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You are here: Home / Food / Chicken and Red Lentil Stew – a complete ONE POT meal (Suran & Red Lentil Stew)

Chicken and Red Lentil Stew – a complete ONE POT meal (Suran & Red Lentil Stew)

February 3, 2014 by manjirichitnis 33 Comments

There are times when I really want a hearty meal but don’t have the energy to stand and cook an elaborate meal. It is at times like that I turn to One pot meals, served with a warm baguette it is a filling, healthy and easy and quick to meal option which NO compromise on taste whatsoever! Moreover, its homemade, has flavour and is a satisfying experience to make .

I had been meaning to try and cook a stew using red lentils (masoor – Marathi for red lentil )for some time , they are my most favourite lentils and I am ALWAYS stocked up on a large 2 kilo pack of dried red lentils split and without skin , from my local Indian grocery shop at Tooting called Dadu’s. Also since all the other fresh ingredients were procured from my local LIDL this dish is GREAT value for money too! Am totally in love with the FRESH fruits and vegetable selection at LIDL right now.I bought some bright red long crunchy sweet peppers, a pack of medium hot chillies, fresh chicken breast fillets, a very cute packet of garlic, mixed pack of cauliflower and broccoli florets and a packet of gorgeous looking Shallots.( I have always wondered why the lentils are called RED when clearly they are a  lovely light orange colour !)

I love inventing a recipe as I go along and when I got my vegetable tray out on Sunday morning I had all these lovely vegetables staring at me and I just threw in what I thought would taste good together and VOILA ! A Steaming hot , thick, wholesome and tasty chicken and red lentil broth was born.

I love having some baby potatoes in stock and they are always handy in a stew , besides being quite the self-proclaimed ”queen of curries” I always am well stocked on Indian spices so bay leaves and cinnamon sticks aplenty in my kitchen larder – oh yes

Please don’t feel put off by the ingredient list , trust me they marry well together in the taste department and the end result is well worth your time and effort!

The biggest bonus of this stew recipe is that you can create your OWN vegetarian version by replacing the chicken with Quorn or if you don’t for some reason like or have never tried or have no access to Quorn then try replacing the chicken fillets with  Suran/Elephant Foot Yam, it can be chopped into big chunks and it takes up flavours very easily. But with the yam the cooking time drastically will reduce as it can go from just right and chewy to soft, goeey or totally disappear into the stew ! My aai (mum) always used suran as a meat replacement and marinated it well in the spices we would use for chicken or lamb and made a thick gravy dish with it, when I was younger she has managed to fool me many times over thinking it was mutton 🙂 – Aai I miss you and all the food you cook – sigh…. no India trip in sight anytime soon 🙁

(Dangerous though it looks the elephant foot yam is very very tasty! )

4-IMG_6502 (Copy)

Serves:4  Preparation Time: 10 minutes  Cooking time:35 minutes

Ingredients:

  • Red Lentils / Massor Dal -3/4th cup
  • Chicken breast mini fillets – 750gm / Comparable Quorn fillets
  • 5-6 baby potatoes
  • 6 shallots approx 200gm
  • 2 large sweet and crunchy pointed Red Peppers – approx 200gm
  • 2 short medium hot chillies
  • 2-3 bay leaves dry
  • red chilli flakes as per taste
  • sea salt as per taste
  • 1 veg stock pot
  • 3 dried red Kashmiri chillies
  • 1 large roll of cinnamon
  • 4 tbsp sunflower oil
  • a handful of Broccoli and Cauliflower florets
  • 2 large tbsp of tomato puree or half of a large tomato finely chopped
  • Red chilli powder
  • Sugar 2 tsp

Method:

  • Wash and soak the red lentil in water to soften them so they cook more quickly then get on with all the other chopping and cutting prep’s.
  • Chop the shallots lengthwise.
  • In a large stew pot or huge saucepan heat the oil and add the bay leaves,cinnamon stick and dry red kashmiri chillies which I have a very big packet of and am trying to finish , they only add colour and no heat so if you don’t have these you can totally leave them out – no harm done here.
  • Now add red chilli powder and sugar and just when the sugar starts to caramelise add the shallots and shallow fry them till they reduce and begin to turn a lovely brown colour.
  • Now add the 2 large tbsp’s  of tomato puree or half of a large tomato finely chopped and stir till it mixes well with the shallots.
  • Add the roughly chopped long red peppers and baby potatoes and saute’ for 2 minutes.
  • Add the washed chicken fillets/suran (elephant yam), soaked red lentils with the water it was soaked in.
  • Add the washed and roughly chopped Broccoli and Cauliflower florets and now add enough water.
  • I did not measure the water I added but add enough to get a nice thick stew , while the ingredients are cooking together on a low flame ,feel free to top up with more water as the lentils easily soak up as much water as you feed it with. Having said that you don’t want to end up with a watery stew so don’t add more than 3/4th cup at one go.
  • Season with sea salt , I love MALDON SEA SALT which I use and I have a few packets ALWAYS stashed away, great n salads it is!
  • Then sprinkle red chilli flakes and gently place a veg stock cube on top on this lovely pot of goodness bubbling away. I prefer the KNORR veg stock cubes , they have a great bouquet of flavour and are very handy at times when am exhausted and need to quickly cook up something tasty!
  • Stir well, cover with a lid and cook on a medium flame.
  • The red lentil will froth as they cook not to worry simply stir now and then and mix well, don’t allow the stew to get too thick we want enough lovely gravy to slurp this stew and dip the baguette into!

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I was so hungry that I didn’t click any photos of my lovely fresh ingredients but it was a brilliantly sunny day yesterday and after this wholesome stew for lunch we had to really force ourselves to go and get some much needed fresh air at Morden Hall Park – I happily left my smartphone behind so photos to share but suffice to say that it was a gorgeous walk through the huge grounds and we saw many happy families ,happy couples and cute old folks and even happier kids and dogs romping around in the muddy park  fun! And because we were so good we treated ourselves to hot tea and a sandwich at a local Turkish Cafe 😉 hehehe

Am very happy and proud of this new original recipe creation from my experimental kitchen. Next time I make this stew I will smoke the sweet and crunchy long red peppers and peel off the skin , to add a deep smoky flavour to the stew and not have the skin floating around – double whammy I say 🙂

1-1st Feb'14 Chicken & Red Lentil Stew1

Chicken and Red Lentil Stew – a complete ONE POT meal (Suran & Red Lentil Stew)

Filed Under: Food, Meat, Quick and Easy, Recipe Index Tagged With: baby potatoes, baguette, bay leaves, Broccoli and Cauliflower florets, Chicken & Red Lentil Stew, Chicken breast mini fillets, chop, cinnamon, combine, cut, delicious, dried red kashmir chillies, dry lentils, finely chopped, full bodied flavour, hob, Indian Spices, kitchen larder, Knorr, large tomato, low flame, Maldon Sea Salt, Massor Dal, medium hot chillies, ONE POT meal, original recipe, recipe development, Red chilli flakes, red chilli powder, Red Lentils, saucepan, saute, sea salt, sliceoffme creative kitchen, smoky, spicy, stir, stock, stockpot, store, sugar, sunflower oil, Suran and Red Lentil Stew, tablespoon, tasty, teaspoon, tomato puree, veg stock pot, yummy

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Comments

  1. Ren Behan says

    February 3, 2014 at 1:59 pm

    I have the ingredients for this and would love to try and red lentil and chicken curry – will let you know how I get on.

    Reply
    • Manjiri Chitnis says

      February 3, 2014 at 2:08 pm

      Please do let me know how you got along Ren!

      Reply
  2. Karen Burns Booth says

    February 3, 2014 at 2:14 pm

    WOW! I love this recipe……this has all my favourite ingredients in it too! LOVELY photos as well…….Karen

    Reply
    • Manjiri Chitnis says

      February 3, 2014 at 2:19 pm

      Thanks, Karen, was pleased as punch to see the hubster ask for second and third helpings!:)

      Reply
  3. London-Unattached.com says

    February 3, 2014 at 3:29 pm

    I love lentils! good for you and really tasty too

    Reply
    • Manjiri Chitnis says

      February 3, 2014 at 3:41 pm

      umm yes!

      Reply
  4. Janie says

    February 3, 2014 at 4:26 pm

    Spooky lady! I have chicken though & red lentils in my slow cooker right now! Great minds n all that…
    Janie x

    Reply
    • Manjiri Chitnis says

      February 3, 2014 at 10:10 pm

      oh heck yes! I would love to come over to yours and help out at your farm, would be sooo much fun! x

      Reply
  5. Janice @FarmersgirlCook says

    February 3, 2014 at 8:51 pm

    How interesting I’ve never even heard of an Elephant Foot Yam!

    Reply
    • Manjiri Chitnis says

      February 3, 2014 at 10:13 pm

      Hello Janice, thank you, it originates from the south-east of Asia and I find it in only in Asian grocery stores, this humble fella has a LOT of potential 🙂

      Reply
  6. recipesfromapantry says

    February 4, 2014 at 4:54 am

    Hearty and delish. Oh and I love yam too.

    Reply
    • Manjiri Chitnis says

      February 4, 2014 at 8:24 pm

      Thanks, Girl, yes am a yam lover too!

      Reply
  7. Sylvia says

    February 4, 2014 at 7:16 am

    Wowzer! Manju love it! It looks so comforting 🙂 I’m a big fan of red lentils 🙂 x

    Reply
    • Manjiri says

      February 4, 2014 at 8:24 pm

      Thankssss Sylvia! Cool that makes us both the top 2 red lentil lovers on this planet!

      Reply
  8. Fuss Free Helen says

    February 4, 2014 at 7:56 pm

    I love a good one pot, and lentils are always fabulous for bulking a dish out, as well as delicious.

    Reply
    • Manjiri Chitnis says

      February 4, 2014 at 8:26 pm

      Oh yes, lentils are an excellent, tasty and healthy way to add some punch into a curry or stew or broth!

      Reply
  9. Prof. B.T. Mienoré says

    February 4, 2014 at 10:14 pm

    A lovely soup, but seems like it would be very spicy, no? Otherwise the ingredients sound wonderful.

    Reply
    • Manjiri Chitnis says

      February 4, 2014 at 11:07 pm

      Hello Prof, yes I like my stew spicy but you can absolutely reduce the heat in the dish by leaving out the medium-hot chillies and the red chilli flakes too! Thanks for stopping by 🙂

      Reply
  10. Lynda Lippin says

    February 4, 2014 at 10:16 pm

    I love a good peppery lentil soup. I can’t always find red lentils easily, but I assume this would work with other lentils, although it might not look as nice.

    Reply
    • Manjiri Chitnis says

      February 4, 2014 at 11:14 pm

      Hello Lynda, yes you are right it may not look as good with yellow lentil but a spattering of crushed smoky-sweet red peppers can change that too! Thanks for stopping by 🙂

      Reply
  11. Louisa Foti says

    February 5, 2014 at 9:55 am

    That sounds like one mighty fine winter warmer of a stew. And I’m loving hearing about Elephant’s Foot Yam, I’ve never heard of or seen one before, fascinating! I get my fruit & veggies from a local organic veg box delivery co BUT I’m addicted to Lidl’s dried fruit and nuts at the minute. So incredibly cheap and great quality. And the fact they’ve taken away all sweets and naughties from the check outs is inspired. I just get pestered to buy raisins and dried apricots now. Result!

    Reply
    • Manjiri Chitnis says

      February 5, 2014 at 1:11 pm

      Louisa, you said it! I am so HAPPY that LIDL has taken a positive step with their ”Green Checkouts” I love the apricots and prefer to snack on them instead of crisps and what have you! I hope you are able to find the YAM somewhere and experiment, it is worth trying it out to see if you like it! Thank you for your kind words of praise for the stew.x

      Reply
  12. glamorous glutton says

    February 5, 2014 at 5:14 pm

    This looks delicious with all the spices. I’ve always been a fan of lentils, there’s so much you can do with them, an ideal comfort food. I’ve never seen an elephants foot yam, now I have to find one and try it. GG

    Reply
    • Manjiri Chitnis says

      February 5, 2014 at 7:46 pm

      Thanks a lot, Amanda. I agree I love lentils too. Isn’t the Yam a lovely fella? 😉 Hope you can find it somewhere and cook up something nice with it!Cheers!M

      Reply
  13. Tina @ The Spicy Pear says

    February 5, 2014 at 9:33 pm

    Looks delicious Manjiri. Love the combination of lentils, sweet potato and chicken.

    Reply
    • Manjiri says

      February 6, 2014 at 12:57 am

      Thanks Tina x

      Reply
  14. Javelin Warrior says

    February 6, 2014 at 12:28 am

    Lentils are such a wonderful bean but I’ve never tried them with chicken like this before! My mom used to make a wonderful vegetarian lentil stew, but I think I’d enjoy the pairing with chicken…

    Reply
    • Manjiri Chitnis says

      February 6, 2014 at 12:56 am

      I have a strange fascination with red lentils, Mark, maybe its the lovely orange colour and the taste plus they are really quick to cook and go very well with chicken. Oh, how did your mum make the vegetarian stew? Do share!

      Reply
  15. Vanesther says

    February 6, 2014 at 10:31 am

    Ooh yum! I adore anything with spicy lentils, so this recipe has definitely got my name on it!

    Reply
    • Manjiri Chitnis says

      February 8, 2014 at 10:15 am

      Thanks, Vanesther!

      Reply
  16. Nazima says

    February 7, 2014 at 10:25 pm

    love this dish and the combination of vegetables and spices. Spice and lentils and the lovely stew mmmm! yum

    Reply
    • Manjiri Chitnis says

      February 8, 2014 at 10:13 am

      Thank You Nazima 🙂 Yes, I love my spices!

      Reply

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