Name: Dhana Jiru or Dhansak Masala
Yield: Makes more than 1 pint.
Cuisine: India
Ingredients: 1 teaspoon fenugreek seeds; ½ teaspoon ground turmeric; Pinch of saffron threads; 1 nutmeg; 1 strand mace; 1 teaspoon black cumin seeds; ¼ cup cumin seeds; ¼ cup dried red chiles; ½ cup dried cassia leaves or ¼ cup Turkish bay leaves; 1 cup coriander seeds; 4 black cardamom pods; 1 teaspoon caraway seeds; 1 tablespoon whole cloves; 1 tablespoon cardamom pods; 2 tablespoons broken-up stick cinnamon or cassia cinnamon; 2 tablespoons black peppercorns; 1 tablespoon white poppy seeds

Preparation info

Makes more than
1 pint
.

Difficulty
Easy

Appears in

My Bombay Kitchen

By Niloufer Ichaporia King

Published 2007

About

In essence, this is an elaborate garam masala. Literally translated, dhana jiru means “coriander and cumin,” but you can see that this is only the beginning. There’s also some terminological confusion. Some people see dhansak masala as synonymous with dhana jiru; others see the former as a combination of dhana jiru and sambhar. I prefer to keep them separate and combine them as necessary. Use this recipe when either dhansak masala or dhana jiru</