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How To Cook Chicken Dhansak

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How To Cook Chicken Dhansak
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Most of us love a good curry and there are lots of different varieties to choose from. But how do we recreate the dishes we eat in Indian restaurants? We teamed up with Shahena Ali from the Maharaja restaurant in Benfleet to show us how to make the popular Chicken Dhansak. Enlarge Most of us love a good curry and there are lots of different varieties to choose from. But how do we recreate the dishes we eat in Indian restaurants? We teamed up with Shahena Ali from the Maharaja restaurant in Benfleet to show us how to make the popular Chicken Dhansak.
Serves:
4

Step : You Will Need:

  • 1 kg Chicken, skinned and cut into cubes
  • 1 tbsp ginger and garlic paste
  • 1 tsp cumin powder
  • 1 tsp coriander powder, ground coriander seeds
  • ½ tsp black mustard seeds
  • 6 dried red chillies, or birds eye chillies
  • 1 tsp turmeric
  • 2 Bay leaves
  • 4 Green Cardamoms
  • 1 tsp Garam Masala
  • 1 large onion, chopped
  • 1 2 inch piece cinnamon stick
  • 1 tsp fennel seeds
  • 1 ½ tsp salt
  • 110 g red lentils
  • 6 tbsp water, for the chicken
  • 5 tbsp oil
  • 2 tbsp ghee
  • 1 tbsp fresh coriander leaves, chopped
  • 2 ½ cups (620ml) warm water, for the lentils
  • 1 tsp salt, for the lentils
  • 2 Large Saucepans
  • 2 Stirring Spoons
  • 1 Serving Dish

Step 1: Marinade the Chicken

In a large bowl, add the salt, ginger and garlic paste, coriander powder, cumin powder and mix well. Then add to the chicken, and combine the paste with the meat making sure that the chicken is well coated. Allow to marinade overnight in the fridge.

Step 2: Fry Spices and Chicken

In a large pan melt the ghee over a medium heat; add the fennel seeds, cinnamon stick, dried red chilies and mustard seeds and fry the chicken with any juices for 20 minutes on medium to low heat

Step 3: Fry Onions and Spices

In a separate pan, heat the oil and add the salt, cardamom seeds, garam masala, turmeric and bay leaves, Add the onions and fry until golden.

Step 4: Add Lentils

Then add the lentils, which have been washed and drained

Step 5: Add Water and Simmer

Add the water and salt, bring to the boil, then reduce the heat and cook for 15 minutes. Mash the lentils with a spoon to make a pulpy mixture. And cook for another 15 minutes

Step 6: Add Lentils to Chicken

Add lentils to the pan containing the chicken pieces.
Bring to the boil, then reduce the heat and cook for 30 minutes, whilst stirring occasionally to make sure that it does not stick or burn.

Step 7: Serve

Add a pinch of coriander, stir and serve.
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Tips & Comments
  1. dingle1974

    I made this dish today- With a few adjustments of adding fenugreek,and extra fennel seeds to the lentils mixture when cooking- I sealed the chicken then put on a medium heat for aprox 8-10 mins. And added to the lentil mixture 25 mins before eating (50mins is far to long to cook cut breast chicken) After reading some comments about missing sweet and sour taste-i added lemon juice & sugar-when chicken was added to the lentil mixture... Result-- A very nice curry which tasted very similar to a takeaway version

  2. thedibs

    Great.......Maharaja was our local curry house when we lived in England and now we live in Australia and cant get a good curry anywhere,so it bloody fantastic that we can create this at home.....Thank you xxx

  3. rickshawuk

    i tried the recipe today and it worked a treat!, best dhansak ever and it didn't have the sweet taste that sometimes comes with it so its great... tip is to not add all the water at once but add bit by bit so it thickens slowly...

  4. evan_cs

    One very bad thing about Shahin's videos are, the camera man always showing Shahin more than what he supposed to show (the cooking obviously) :(

  5. imunday

    Absolutely great, just like the indian restaurant. Dont cut corners - it takes a while to cook but well worth it. Be careful to put the exact amount of water in and be really careful to be accurate with the timings. The sauce thickens really nicey over time dont worry at the start....

  6. backmeup

    Just made this and when i had it in both pots (chicken in one and lentils in other) I tasted the lentil mixture and wasn't getting the hot and "sour" vibe. To simulate this I added some curry powder and double concentrate tomato puree (about 1 heaped tbsp of each) a good squirt of lemon juice and a heaped tbsp of unrefined sugar pre-dissolved in a small amount of boiling water. The result was fantastic! Having the leftovers again tonight and just making some "chapatis" for the first time to accompany! (P.S, i used oily toor dal for my lentils, didn't have any red ones)

  7. rainierbeer

    Excellent instructions! Love the English accent! We're making this tonight!

  8. LucianoBellisario

    Good instructional video, though too much metal utensil noise - ouch, my ears! Suggest mic placement not right?