Dhansak (From Scratch / Base Free)
An authentic Indian specialty cooked with freshly ground roasted spices, caramelised onions, and aromatic herbs in the traditional style.
Ingredients
- • 3 tablespoon Vegetable Oil
- • 1" Cassia Bark (Cinnamon Stick)
- • 1 small chopped very fine (70g) Brown/White Onion
- • 2 grated Garlic Cloves
- • 1cm grated Ginger (Grated)
- • 2 tablespoons Tomato Paste
- • 1 teaspoon Chilli Powder (Hot)
- • 1 teaspoon Coriander Powder
- • 3/4 teaspoon Salt
- • 1/2 teaspoon Cumin Powder
- • 1/2 teaspoon Turmeric Powder
- • 1/4 teaspoon Fenugreek Leaves (Kasoori Methi)
- • 5 heaped tablespoons Pre-Cooked Lentils
- • 6 pieces Meat / Veg / Paneer
- • 250 ml Water
- • 2 tablespoons Sugar
- • 2 teaspoons Tamarind Sauce (not concentrate or fresh)
- • 1 teaspoon Lemon Juice
- • 1/4 teaspoon Garam Masala Powder
Preparation Steps
heat the oil in a pan on a low-medium heat then add the cassia bark and finely diced onions allow to gently simmer for around 5-10 minutes to soften and begin to brown
add the garlic and ginger and stir through, allow to gently simmer for around a minute
add in the tomato paste (watered down with around 6 tablespoons of water) and allow to cook out for around a minute to reduce the bitterness
add the chilli, coriander, salt, cumin, turmeric and fenugreek leaves, stir through well, allow to cook until the oil starts to separate
turn the heat up to high, pour in half of the heated water, combine well and allow to reduce until the oil separates once again
if using raw meat add it now, gently stir in the spices and allow to start to brown for around 5 minutes stirring occasionally
(If you don't want to use pre-cooked dhal simply rinse 40g of split red lentils until clear and add them now along with an extra 200ml of boiling water, cover the pan with a lid and simmer for 20 minutes before moving to the next step)
make sure the heat is on high, add the rest of the water, the lentils (if you've not added them raw in stage #7), sugar, tamarind sauce, and lemon juice and combine well
if using pre-cooked meat or raw fish such as prawns add them now and gently stir to coat and combine
allow to reduce until the sauce reduces and thickens and your choice of protein is cooked through then stir through the garam masala
serve sprinkled with some fresh coriander and a slice of lemon