Slow cooker chicken dhansak

A Parsi-style curry of chicken cooked into red lentils and squash, sweet, sour and gently warm. It thickens itself in the slow cooker and freezes beautifully.

Ingredients

• 15 ml Vegetable oil
• 2 Onions, chopped
• 0.3 Garlic, crushed
• 20 g Fresh ginger, grated
• 15 g Curry powder, medium
• 3 g Ground cumin
• 2 g Ground turmeric
• 5 g Garam masala
• 150 g Red lentils, rinsed
• 0.5 Butternut squash, peeled and cut into 2cm cubes
• 400 g Chopped tomatoes
• 1 Chicken stock cubes, made up with 500ml hot water
• 15 g Tamarind paste
• 10 g Soft brown sugar
• 800 g Chicken thighs, boneless and skinless, cut in half
• 100 g Spinach
• 15 g Fresh coriander, chopped
• 300 g Basmati rice
• 4 Naan breads

Method

1. Soften the onions in the oil for 8 minutes, then stir in the garlic, ginger and spices for a minute. (Short on time? Put everything straight in the slow cooker raw. It still works.)
2. Tip the onions into the slow cooker with the lentils, squash, tomatoes, stock, tamarind and sugar, then stir in the chicken.
3. Cover and cook on low for 6 hours, until the lentils have melted into the sauce.
4. Stir well, add the spinach and let it wilt for 5 minutes. Taste and add a little more tamarind or sugar if it needs it.
5. Cook the rice following the packet, about 12 minutes, and warm the naan.
6. Scatter the curry with coriander and serve with the rice and naan. Any spare curry freezes well for up to 3 months.