Braised Kashmiri Chicken Thighs with Red Lentils

Red lentils (known in India as “Masoor Dal”) are easy to cook, high in protein, and incredibly budget-friendly. These lentils are made with a variety of staple pantry vegetables, including onions, carrots, and potatoes. Kashmiri chili powder is added to provide some heat and also to impart a beautiful deep red color to the final dish.

During the last hour of cooking, chicken thighs are added to the lentils to slowly braise while the lentils finish cooking. Some fresh cilantro helps to bring everything together.

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Braised Kashmiri Chicken Thighs with Red Lentils

Red lentils (known in India as “Masoor Dal”) are easy to cook, high in protein, and incredibly budget-friendly. These lentils are made with a variety of staple pantry vegetables, including onions, carrots, and potatoes. Kashmiri chili powder is added to provide some heat and also to impart a beautiful deep red color to the final dish.

During the last hour of cooking, chicken thighs are added to the lentils to slowly braise while the lentils finish cooking. Some fresh cilantro helps to bring everything together.

Ingredients

• 3 Tbsp sunflower seed oil or ghee
• 1 Tbsp minced ginger
• 2 Tbsp minced garlic
• 3 whole cloves
• ¼ tsp whole cumin seeds
• 2 red onions (large dice)
• 3 carrots (cut into bite-sized pieces)
• 2 Russet potatoes (peeled and cut into bite-sized pieces)
• 3 Tbsp Kashmiri chili powder (or sweet paprika)
• 2 tsp dried oregano
• ½ tsp ground cumin powder
• ¼ tsp garlic powder
• ¼ tsp onion powder
• 2 cups red lentils
• 5 cups water
• 24 oz 1.5 lbs boneless skinless chicken thighs
• ¼ cup fresh cilantro leaves (roughly chopped)
• Kosher salt and freshly-ground black pepper (to taste)

Instructions 

• In a large soup pot or Dutch oven, add the sunflower seed oil or ghee, and increase the heat to medium-high.
• When the oil is heating up, add the minced ginger, minced garlic, whole cloves, and whole cumin seeds, and cook while stirring for one minute.
• Add the red onions, carrots, potatoes, chili powder, dried oregano, ground cumin, garlic powder, and onion powder.
• Cook while stirring for an additional five minutes.
• Add the two cups of red lentils, in addition to five cups of water.
• Bring the contents back up to a simmer, and reduce the heat to medium-low.
• After roughly thirty minutes, when the lentils are beginning to get tender and have roughly one hour left to cook, add the chicken thighs and the fresh cilantro leaves.
• Braise the chicken thighs for roughly one hour over medium-low heat.
• When your chicken thighs and lentils are completely cooked-through and tender, you are ready to serve the lentils bowls, with some steamed long-grain rice.
• *If you see the whole cloves at this stage, you can remove them from the lentils right before serving, as they aren’t particularly enjoyable to eat by themselves.

Notes

These lentils taste wonderful when reheated—you can scale-up the recipe and feed a family for a couple days, without breaking the bank.