salam, is there a substitute for dried oregano. Can’t find it here..

  22. Salam. If i m makng 2 burgers
    Salam. If i m makng 2 burgers should the chicken marination remains same or less? Making from 1 chicken breast.plz rep

  23. Assalamu Alaikum Warah…
    Assalamu Alaikum Warah…
    Is dried oregano and soy sauce are important??? Is der any alternative for it???

    1. W/Salaam, they do add to the
      W/Salaam, they do add to the flavour but you can leave them out if you do not have them.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating