For today’s recipe, we’re gonna make the lentils act like potatoes to create a lovely casserole! They will give that nice stew feeling, soft and creamy while providing us with fibers and some extra proteins. As usual, we will not be adding any fats, instead, we will have our flavors from the spices (and the chilies, this will be a treat if you like hot food). The spice selection is inspired by Tandoori Masala, however, as always, you can play around with the spices adjusting them to your liking. Now, let’s get cooking!!
Ingredients
- Chicken
- Red Lentils
- Garlic
- Coconut Milk (optional)
- Bell Pepper
- Chili
- Smoked Paprika
- Hot Paprika
- Cumin
- Coriander
- Cinnamon
- Salt and Pepper
Method
So, for the best result start this recipe the night before, so we can let our chick chill for a good while and get her beauty sleep in a milk bath! Joking aside, milk is great to keep the chicken from drying out, so the night before I like to marinate my chicken in some milk. For this recipe, I decided to go with coconut milk as it gives a nice exotic flavor that blends well with the Tandoori Masala-inspired choice of spices. Here I added a good amount of smoked paprika, some hot paprika for good measure, the garlic (I used the dried and chopped one, fresh will be probably better, however, dried or powder works just as well), cumin, coriander, cinnamon, as well as some salt and pepper. Leave for at least an hour if you do not want to leave overnight, of course, in your fridge, this is chicken we are talking about, so it has to be kept in a very cold environment at all times for health reasons.
Next up is our lentils, leave these to simmer in milk until they start to dissolve and turn into a rich paste. Now we do not want to waste any milk, we will roughly need twice as much milk as we have lentils, however, I like to start with covering the lentils up and then add in milk slowly as I go along to make sure I do not have any access liquid. Just add the milk in slowly as you go along. I added some more paprika and cinnamon here as I wanted this to be my main flavor (along with the chilies).
Chop the bell peppers and the chilies to your liking (I prefer to chop my chilies in circles, however, dried or flakes will work as well or you can chop them smaller if you like) and place them with your chicken. Pour the hot lentils in there and mix everything up. I like to bake this mixture in a close casserole dish, it helps to keep in all the juices. And basically, it’s time to eat!
Variations
Of course, you can remove the chilies and hot paprika if you do not like your food spicy. Adding some caramelized onions (or simply grilled onions) as well as sweet paprika can nudge the recipe to a sweeter taste. Some carrots might also help make it sweeter and still blend in nicely, creating a sweet and chili version. As always, you can substitute coconut milk with any other milk of your choice. And you can crunch the surface for a different texture. Hope you will give this a go and let us know your opinions, as always we will be glad to hear some feedback!