Chicken & Lentil Curry with Brown Rice

This Indian style curry is delicately spiced and can be as hot or mild as you like. Fantastic as a weekend dish, you could easily make a little more and freeze it for a mid week treat!

The recipe calls for onions and apples to be liquidised to a pulp. The easiest way to do this is with a hand blender or food processor. If you don't have this equipment, simply grating them would also work.

If you like, you can also add a little more veg to the curry. Some chopped courgette and sliced pepper or a handful or two of spinach would all work well.

The following recipe makes makes two portions.

Ingredients

For the rice

• 120g brown rice

• 1 vegetable stock cube

• ½ teaspoon salt (Or better still low sodium salt)

• 2 pints of boiling water

Ingredients

For the curry

• 1 teaspoon of low fat butter spread

• 3 medium onions. (Red or white). Peeled, quartered then blitzed to a pulp

• 1 medium red apple. Peeled, cored and blitzed to a pulp

• 1 teaspoon of ground coriander

• 1 teaspoon of ground cumin

• 1 teaspoon of ground turmeric

• ½ teaspoon of cayenne pepper (1 teaspoon if you like it spicy)

• ½ teaspoon of chili flakes (1 teaspoon if you like it spicy)

• 2 sweeteners

• 1 chicken stock cube. Crumbled

• ½ pint boiling water

• 2 medium chicken breasts. Skin removed, trimmed of any visible fat and cubed.

• 100g mushrooms. Wiped/washed and quartered

• 1 x 400g tin of green lentils. Drained and rinsed in cold water

• 75g peas. Fresh or frozen would both work

• small bunch of coriander. Washed and finely chopped

• 1 teaspoon of garam masala

Method

1. Add 2 pints of boiling water to a large sauce pan and bring back to the boil.
2. When the water is bubbling, add the stock cube and salt and stir to make sure it's fully dissolved.
3. Add the rice and stir to ensure it doesn't stick to the bottom of the pan. Bring the pot back to the boil again. Then reduce the heat to medium. Loosely cover the pot with a lid. Let it bubble away for 40 minutes.
4. Meanwhile, heat a large pot over a medium to high heat and add the butter. When it's bubbling add the onion and apple pulp and fry it until golden for approximately 10 minutes.
5. Next, add the spices, sweeteners and stock cube and stir well to combine while enjoying the aroma!
6. Next add the chicken and mushrooms and stir well for about 5 minutes ensuring the chicken and mushrooms are well coated. Next add the half pint of boiling water and stir again. 
7. Turn the heat to high and bring the sauce to boil. When, it's boiling reduce the heat to medium and simmer for 15 minutes. Stirring every now and then to make sure it's not sticking to the bottom of the pot.
8. Next add the lentils, stir, then simmer the curry for another 15 minutes. (Add the pepper or courgette here too if using)
9. When the rice is ready, drain it into a colander and shake to get rid of any residual water. Divide between two warmed bowls or plates.
10. Finally, add the peas (spinach if using), coriander and garam masala to the curry and stir well. Serve immediately with the rice.