Instructions

For the Indian Chicken Curry

1. Heat the oil in a non-stick pan over medium-high heat.
2. Add the onion, ginger, garlic, and coriander (cilantro) stems.
3. Sauté for a few minutes until the onions have softened.
4. Add the tomatoes, cumin, ground coriander, cardamom pods, and chillies.
5. Stir and cook for a few minutes until the spices are fragrant.
6. Add a splash of water to the pan, and cook on high heat until most of the liquid has evaporated.
7. Add the chicken and sauté until the chicken is cooked through.
8. Add the water.
9. Simmer over medium heat for about 30 minutes.
10. Mix the cornflour (cornstarch) with a bit of water to create a slurry.
11. Stir the slurry into the curry to thicken the sauce. You may not need all of the slurry.
12. Taste for seasoning, and add salt and pepper as necessary. If the curry is a bit sour, add a teaspoon or so of sugar.
13. The sauce should be thick enough to eat with some naan bread. If the sauce is too thick, add some more water to thin it out.
14. Garnish with coriander (cilantro) leaves just before serving.

For the Lentil Dahl

1. Heat the oil in a medium saucepan.
2. Gently sauté the onion, ginger, chilli, salt and ground cumin for about 10 minutes until the onions have softened.
3. Add the lentils, together with the boiling water.
4. Simmer over low-medium heat for about 20 minutes until the lentils have softened and broken down.
5. Stir the mixture occasionally to make sure that it doesn’t stick to the bottom of the pan. If the mixture looks too thick, add a bit more water.
6. Once the lentils have dissolved, stir through the lime juice.
7. Taste for seasoning.
8. Sprinkle with fresh coriander (cilantro) before serving.