Ridiculously easy curry recipe (Chicken Dhansak).

[Doctor McNinja]

I made a couple of curries at the weekend, a chicken Jalfrezi and a chicken Dhansak. The Dhansak was so easy to make and so tasty that I thought I'd share the recipe.

Spices

10 black peppercorns
8 cloves
1" piece cinnamon
1/4 tsp grated nutmeg
1" piece of mace
2 large bay leaves
1 star anise
3 dry red chillies
1 tbsp cumin seeds
1 tbsp coriander seeds
1/2 tsp fenugreek seeds
1 tsp sesame seeds (I substituted Tahini)
1 tsp turmeric powder


1. Dry roast all the spices (including the Sesame seeds if you're not suing Tahini), except the Turmeric and Nutmeg, until fragrant.
2. Grind all the spices to a powder*.
3. As an additional step you can coat the chicken in some of the spices and leave them to infuse to give a more intense flavour to the chicken.

Sauce

1 cup mixed lentils (I don't bother with cups so I just used 200g and it turned out fine)
150 grams of fresh coriander and fenugreek leaves**
1/2 bunch mint leaves (approximately 75 gms/ 0.17 lbs)
1 tbsp tamarind paste
1 tbsp garlic paste
1 tbsp ginger paste
1 litre chicken stock
2 tbsps vegetable oil or ghee
Water

1. Wash the lentils thoroughly and simmer them in the chicken stock until tender. If you're using a stock cube, be careful to not make the stock too strong as when it reduces it can become rather salty.
2. When the lentils have cooked, liquidize them until you get a smooth texture***.
3. Heat the oil/ghee and when hot, add the fresh Coriander, Fenugreek and Mint leaves and cook until the leaves are wilted. Liquidize to a smooth consistency.



Final assembly

1. In a preheated pan, add the lentils and the ginger, garlic and tamarind pastes.
2. Bring to the boil, stirring regularly to prevent it stick or drying out... the consistency should be that of a thick soup. Add water if necessary.
3. Add the herb paste, ground spices and chicken and mix well. Leave to simmer until the chicken is cooked.


Season to taste and enjoy!

Oh, and to give it that authentic take away taste, you can add Pineapple chunks at the same time as the chicken if you wish.




* I use one of these and it''s excellent - http://www.amazon.co.uk/Krups-Twin-...SPEU/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1330478919&sr=8-1

**I find it difficult to find fresh Fenugreek leaves so I use dried and find it to be fine but I would warn against substituting the fresh Coriander leaf for dried. The recipe really needs the freshness from the herbs. I also used mint from a jar as the stuff in the garden looked a bit worse for wear.

***I usually leave mine a little (for lack of a better word) lumpy and before I( liquidise them, I take out a ladleful to add to the liquidized lentils so there's more texture.

 

[Doctor McNinja]

you would be surprised how good "authentic" veg curries taste in comparison to ones with meat in them.

lentil daal being one of my favourites (basically a dhansac with no meat).

you could maybe see if you can try to get an authentic version of this by seeing if your local restaurants or takeaways staff curry is lentil daal (make sure it's the yellow one). you can have it on it's own or tell them to make it into a dhansac for you.

i will also say that fresh coriander in a daal or dhansac is a must, it really does add a lot to it, and the sauce should not be runny but not overly thick either.

goes great with achaar and chapatis or with rice.

I'm definitely an omnivore but I would be far from unhappy to have a Dhansak minus the meat. It's one of those dishes that just tastes healthy... take out the chicken and go easy on the Ghee and what are you left with that's even remotely unhealthy? I must say that the thing that struck me about Dhansak was that it has no onions. I don't think I've ever cooked a curry without onions before the Dhansak.