Chicken Dhansak

⏱ 250 mins 🍽 6 serving(s) 🏷 Curries

This recipe for chicken dhansak, adapted from a Dutch Indian cookbook, uses a mix of lentils including brown lentils as a substitute. The dish involves cooking lentils, frying chicken, and then simmering everything with tomatoes, pumpkin, spinach, and a blend of warming spices. The result is a thick, spiced curry that is cooked for a total of about 250 minutes before being garnished with fresh coriander.

Chicken Dhansak

Ingredients

  • 1/2 cup channa dal (split chickpeas)
  • 1/2 cup mung dal (yellow lentils)
  • 1/2 cup toor dal (pigeon peas)
  • 1/2 cup masoor dal (red lentils)
  • 100 ml oil
  • 2 teaspoons garlic paste
  • 2 teaspoons ginger paste
  • 400 g canned tomatoes
  • 250 g peeled pumpkin, cut into blocks
  • 3 onions, finely chopped
  • 100 g fresh spinach
  • 1 eggplant, cut into blocks
  • 1 tablespoon of fresh mint
  • salt
  • 2 fresh chili peppers, finely chopped
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons ground turmeric
  • 1 teaspoon ground coriander
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom (or 5 pods crushed with a mortar)
  • 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
  • 1/2 teaspoon chili powder
  • 2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh coriander, for presentation

Method

  1. Place all the lentils into a large saucepan. Cover them with water. Bring the water to a boil, then reduce the heat and allow the lentils to cook for about 40 minutes.
  2. Warm 3 tablespoons of oil in a large pan such as a dutch oven. Put in half of the ginger paste and half of the garlic paste, stir frying for 1 minute. Add the chicken and fry it until it turns golden brown. Stir the cooked lentils into the pan.
  3. While stirring continuously, add the canned tomatoes, pumpkin pieces, two thirds of the chopped onions, fresh spinach, mint, and salt to the chicken mixture. Bring it to a boil and cook without a lid for 45 minutes, or until the chicken is fully cooked. Remove the chicken to a plate, then transfer the lentil and vegetable mix to a food processor and blend it into a smooth puree.
  4. Heat the remaining oil in a clean pan. Fry the rest of the onions until they become golden brown. Stir fry the chopped chili peppers along with the remaining ginger and garlic paste. Add all the ground spices and fry them for about 6 minutes. Pour in a little water if the mixture looks too dry. Mix in the pureed lentil mixture thoroughly. Let it simmer softly for 20 minutes. Add the chicken pieces back into the pan and cook for another 20 minutes. Serve topped with the finely chopped fresh coriander.

Nutrition (per serving)

Sodium114200 mg

Recipe details

CategoryCurries
Authorjoanne.smolka