Split Pea, Carrot and Leek Soup

A pretty straightforward soup along traditional lines - essentially a split pea and carrot soup.

All the vegetables were diced and boiled for about 35 minutes until tender. Then they were mashed, and then blended.

After that I added the chicken and vegetable stock, and the oregano.

Cooked for a further fifteen minutes, and ready to serve!

Madras Chicken Curry with Rice

The peas, leek and carrot essentially forms the underlying dahl (blended) for this dish.

After making that (if you don't already have some in your fridge), add the chicken stock, the diced chicken pieces, to a pan with a little hot sunflower oil, and stir-fry for ten to fifteen minutes at a medium heat.

Add a cup of boiling water to the dahl, and decant the chicken pieces to the pot containing the dahl, and add the Madras curry powder and turmeric, the garlic, and the finely diced root ginger. Cook at a low heat for about an hour.

Served with some dessicated coconut, sprinkled on top, finely diced strips of (deseeded) raw red chilli, and long-grain rice with a little wild black rice. Delicious!

Balti Style Chicken Curry

Dish prompted by some cheap vegetables from the local Co-op. Washed and diced leek and carrot, cooked with yellow split peas, which formed the basis of the curry sauce.

Mashed and blended, I added the curry powder (Madras), plus some turmeric, and tomato passata. Then I added a handful of raisins, a red and green chilli (deseeded), diced root ginger, chicken and vegetable stock, some fish sauce (Nam Pla). And finally the chicken slices from two chicken thighs.

Allowed to simmer for an hour. Served with long grain rice (or basmati, if you prefer), cooked for two minutes in boiling water before being shocked by cold water, and then another eight minutes of cooking. Served with lime pickle. Drizzle some lime juice on the rice before serving. Excellent!