ONE POT CHICKEN LEGS IN A CARAMELIZED ONION AND YOGHURT SAUCE

I will admit that I hate washing up with a vengeance! The trouble with Asian food is that numerous cooking processes mean that often you generate a heap of pots and pans. I live in a one bedroom flat with a tiny kitchen, when the dishes build up there is literally nowhere to stand!

I came up with this dish which starts on the pan and is finished in the oven in order to save myself from washing up! It is packed with flavour and is bound to impress. Plus, no need for the yellow rubber gloves in the end…just the smell of spiced chicken wafting into the house from the kitchen as it cooks! Joyful….

Ingredients:

2 sliced white onions

3 tablespoons olive oil

8 chicken legs with the skin on

500g tub of full fat Greek yoghurt

1 teaspoon chilli powder

1 teaspoon dried coriander

1 teaspoon garlic paste

1 teaspoon ginger paste

Juice of 1-2 lemons

Salt to taste

Brown the onions till they are a dark golden colour. Remove with a slotted spoon and keep aside. In the same pan fry the chicken legs until he skin has browned all over. Mix all the remaining ingredients into the Greek yoghurt and pour over the browned chicken legs. Sprinkle over the caramelised onions and transfer into a 180 degree oven until the sauce is well reduced and the chicken legs are cooked through. Serve with warm naan or pitta bread and a simple salad on the side. If you prefer, you can use chicken thighs instead of the chicken legs.

TADKA ASIAN COLESLAW

This is an absolute treat! So vivid and colourful, amazing crunchy textures and bold flavour combinations. Great in the summer with a barbecue or any meat dish. Tadka is the process of heating oil, adding spices and then tempering the vegetables with them. It is an easy method, often applied to lentils, but just as easily translatable onto yoghurts and vegetables as well.

Handful grated carrots

Handful grated red cabbage

Handful finely sliced red onion

½ cup of dried coconut flakes

4-5 tablespoons of vegetable oil

1 teaspoon mustard seeds

1 teaspoon cumin seeds

1 teaspoon chilli flakes

½ teaspoon turmeric powder

2 tablespoons honey

½ lemon juice

Fresh coriander (optional)

Place the carrots, cabbage and onions in a bowl together with the coconut flakes. Heat the oil in a frying pan until it is quite hot. Add the mustard seeds, cumin seeds, chilli flakes and turmeric. When the seeds are popping and the fat is red hot, pour over the vegetables. Mix thoroughly and add honey, salt and lemon juice. Place in the fridge for a few hours to allow the flavours to develop. Before serving mix in fresh coriander to add an extra hit of flavour! Delicious and nutritious….

LAMB MEATBALLS WITH HERBED COUS COUS AND SMOKED AUBERGINE PUREE

This is a very healthy dish, quite well balanced in terms of fresh veg, carbohydrate and protein, low fat content. Substitute the cous cous for rice if you have coeliac disease and no need to use sour cream if you hav lactose intolerance.

Ras el hangout is available in most shops nowadays, but you can substitute with ground cumin, turmeric, nutmeg and mace if you are having trouble finding it.

Serves 2

For the meatballs

Handful of dried juicy apricots

1 clove of garlic

250 grams of minced lamb

Ras-el-Hangout powder

Half a beaten egg

A pinch of salt

For the couscous

1 cup of lamb stock

1 cup of couscous

Handful of flat leaf parsley finely chopped

Handful of mint, finely chopped

Handful of dill, finely chopped

Handful of coriander, finely chopped

1 preserved lemon

Lemon juice

For the aubergine and tahini puree

1 aubergine

1 head of garlic

1 tbsp of Tahini paste

2 tbsp of Sour cream

Salt to taste

Olive oil, enough to reach the desired consistency

For the pickle garnish (optional)

Pomegranate

Pink radish

Caster Sugar

Sumac powder

Salt

For the meatballs

Chop the apricots and mix the garlic paste, lamb, ras el hangout, egg yolk and salt.

Pan fry in some olive oil until charred on the outside and golden brown and cooked through to the centre.

For the couscous

Add the boiling hot stock to the couscous and allow to sit for about 10-15mins until the grains have absorbed all of the water. Now add the finely chopped herbs and preserved lemons and lemon juice.

For the aubergine and tahini puree

Slice the aubergine in half, drizzle with olive oil and place the aubergine in the oven to roast until the flesh is soft. Do the same with a head of garlic. Scoop out the flesh of the aubergine and soft cooked cloves of garlic and mix with tahini paste, sour cream, plenty of salt and some olive oil.

For the pickle

Mix the pomegranate seeds with finely sliced pink radishes and sprinkle over plenty of lemon juice, a sprinkle of sugar and salt with plenty of sumac powder.