← Nouns Cooking · Soup Pot

Ingredients

• 2 tbsp Vegetable oil
• 1 Onion, finely chopped
• 2 celery sticks, chopped
• 2 Carrot, chopped
• 2 cloves Garlic, chopped
• 3 cm piece Ginger, grated
• 1 eating apple, cored and chopped
• 1½ tbsp medium curry powder
• 1 tsp Cumin
• 1 tbsp Tomato purée (paste)
• 300 g boneless chicken thighs, diced
• 75 g Red lentils, rinsed
• 50 g Basmati rice, rinsed
• 1.2 l chicken stock
• 200 ml Coconut milk
• ½ Lemon, juiced
• 1 handful Coriander (cilantro), chopped
• plain yogurt, to serve (optional)
• Salt

Method

1. Heat the oil in a large pot over medium heat. Cook the onion, celery and carrots for 8–10 min, until soft and lightly golden.
2. Add the garlic, ginger, apple, curry powder, cumin and tomato paste and stir for 2 min, until fragrant.
3. Add the chicken and stir for 2 min to coat it in the spices.
4. Pour in the stock, add the lentils and rice and season with salt. Simmer for 20–25 min, stirring now and then, until the lentils have melted, the rice is soft and the chicken is cooked through (75°C/165°F).
5. Stir in the coconut milk and simmer for 5 min more. Add lemon juice to taste, scatter with coriander and serve with a spoon of yogurt if you like.

Tips

• The name comes from the Tamil for "pepper water"; it began as a thin, peppery broth and grew richer in colonial kitchens.
• The yogurt topping makes it no longer dairy-free. Check curry powder labels if you need gluten-free, as some contain wheat flour. Check the stock is gluten-free if you need it to be.

Sources

Written in our own words after cross-checking these recipes:

BBC Good Food Cole & Mason Tasting Table