I make my ciulama (chicken in white sauce) with chicken on the bone and make sure that the skin gets golden and crispy… delicious! For a vegetarian version,the chicken can be replaced with mushrooms or both mushrooms and chicken for more depth of flavor. The white sauce is made from flour with cream and milk and I have added a version for gluten free using cornflour.
Wikipedia tells us that Ciulama is a dish that can be mainly found in Romanian and Moldovan cuisine. This dish has its origins in Turkish cuisine (çullama), probably known that Turkish cuisine has influenced Romanian cuisine for centuries due to the Ottoman Empire occupancy.
On a number of Romanian websites I have noticed that the ciulama (chicken in white sauce) is accompanied by a good dollop of soft polenta, especially in the eastern side of Romania it is served that way. I prefer mine with a chunk of crusty sourdough and scooping the yummy creamy sauce until the plate is clean. Not to mention a crisp dry white wine or a sip of prosecco…
The best thing about ciulama is the fried chicken, isn’t fried chicken everyone’s favourite? To bring all the flavors together and make it as light and delicate as possible, the smooth sauce already slightly tangy can get a tiny lemon juice squeeze. Then the abundant snow of fresh herbs make the ciulama (chicken in white sauce) an illustration worth capturing in a cookbook. As a child, I remember scrolling through the yellowed pages of an old cookbook, in fact the only cookbook my mum possessed. This dish was there, with its twists and tweaks, inviting to a memorable culinary experience.
Ciulama (chicken in white sauce)
Ingredients
- 600 g Chicken pieces with skin on and on the bone (thighs, drumsticks, wings and breast pieces from 1 chicken). Alternatively use thigh fillets or diced chicken breast.
- 2 tbsp Oil for frying (odourless oil such as vegetable, sunflower or cold pressed rapeseed oil)
For vegetarian alternative
- 1 kg Mushrooms cleaned and sliced
For Sauce
- 75 g Plain Flour (all purpose). Alternative for gluten free use cornflour.
- 500 ml Milk (whole milk 3.5% fat or semi-skimmed 1.5% fat)
- 3 tbsp Sour cream or Crème fraîche
- 1 tsp Salt (to taste)
- 1 tsp Black pepper, freshly cracked (to taste)
Garnish
- Finely chopped parsley and/or dill
Instructions
- Take the chicken out of the fridge 15 minutes earlier. Pat dry with paper towels.
- In a frying pan add 1-2 tablespoons of oil and when hot but not smoking, turn heat to medium and add the chicken pieces skin down and allow to turn golden before turning over. Season with plenty of salt and pepper. Once evenly fried, turn heating down and allow to cook fully till juices run clear. Once chicken is cooked, take the pieces out on a platter.
For Sauce
- To cook the sauce, use the same frying pan that you cooked the chicken pieces in. There should be yummy crispy chickeny bits.
- In a bowl, add your flour, salt and pepper and slowly add the milk whilst mixing with a hand whisk to avoid lumps.
- To the frying pan on low heat add the milk and flour mixture and whisk gently until the sauce thickens and gently bubbling.
- Keep whisking for 5 minutes until sauce it's fully cooked. Add the sour cream and mix until combined, but don't allow it to boil. Taste and add more salt if needed.
Assemble your dish
- Add the fried chicken pieces to the sauce and allow to warm through on a very gentle heat.
- Add freshly ground black or white pepper, scatter the chopped herbs and take off the heat.
- Assemble your ciulama on your favorite plate. Serve with crusty sourdough bread or flatbread. Add garnish, fresh herbs and a squeeze of lemon. Take a snapshot for your Insta, post and tag #candyflosslife 😉
