Balti chicken with leeks and lentils: Difference between revisions

Balti chicken with leeks and lentils

Curry served, with Thomas eagerly watching
Servings:	Serves 4
Ready in:	2 hours 45 minutes
Prep. time:	2 hours 10 minutes
Cook time:	35 minutes
Difficulty:

This delicious hot and spicy curry just needs a paratha and cucumber raita. This is a fabulous meal, for us it had just the right amount of heat and spices. The leeks make an interesting change in a curry.

Ingredients

Ingredients

Printable 🖨 shopping 🛒 list & 👩‍🍳 method for this recipe

• 75 g split red lentils
• 4 tablespoons ghee or corn oil
• 1 heaped teaspoon black mustard seeds
• A large pinch of freshly ground black pepper
• 2 medium leeks, washed and chopped
• 4 Indian green chillies or a mix or red and green, split down the middle. These types of chillies keep brilliantly in the freezer.
• 4 curry leaves, a few bay leaves will do as a poor substitute
• Juice and grated zest of 1 lemon
• 2 large tomatoes, chopped
• 1 teaspoon of curry powder
• 1 teaspoon of turmeric
• 2 teaspoons coriander seeds, ground
• 1 teaspoon sea salt
• 450 g chicken, skinned, boned and cut into cubes
• Freshly chopped coriander leaves to garnish

Mise en place

Place the chicken pieces, lemon juice and zest in a Lock & Lock box, give then a good shake and leave to marinade in a cool place fo a few hours or more, if you have the time. Leave the lemon pieces in while the chicken marinates and discard them before cooking

Method

1. Wash the lentils carefully and pick over them to remove any stones, is always advised on lentil recipes, though I have yet to find any pebbles in my lentils. I guess food standards have improved since the first Indian recipes were penned!
2. Place the lentils in a pan with just enough cold water to cover
3. Bring to the boil, cover and simmer vigorously until soft, about 10 minutes, but it does depend on the type of lentils you are using
4. Most of the water should have been absorbed, keep a few tablespoons of the cooking liquor to loosen the curry a little. Set the lentils to one side
5. Add the ghee or oil to a wok together with the black pepper and the mustard seeds and bring it to a medium heat
6. As soon as the mustard seeds start to pop, quickly add the leeks, chillies, curry leaves and and stir-fry gently for 3 to 4 minutes
7. Add the chicken pieces, together with the lemon juice and stir-fry for 7 minutes
8. Tip in the chopped tomatoes, curry powder, ground coriander, turmeric, mix well and cook for a few minutes more
9. Mix in the cooked lentils with enough of the cooking liquor to loosen the curry
10. Heat and stir until the chicken is properly cooked, this should probably take another 10 minutes

Serving suggestions

Garnish with coriander leaves and serve hot with parathas or naan breads and cucumber raita