34 30 MINUTE MOWGLI Chicken Dhansak 1 Heat the oil in a large, heavy-based pan over a medium-high heat. Add the onions, garlic, ginger and whole chillies and cook, stirring continuously, for 5 minutes, until the onions are soft and starting to turn golden brown. 2 Add the spices to the pan along with the chopped chicken breasts, stirring to coat the chicken and onions in the spices. Add the chopped tomatoes, lentils, salt, sugar and 800ml/27fl oz/31/3 cups of boiling water to the pan and stir to combine. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to a lively simmer and leave to cook, uncovered, for 15 minutes, until the lentils are soft. 3 Add the lemon juice to the pan and taste the sauce, adding more salt and sugar if necessary, then stir the spinach leaves through the curry and leave to cook for 5 minutes more, until the spinach has wilted. 4 Stir the coriander/cilantro through the curry and remove the pan from the heat. Serve the Dhansak hot with your choice of cooked rice or flatbreads alongside. SERVES 4 120ml/4fl oz/½ cup vegetable oil 2 onions, roughly chopped 2 cubes frozen crushed garlic or 6 garlic cloves, crushed 2 cubes frozen crushed ginger or 2 thumb-sized pieces fresh ginger, peeled and grated 3 fat green chillies, left whole 3 tbsp garam masala 1 tbsp ground cumin ¼ tsp chilli powder 1 tsp ground turmeric 3 skinless, boneless chicken breasts (approx. 600g1lb 5oz), chopped into 2cm/¾in cubes 400g/14oz canned chopped tomatoes 200g/7oz/generous 1 cup dried red lentils 1½ tsp salt 1 tsp sugar juice of ½ lemon 100g/3½oz baby spinach leaves small handful fresh coriander/cilantro, finely chopped cooked rice or flatbreads, to serve If you want hearty, you want Dhansak! Bulking out a pan of chicken curry with lentils is a wonderful way of stretching a dish when you have lots of mouths to feed. Red lentils work wonderfully here as they are quick to cook and make for a lovely thick sauce that allows the beautifully fragrant spices of the curry to shine through. 98 30 MINUTE MOWGLI Gin and Tonic Salmon 1 Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F/gas mark 4. 2 In the base of a large roasting tin, combine the olive oil, gin and tonic, ground coriander, lemon juice, salt, pepper and garlic, stirring until well combined. Lay the salmon in the sauce, skin-side up, then cover the dish with foil and transfer to the oven for 20 minutes, until the salmon is cooked through, but still slightly translucent in the centre. 3 Remove the salmon from the tin and set aside, then place the tin over a medium heat, bring to the boil and cook until reduced by half. Divide the salmon fillets between serving plates and spoon over the sauce. Serve the salmon scattered with fresh coriander/cilantro and with steamed, seasonal vegetables alongside. SERVES 4 2 tbsp olive oil 2 x 250ml/9fl oz tins ready-mixed gin and tonic, or 500ml/18fl oz/ generous 2 cups gin and tonic, how you like it 1 tbsp ground coriander juice of 1 lemon 1 tbsp salt ½ tsp black pepper 2 cubes frozen crushed garlic, defrosted or 6 cloves garlic, crushed 4 skin-on salmon fillets 1 tbsp chopped fresh coriander/cilantro, to garnish steamed seasonal vegetables, to serve This dish was born when, in a moment of inspiration, I poured my glass of gin and tonic onto my marinating salmon steaks and baked them, wondering what alchemy it would perform. They were stunning. The botanicals in the gin bring a high floral note and the tonic, believe it or not, brings an open-hearted honey to this light and elegant sauce. If you have the foresight to marinade them the night before, they are pretty much cured by morning and just need a final flash of heat to finish. Green Bean and Mango Dahl 1 Put the lentils, mango, chopped tomatoes, ground turmeric and 1l/1¾ pints/generous 4 cups of boiling water in a large pan over a medium heat. Bring to the boil, then reduce the heat to a simmer, cover the pan with a lid and leave to cook for 15 minutes, until the lentils are soft. 2 When the lentils are almost cooked, heat the oil in a non-stick frying pan/skillet over a medium heat, then add the cumin seeds and fry for a few seconds, until fragrant and dark golden brown. Add the sliced chilli to the pan and fry, stirring continuously, for 10 seconds, then add the runner or green beans and cook, still stirring, for 2 minutes. Tip the contents of the frying pan into the pan with the lentils and stir to combine. 3 Add the sugar, salt and lemon juice to the pan and stir to combine, then spoon the dahl into serving dishes and garnish with fresh chopped coriander/cilantro before serving. SERVES 4 250g/9oz/1½ cups red lentils 1 large, green mango, peeled, stoned and cut into 1½cm/5/8 in pieces 200g/7oz canned chopped tomatoes ½ tsp ground turmeric 3 tbsp vegetable oil 1 tsp cumin seeds 1 fat green chilli, sliced 100g/3½oz runner or green beans, cut into quarters 1 tsp sugar 1½ tsp salt juice of ½ lemon small bunch coriander/cilantro, roughly chopped With this dish, the bigger and greener the mango, the better. When mangoes are unripe or underripe, they impart a fresher fragrance than their softer, sweeter counterparts. This dahl is all about that fresh fragrance, and is further enhanced by the elegance of the green beans combined with the young fruit. 133 VEGETABLES AND PULSESNext >