Dhansak

Name: Dhansak
Yield: Serves 6
Cuisine: India
Ingredients: 2 tablespoons ghee or oil; 2 tablespoons ghee or oil; 1 onion, finely chopped; 3 garlic cloves, crushed; 2 cm (¾ inch) piece of ginger, grated; 1 kg (2 lb 4 oz) boneless leg or shoulder of lamb, cut into 3 cm (1¼ inch) cubes; 1 kg (2 lb 4 oz) boneless leg or shoulder of lamb, cut into 3 cm (1¼ inch) cubes; 2 cm (¾ inch) cinnamon stick; 5 cardamom pods, bruised; 3 cloves; 1 tablespoon ground coriander; 1 teaspoon ground turmeric; 1 teaspoon chilli powder, or to taste; 3 tablespoons lime juice; 100 g (3½ oz) toor dal (yellow lentils); 150 g (5½ oz) pumpkin, unpeeled; 1 eggplant (aubergine), unpeeled; 50 g (1¾ oz) masoor dal (red lentils); 25 g (1 oz) chickpeas; 2 green chillies; 2 tomatoes; 150 g (5½ oz) amaranth or English spinach leaves; 150 g (5½ oz) amaranth or English spinach leaves

Preparation info

Serves
6

Difficulty
Medium

Appears in

The Food of India

By Priya Wickramasinghe and Carol Selva Rajah

Published 2005

About

A flavoursome parsi dish that is served at special occasions, this version has evolved from a lavish recipe that used even more types of dal. The combination of various types of dal gives a varied texture but you can use just masoor or toor.

Ingredients

100 g (3½ oz) toor dal (yellow lentils)
25 g (1

Asia
India
Stew
Main course
Gluten-free
Spicy

Method

Soak the toor dal, moong dal and chickpeas in plenty of water for about 2 hours. Drain well.

Put all four types of pulse in a saucepan, add about 1 litre (4 cups) of water, cover and bring to the boil. Uncover and simmer for 15 minutes, skimming off any scum that forms on the surface, and stirr