Chicken and Lentil Dahl

Ingredients

• 215g red lentils
• 500g chicken breasts, cut in half
• 3/4 teaspoon salt, or to taste
• 1/2 teaspoon turmeric
• 2 tablespoons grated fresh ginger
• 1 teaspoon ground ginger
• 3 teaspoons cumin seeds
• 5 black cardamom pods or 10 green cardamom pods, lightly crushed
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 small onion, thinly sliced
• 6 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 2-6 green chillies, chopped (based on preference)

Method

1. Place the lentils, chicken, salt, turmeric, fresh ginger, ground ginger, 2 teaspoons of the cumin seeds and the cardamom pods in a deep saucepan. Pour in 900ml boiling water and return the water to a gentle simmer. Cook, uncovered, for 40 minutes, remembering to stir frequently to avoid sticking. If the lentils thicken too much, you may need to add a little more boiling water. At the end of the cooking time, the lentils should resemble a pulp and have a consistency similar to that of a thick pumpkin soup.
2. In the meantime, pour the olive oil into a frying pan, add the remaining cumin seeds and cook over a low-medium heat until the seeds start to pop - this should take no longer than 2-3 minutes.
3. Add the onions and fry until light brown in colour, remembering to stir frequently - this should take no more than 5 minutes. Stir in the garlic and chillies and fry for about 2-4 minutes or until the garlic is a golden brown colour.
4. Once the lentils are ready, stir the spice mixture into the lentil mixture and simmer for just a few minutes.

Note: Make sure you don’t eat the cardamom pods! They hurt, I tell you this from experience.