Basically, you can chuck in any vegetables you like. Here’s what I cooked yesterday.

INGREDIENTS:
1 leek, sliced
2 carrots, sliced
2 stalks celery, chopped
3 cloves garlic, sliced
some mushrooms
some frozen baby artichokes
some frozen butter beans
1 tin chopped tomatoes
seasoned flour (salt, pepper, cumin, chilli powder, mixed berbs)
chicken pieces

Heat the oven to 180ºC
Coat the chicken pieces in the seasoned flour and fry in some oil in a casserole. Add all the other ingredients and another couple of dessert spoons of the seasoned flour. Add the chopped tomatoes and some chicken stock. Stir well and then put in the oven for about 90 minutes.

This recipe would work equally well with lamb – the secret is to cook it slowly and for a long time so that the meat is tender.

INGREDIENTS:
1 onion, sliced
4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
4 cloves
8 cardamom pods
2 teaspoons cumin
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1/4 teaspoon chilli powder
300g stewing steak
300g frozen spinach
4 pots yoghut

Heat some oil in a casserole on the top of the stove and add the whole spices. Fry for a couple of seconds and then add the onion and garlic. Fry on a moderate heat until soft and then add the meat, cumin, coriander, chilli and season with salt and pepper. Brown the meat. Add the yoghurt slowly and bring back to the boil, adding a couple of yoghurt pots of water. Add the frozen spinach.
Put into a pre-heated oven (160ºC) and cook for 3 hours. Serve with basmati rice.