Dr Rupy says: “This nourishing and spicy broth is my favourite meal to prepare for the family when they need a boost. It has a great collection of polyphenol-rich spices, anti-viral allium vegetables and plenty of warming flavours. I prefer to keep the spices like cloves and peppercorns whole, but feel free to remove them before serving.”

Serves 2-3

Ingredients

• 2–3 bone-in chicken thighs (350g), skins removed and reserved (optional)
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 large onion (180g), thinly sliced
• 3 celery sticks (175g), thinly sliced
• 6 garlic cloves, peeled and bashed
• 30g fresh ginger, sliced
• 2 bay leaves
• 4–5 thin slices of fresh turmeric or ½ tsp ground turmeric
• 2 tsp cumin seeds
• 2 tsp coriander seeds
• 1 tsp black mustard seeds
• ½ tsp black peppercorns
• 3 cloves
• Small bunch of parsley, leaves and stalks chopped separately
• 100g brown basmati rice, thoroughly rinsed
• 1.2 litres chicken stock or vegetable stock
• 160g spring greens, finely shredded

Substitutions

• Spring greens: spinach, pak choi or hispi cabbage

Method

If serving with crispy chicken skin, preheat the oven to 180ºC fan.

Spread the chicken skins flat on a baking tray, sprinkle with a little salt and roast in the oven for 20 minutes. Leave to stand (they will crisp up as they cool), then season lightly and break into shards.

Meanwhile, heat 1 tablespoon of the oil in a deep saucepan over a medium heat, add the chicken thighs and brown all over for 5 to 6 minutes. Remove from the pan and set aside.

Add the remaining oil to the pan and fry the onion and celery for 5 minutes until softened.

Add the garlic, ginger, bay leaves, turmeric and whole spices and fry for a further 1 minute.

Add the chopped parsley stalks and rice. Return the chicken to the pan then pour over the stock. Bring to a simmer, cover and simmer for 30 minutes. Add salt to taste (it may not need it if the stock was salty).

Remove the chicken from the pan and set aside to cool slightly.

Pull the chicken meat from the bones, roughly chop, then put into individual bowls. Check for seasoning, add the shredded greens to the pan and simmer gently for a couple of minutes until wilted, then finish with the parsley leaves.

Ladle the soup into the bowls and top with shards of the crispy chicken skin, if you like.

Dr Rupy says: “This dish will blow you away. The sauce is simple to make, but the flavours are intense, sweet and spicy. The caraway and nigella seeds lend an undertone of earthy flavours with the hum of garlic and kick of red chilli to counter. The greens and beans pack this with more vegetables, but the sauce is full of the good stuff too. You can easily make this vegetarian by simply substituting the prawns with more beans that have plenty of protein.”

Serves 4

Ingredients

• 4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 240g white onion, diced
• 5 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 2 red chillies, finely chopped
• 2 tsp caraway seeds
• 2 tsp nigella seeds
• 2 tsp dried oregano
• 500g tomatoes, roughly chopped
• 2 tbsp tomato purée
• 2 tbsp honey
• 50g feta, crumbled
• 200g chard or spinach leaves, roughly chopped
• 20g basil, roughly chopped (reserve some leaves to garnish)
• 1 x 400g can giant white beans or butter beans (or any other white bean), drained and rinsed
• 200g raw jumbo prawns, shelled and deveined

Method

Preheat the grill to high.

Heat the oil in a flameproof casserole over a medium heat, add the onion and cook for 5 minutes until soft and translucent, then add the garlic, chilli and seasoning and cook for 2 minutes to colour and infuse their flavour.

Toss in the caraway and nigella seeds with the oregano and stir into the onions for 1 minute before adding the tomatoes, tomato purée, honey and feta. Cover and cook for 12 minutes until the tomatoes have fully broken down and the feta has melted into the sauce. Add a splash of water if it sticks to the bottom of the pan.

Uncover the pan and stir so that all the ingredients combine with the sauce, then add the green leaves and basil, reserving a few basil leaves to garnish, and stir for 2 to 3 minutes or until the greens have wilted.

Add the beans to the sauce and place the prawns on top.

Simmer for 2 minutes then transfer to the grill for 4 minutes to finish cooking the prawns and caramelise the top of the dish.

Garnish with the reserved basil leaves and serve.

Notes

For a smoother sauce, blend the chilli, garlic and onion in a small processor before cooking. For even more flavour, toast the caraway and nigella seeds for 1–2 minutes and crush in a pestle and mortar before adding.

Dr Rupy says: “This is spicy, wholesome, warm and inviting, all in a dish. The beautiful spices of ras el hanout work super-well in this simple traybake and you can easily substitute different vegetables for the squash and greens. A moreish dish packed with flavour that everyone will enjoy.”

Serves 4

Ingredients

• 1/2 butternut squash (300g), scrubbed and unpeeled, deseeded and cut into 2cm cubes
• 1 courgette (250g), cut into 2cm cubes
• 1 red pepper (200g), deseeded and roughly chopped
• 2 tsp cumin seeds
• 3 tsp ras el hanout or baharat spice mix
• 1 tsp chilli powder
• 3 tbsp olive oil, plus an extra 1 tbsp to drizzle
• 150g spinach, finely chopped
• 350ml passata
• 1 x 400g can kidney beans, drained and rinsed
• 200g halloumi, sliced 1cm thick
• 
  
• Substitutions:
• Kale: spinach, Swiss chard or spring greens
• Kidney beans: borlotti beans or cannellini beans

Method

Preheat the oven to 200ºC fan.

Put the squash, courgette, red pepper and the spices into a large roasting tin. Pour over the 3 tablespoons oil and season, then toss well to coat. Roast for 25 minutes, turning the vegetables halfway through the cooking time.

Remove the roasting tin from the oven and increase the temperature to 220ºC fan. Scrape up any crusty bits from the bottom of the roasting tin for extra flavour, then fold in the spinach. Tip in the passata and kidney beans and combine with the rest of the ingredients.

Layer the halloumi on top, drizzle with the extra tablespoon oil and return to the oven for a further 15 minutes until the halloumi is melted and charred in areas.

Dr Rupy Cooks by Dr Rupy Aujla (Ebury Press, £22) is out now