CHICKEN THIGHS WITH CREAM AND GENTLE SPICES

(Pictured) Serves 4-6.

You will need:

2 teaspoons coriander seeds 2 teaspoons cumin seeds 12 green cardamom pods 700g (1½lbs) chicken thighs, weighed when skinned and off the bone. See my Tip, right 15g (½oz) butter 110g (4oz) finely chopped onions Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper A small drizzle of olive oil 150ml (5fl oz) chicken stock 150ml (5fl oz) cream 2 tablespoons chopped fresh coriander or fresh parsley Basmati rice or orzo, to serve Seasonal greens, to serve

First, place a dry frying pan over a mediumhigh heat. Scatter in the coriander seeds and the cumin seeds, and cook them for a minute or two until the seeds have turned a shade or two darker and are just beginning to smoke. Tip them out of the pan and into an electric spice grinder or a mortar (the bowl of a pestle and mortar).

Put the green cardamom pods on a chopping board and bash them slightly with the flat side of a chopping knife, then peel them open to reveal the little brown seeds inside. Discard the pods and put the cardamom seeds in the mortar or the electric spice grinder, whichever you’re using, containing the coriander seeds and the cumin seeds. Crush the seeds with the pestle, or whizz them up in the electric spice grinder. Cut the chicken thighs into long thin strips, about the size of your thumb. Put the chicken strips in a bowl and mix them with the ground spices, then set the bowl aside.

Melt the butter in the frying pan and allow it to foam, then tip in the finely chopped onions and season with some sea salt and freshly ground black pepper. Turn the heat down to low, cover the pan with a lid and sweat the onions by cooking them gently in the covered pan until they are soft. Tip the onions out of the pan on to a plate, turn the heat up under the pan and allow it to get hot. Drizzle a little olive oil into the pan, then put the chicken strips, along with all the spices from the bowl you set aside earlier, into the pan. Spread the chicken strips out to cover the base of the pan and cook them over a high heat for few minutes, turning them after a minute or two, until the chicken has changed colour on the outside and is even a little golden. Add the cooked onions back into the pan, along with the chicken stock and the cream. Cook, uncovered, allowing the mixture to bubble, for another few minutes, until the chicken is cooked through and the sauce has thickened slightly. Taste for seasoning, adding some more sea salt and freshly ground black pepper if necessary.

When serving, add in the chopped fresh coriander or the chopped fresh parsley, whichever you’re using. Serve with basmati rice or orzo pasta, along with some seasonal greens.