Moorish chicken and lentil soup

Ingredients
½ tsp saffron threads in ¼ cup boiling water
6 chicken drumsticks
¼ cup olive oil
1 onion chopped
2 cloves garlic chopped
3 Tbsp grated ginger
800gm can chopped tomatoes
½ cup Puy or green lentils
4 cups chicken stock
1/3 cup long-grain rice
1 lemon juiced
salt and pepper
½ cup fresh coriander
Serves 6

Method
Combine saffron and boiling water and leave infuse for 5 minutes.
In a large saucepan, brown chicken drumsticks in a little oil for 1-2 minutes on each side. Add onion and garlic to the pan and cook over a low heat for 5 minutes.
Add ginger, dissolved saffron, tomatoes, lentils, browned chicken and stock.  Bring to the boil, then simmer for 30 minutes.  Add rice and simmer for a further 15 minutes.
Stir in lemon juice and season to taste with salt and pepper.  Add fresh coriander just before serving.

Chook's note: 1/2 tsp saffron threads can be substituted with 1/4 tsp powdered saffron. I quite like adding a dollop of natural yogurt and a sprinkling of toasted cumin seeds when serving.
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