About this recipe
Dhansak in Britain has drifted towards a sweet pineapple curry, which is a shame. The Parsi original is savoury, sour and heavy with pulses, the vegetables collapsed entirely into the dal so the texture is thick enough to stand a spoon in. Three different lentils each break down at a different rate, which is what gives it body.
Ingredients
- 700 g chicken thigh filletscut into large chunks
- 0.5 tsp fenugreek seeds
- 25 g fresh corianderchopped
- 2 tsp fine sea salt
- 3 tbsp vegetable oil
- 1 tsp black peppercornscoarsely cracked
- 2 tsp garam masala
- 1 tsp ground turmeric
- 2 tsp ground coriander
- 2 tsp ground cumin
- 2 tbsp tamarind paste
- 2 whole green chilliesslit lengthways
- 35 g Fresh root gingergrated
- 6 whole garlic clovescrushed
- 2 whole onionone chopped, one finely sliced
- 1 whole auberginecubed
- 350 g butternut squashpeeled and cubed
- 80 g chana dalsoaked 30 minutes if you have time
- 100 g toor dalrinsed until the water runs clear
- 120 g red split lentils
Method
- 1
Put all three lentils in a large pan with the squash, aubergine, chopped onion, the slit green chillies, turmeric and 1.2 litres of water. Bring to the boil, skim off the foam, then simmer partly covered for 35 to 40 minutes until everything has collapsed.
Chana dal is the stubborn one. If it still has bite when the rest is mush, give it another ten minutes before moving on.
- 2
Beat the mixture hard with a whisk or blitz briefly with a stick blender until you have a coarse, thick puree with no whole pieces of vegetable left. Season with 1 tsp of the salt and set aside.
Leave a little texture. A completely smooth dhansak feels like soup.
- 3
Heat the oil in a large casserole over a medium-high heat and fry the sliced onion for 10 to 12 minutes until deeply browned at the edges. Lift out half of it onto kitchen paper to use as a garnish.
- 4
To the onion left in the pan add the garlic, ginger and fenugreek seeds and fry for 1 minute, then the cumin, coriander and cracked peppercorns for 30 seconds until fragrant.
- 5
Turn the heat up, add the chicken and brown it for 5 minutes, turning, so the outsides seize and pick up the spices.