Red Lentil and Chicken Curry
A delicious curry that helps to lower cholesterol and is rich in soluble fibre - perfect for colder weather.
Ingredients
- olive oil for frying
- 2 large red onions finely chopped
- 6 garlic cloves finely chopped
- 400g red lentils rinsed
- 1.5 litres vegetable stock
- 6 free-range skinless chicken breasts cut into bite-size pieces
- 2 to 3 tbsp madras curry paste or use a milder one
- 300g baby leaf spinach
- 0.5 tsp chilli flakes optional
- thick natural yogurt to serve optional
Instructions
- Heat a little olive oil in a very large pan or casserole (I use our shallow round casserole dish), add the onions and garlic, then fry for 4 to 5 minutes until softened. Add the lentils and a little of the stock and simmer. Keep adding small amounts of stock, bit by bit, as the lentils cook and soften, as if you were cooking a risotto.
- Once the lentils start to break down (around 10 minutes), add the chicken and curry paste and stir well. Keep simmering and adding stock for 20-25 minutes until the chicken is cooked and you’ve added all the stock.
- Add the baby spinach at the last minute, a handful at a time, season with salt and pepper and stir until the spinach has wilted. Serve immediately, with a dollop of yogurt on the side if you like.
- We enjoyed ours with boiled basmati rice, naan bread and mango chutney and had leftovers for another day – delicious!
Notes
- I've made this curry quite a few times over the years, both with chicken breasts and skinless boneless chicken thighs - a 600g pack with 8 thighs works perfectly.
- When I made it most recently, I didn't have 3 vegetable stock pots for making the 1.5 litres of stock, so I compromised and used one vegetable and 2 chicken stock pots.
- I tend to use madras curry paste and weigh 45g into a small dish for adding into the curry at step 2.
- If you like a little bit more heat, I'd suggest adding 0.5 tsp of chill flakes.