Chicken in a Rich Red Lentil and Coconut Milk Sauce

This dish was a hit during the holidays. My 90-year old grandfather who is extremely fussy with food gave his two thumbs up for this holiday meal. My grandfather who is “teething”, or rather, has extremely fragile teeth, can’t eat anything that’s too tough on his gums. This means that the chicken was so tender that he enjoyed eating it without rudely picking into his teeth. If you have a 90 year old Asian grandparent, you’ll know what I mean

Not only was the meat tender, but it bursted with flavour. The lentil sauce was rich and velvety which made it hard for everyone to not devour their meal and to not ask for seconds. As an avid cook, I was so pleased that evening.

Because the lentils are so filling and rich in protein and nutrients, you don’t need to serve this dish with anything else. The key to this awesome dish is to let the chicken cook slowly for a long time until the meat falls off the bones. Your dinner guests won’t even need to use a knife!

Preparation time: 20 minutes, Cooking time: 35-40 minutes.

Recipe “au pif”:4 large chicken thighs, seasoned with 2 tsp coarse sea salt and black pepper
½ cup red lentils
1 large yellow onion, thinly sliced
1 garlic glove, chopped coarsely
2 tbsp grated fresh ginger
1 recipe spice blend *
4 cups boiling water
2 tbsp concentrated chicken or vegetable chicken stock, or 1 cube chicken/vegetable stock
1 tbsp fish sauce
½ cup good quality coconut milk
2 tbsp vegetable oil
Fresh coriander to garnish

* Spice blend recipe:½ tsp coriander seeds
½ tsp ground tumeric
½ tsp fennel seeds
½ tsp black mustard seeds
½ tsp dried chili flakes
5 whole cloves
1 star anise
A pinch of saffron

Mix all spices in a small bowl. Set aside.

In a large non-stick Teflon pan, brown the chicken thighs in 1 tsp vegetable oil and put aside.

In a large cooking pot, heat the oil used to brown the chicken on medium high heat and add onions, ginger and garlic. Stir for about 2 minutes until ingredients turn golden brown.

Stir in the spice blend and stir for about 1 minute.

Add the rest of the ingredients, except the coconut milk, carefully place the chicken in the sauce and bring to a boil.

Reduce heat to medium-low and let simmer for about 20 minutes, when the lentils are soft, remove chicken and lay on a large serving dish. Stir lentil sauce occasionally.

Remove pot from heat and stir in the coconut milk. Mix well and let it cool for a few minutes.

Use a hand blender to purée the mixture until smooth and velvety. Ladle some of the sauce over the chicken.

Garnish with fresh coriander.

Serve hot with steamed basmati or jasmine rice.

Enjoy.

Rice Pudding Flavoured with Cardamom, Rosewater and Saffron

One of the most vivid souvenirs I have of my childhood in France, was my summer vacation spent with my friends and family in Normandy, north of France. Every summer, we would head to the shores of Normandy with my parents and my little brother, who was too young back then to remember any of these memorable days.

I would spend most of my days at the beach picking up mussels with my nanny and friends and eat them like there was no tomorrow. I’m guessing we had cooked them first, but for some reason, I just remember eating them. My memory seemed to have skipped the cooking part. And for dessert, Nounou’s famous rice pudding cake (gâteau au riz). Since my real grandparents were still in Vietnam and I didn’t know them at the time, I considered my nanny’s mother, Nounou, like my only grandmother. Nounou introduced me to her delicious gateau au riz, mussels with tomatoes and our favorite afternoon snack…sardines with a baguette!

The gâteau au riz never left me and so I’ve attempted to make it here in Montreal the past few years, but the taste was never the same. I’m convinced the milk produce made here in Canada compared to the one in France makes a very big difference in the taste of renowned French delicacies.

I may not be able to re-create Maman Nounou’s rice pudding cake to a tee, not just yet, but I am still able to enjoy a great rice pudding when it has the consistency and flavour that any pudding lover desires. This Indian-influenced recipe is by far the best rice pudding I’ve tasted, after Nounou’s, because of the distinct fragrance of rosewater, and my love for saffron, raisins and nuts.

Rosewater gives a distinct flavour and aroma to sweets.

Although I prefer using Basmati rice for this recipe, I ran out of it when I made it today and settled for Arborio rice instead, which worked out just as well.

Preparation time: 10 minutes, Cooking time: 40 minutes

Recipe "au pif":
½ Arborio or Basmati rice
½ tsp crushed cardamom seeds, shells discarded
1 liter 1% milk or soya milk (I used Natura soya milk and the pudding was very creamy)
2-3 tbsp raw cane sugar (to taste)
½ tbsp rosewater
2 cinnamon sticks
¼ cup raisins (soaked in warm water for 30 minutes, water discarded)
½ tsp saffron
Sliced almonds to garnish
Pistachio nuts, coarsely chopped to garnish

Crush rice in food processor, with 2-3 pulses, enough to break rice grains in small pieces but not to powder.

In a medium sized saucepan, add the rice and bring ½ the amount of milk to a boil and stir constantly for about 5 minutes.

Once boiled, add the remaining ½ of the milk and continue stirring until mixture starts thickening for about 20 minutes, then lower heat to medium.

Add in remaining ingredients, except for the almonds and pistachios. Stir constantly for about 15 minutes or until rice grains are cooked and texture of pudding is creamy and thick. Add more milk to reach desired consistency if necessary.

Garnish with almonds and pistachio nuts.
Serve warm or chilled. Although this rice pudding can keep for a couple of days in the fridge, I find it tastes so much better eaten that same day because of its creaminess and fresh fragrance.

Serves 4-6 people.

Enjoy.

Creamy All Spiced Red Lentil Soup

I only started learning how to use and eat lentils this summer after trying out Su’s curry lentil recipe . Today, I am determined to find more lentil recipes as I find them so tasty and satisfying.
I have to thank my friend Cathy for sharing this out-of-this-world red lentil soup recipe with me. Cathy, whom I met in Boston a couple of years ago, is a fabulous cook. She is not a professional Chef, but is not far from earning that title. Like me, she is a passionate cook and is eager to learn anything new about food. As she was flipping through magazines, she came across this fantastic soup recipe. I had never used red lentils before and was interested to know how to cook them. This was it. I fell in love with this recipe just by going through the ingredients in Cathy’s email. Exotic ingredients such as saffron, cardamom and red lentils awakened my senses just to imagine the vibrant colour and intense aroma of this soup. My intuition couldn’t be more right on the dot. This dish had everything any “gourmand” wishes for in a good soup: intense (but not overpowering) flavour, spiciness and creaminess.

The spice blend makes all the difference in the flavour of this soup. Combine them with coconut milk and you have a fusion between Indian and Thai.

I wouldn’t change a thing in this recipe. It’s absolutely divine.

Preparation time: 20 minutes, Cooking time: 20 minutes

Red lentils cook quickly and are great for soups, stews and rice dishes.

*

Recipe "au pif":
1 cup red lentils
1 large yellow onion, thinly sliced
1 garlic glove, chopped coarsely
2 tbsp grated fresh ginger
1 recipe spice blend *
7 dried apricots, chopped coarsely
1 large tomato, chopped coarsely
1 red hot chili, finely minced
6 cups boiling water
2 ½ tbsp concentrated chicken or vegetable chicken stock, or 1 ½ cube chicken/vegetable stock
1 tbsp good quality curry powder
1 can (400ml) good quality coconut milk
2 tbsp vegetable oil
Fresh coriander, coarsely chopped
* Spice blend recipe:
½ tsp coriander seeds
½ tsp ground tumeric
½ tsp ground cumin
½ tsp fennel seeds
½ tsp black mustard seeds
½ tsp crushed cardamom seeds (shells discarded)
½ tsp dried chili flakes
5 cloves
A pinch of saffron

Mix all spices in a small bowl. Set aside.

In a large cooking pot, heat oil on medium high heat and add onions, ginger and garlic. Stir for about 2 minutes until ingredients turn golden brown.

Stir in the spice blend and stir for about 1 minute.

Add the rest of the ingredients, except the coconut milk, and bring to a boil.

Reduce heat to medium-low and let simmer for about 20 minutes, when the lentils are soft. Stir occasionally.

Remove pot from heat and stir in the coconut milk. Mix well and let it cool for a few minutes.

Use a hand blender to purée the mixture until smooth and velvety. Strain through a sieve.

Serve hot and garnish with fresh coriander.
Serves 4 people.

Enjoy.