Urid Dhal With Cinnamon And Cloves

This is a variation on my black dhal recipe.

We all seem to have head colds at the moment so I wanted to add some spicy warmth to the dhal using cinnamon and cloves, it worked really well, soothing and calming!

This makes a BIG pot of dhal but I freeze leftovers for another night, defrost fully, heat gently, you might need to add a little water or cream to loosen it up again.

Serves 12-14.

Ingredients

50g ghee

3 cloves garlic

60g ginger, peeled

5 large tomatoes

1 red onion, peeled and quartered

400g urid dhal

2 large dried chillies

4 x 5cm cinnamon sticks

8 cloves

750mls water

600mls cream

200g tomato paste

Method

Preheat the oven to 150degrees Centigrade.

In a processor, process the garlic, ginger, tomatoes and onion with a little water until lump free.

In a large oven proof pan with lid, heat the ghee.

Add the processed paste to the pan and cook gently until it has thickened, this can take 30-40 mins, it should darken in colour too.

Add the dhal, chillies, cinnamon stick and cloves, mix well.

Pour in the water, cream and tomato paste, again, stir well.

Pop in the oven and bake for three and a half to four hours, stirring occasionally.

You may need to add a little water if it is thickening up too quickly.

Season with salt towards the end of the cooking time.

Chinese Spiced Poached Chicken

I know that twenty minutes does not sound long enough to poach such a large chicken but trust me here, as you leave the chicken in the stock it continues to cook and absorb the lovely flavours.

By cooking the chicken this way, it is prepared long before you eat and the moistness of the meat is amazing although, it doesn’t look particularly attractive!

Once you have made this stock you have the bases for many meals to come, just sieve the stock to remove the lumpy bits and then freeze. When you need it again, defrost and add all of the ingredients again to re flavour the stock, it really does get better with every use!

Leftovers the next day? Cook some noodles, top with some baby spinach, leftover chicken and pour over some hot stock.

Ingredients

2.5kg chicken

250mls gluten free soy sauce or Tamari sauce

200mls Chinese rice wine

500mls chicken stock

1 orange, rind and juice

5 spring onions, topped and tailed, cut into 5cm lengths

4 star anise

2x5cm cinnamon sticks

1 tablespoon salt

Water

Method

Combine all of the ingredients, except chicken in a large stock pot.

Bring to the boil and simmer for 30 mins.

Fill and boil a kettle of water.

Wash the chicken and then gently loosen the skin from the breasts and legs.

Add 500 mls water to the stock pot and stir.

Gently lower the chicken into the pot, ensure the cavity is filled with the stock too.

Cover, you may need to add more water to fully immerse the chicken,  and bring the pot up to the boil, turn the heat down and simmer gently for twenty mins only. Do not remove the lid.

Turn the heat off after 20mins and leave covered with the lid for several hours.

Remove once cool enough to handle and chop into your desired serving pieces.