Lamb Shank Dhansak

Name: Lamb Shank Dhansak
Prep time: 25 min
Cook time: 3 h
Total time: 3 h 25 min
Cuisine: Iranian
Ingredients: 6 lamb shanks; 2 tbsp plain flour; ¼ tsp ground black pepper; 3 tbsp groundnut oil; 3 onions, sliced; 4 cloves of garlic, crushed; 10 cm fresh ginger, chopped; 2 fresh chillies, chopped; 1 bunch of fresh coriander, stalks chopped, leaves reserved; 1 bunch of fresh coriander, stalks chopped, leaves reserved; 2 tsp salt; 2 tsp ground turmeric; 3 tsp ground coriander; 3 tsp ground cumin; 10 cardamom pods; 2 tbsp balsamic vinegar; 200 g red lentils; 500 g fresh tomatoes or 400 g tinned chopped tomatoes; 500 g fresh tomatoes or 400 g tinned chopped tomatoes; 500 ml lamb stock; 1 tbsp garam masala; 150 g fresh spinach

Preparation info

Serves:
6

Difficulty
Easy
Ready in
3 hr 30

Appears in

Anna's Family Kitchen

By Anna Stanford

Published 2022

About

Here’s a different spin on the takeaway favourite, using whole shanks instead of diced lamb. Originating from Persia, dhansak can have a bit of a kick but this is my family-friendly heat which, to avoid confusion, I call medium.

Ingredients

6 lamb shanks
2 tbsp plain flour
1 tsp salt

Asia
Iran
Persia
Main course

Method

Toss the lamb shanks in the flour, salt and pepper until evenly coated. Heat the oil in an ovenproof pan and brown the shanks. This should take 10 minutes. Remove them from the pan and set aside.

Add the onion, garlic, ginger, chilli, coriander stalks and salt to the same pan. Let them colour for 10 minutes before adding the ground spices and seeds from the cardamom pods.

Stir w