Dhansak
A thick puree of lentils and vegetables simmered with meat into a hearty, sweet-sour stew, balanced with tamarind and jaggery and finished with fresh mint. Genuinely dual-heritage: brought by Zoroastrians who fled Persia after the 7th-century Arab conquest and settled in Gujarat, dhansak fuses the Persian meat-and-lentil khoresh stew with Gujarati sweet-sour flavor sensibilities, and remains the defining dish of India's Parsi community, traditionally served with caramelized brown rice and a fresh onion-tomato-cucumber salad.
MeatMeat-optional
Ingredients
- 500g mutton or chicken, bone-in, cut into pieces
- 1/2 cup toor dal
- 1/4 cup masoor dal
- 2 tbsp chana dal
- 1 small eggplant, chopped
- 1/2 cup pumpkin, chopped
- 1 potato, chopped
- 1 onion, chopped
- 2 tomatoes, chopped
- 2 tbsp dhansak masala (or cumin, coriander, cinnamon, cloves, and dried red chili, ground together)
- 1 tbsp tamarind pulp
- 1 tbsp jaggery
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1-inch piece ginger, minced
- 2 tbsp oil
- Fresh mint and cilantro, chopped
- Salt, to taste
Steps
- Cook the mixed lentils with the eggplant, pumpkin, and potato until very soft, then blend or mash into a thick puree.
- Separately, brown the meat with onion, ginger, and garlic in oil.
- Add the dhansak masala and tomatoes to the meat, and cook until the tomatoes break down.
- Combine the meat mixture with the lentil-vegetable puree, and simmer until the meat is tender and flavors meld, 30-45 minutes.
- Stir in the tamarind pulp and jaggery, and adjust salt and the sweet-sour balance to taste.
- Finish with chopped mint and cilantro.
- Serve with caramelized brown rice and a fresh onion-tomato-cucumber salad.