North African Chicken Stew

Place the chicken pieces in a large bowl and add the turmeric, dried chillies, ground ginger, cardamom pods and 1 pinch saffron threads. Add the olive oil and parsley, mix well and set aside to marinate for 30 minutes.

Remove the chicken from the marinade and strain the marinade through a fine sieve into a large pan. Heat until smoking then turn the heat down and gently cook the chicken pieces until they are browned all over and nearly cooked through. Remove the chicken from the pan and keep warm.

Discard the oil from the pan and wipe the pan clean with kitchen paper. Heat the vegetable oil then gently cook the onions until soft but not brown, Add the garlic and cook for 2 more minutes.

Add the tomatoes and remaining saffron threads then add the chopped garlic and bring to a simmer. Cook very gently, stirring from time to time, until the onions are very tender then return the chicken pieces to the pan and cook for a further 15 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through.