This is a sweet and sour dish combining North African earthy Ras el hanout spices and Middle-Eastern caramelly date nectar with South East Asian jolpai.

Although fruit and nuts since time immemorial have been served with meat, it seems to be an acquired taste nowadays and sadly meat stews with the addition of dates, apricots and macadamia nuts are not welcome in many households in Northern Europe.

I have therefore added what is known in the West as ‘Indian olive’. Unlike European and Mediterranean olives, jalpai is devoid of oil and is consumed instead for its flesh, which lends a distinctive sweet and sour taste.

Traditionally used medicinally, jolpai is found in what was formerly known as Bengal. It grows in abundance in the Terai region of forests in Chittagong and Sylhet in Bangladesh and the Jalpaiguri region in West Bengal - ‘Jalpai’ meaning the plant and ‘guri’ meaning the place where jalpai is grown.

Bulgur wheat is a Middle Eastern whole wheat durum grain and it means ‘cracked wheat’. It is all too often overlooked on the supermarket shelf in favour of couscous but bulgur wheat has less calories, more fibre and more micronutrients than couscous and is rich in proteins, minerals like magnesium and manganese as well as having a lovely nutty tastes.

The chicken thighs are browned then cooked in a tagine with onions, tomatoes, spices, date nectar, stock and jolpai. It is served with bulgar wheat, a few chunks of feta and a scattering of herbs.