Chicken dhansak is a delicious, mildly spiced curry with lentils.
There is a bit of a debate in the UK about how a chicken dhansak should be cooked.
Some insist that it have pineapple chunks in it. Others, of which I am one, prefer to leave the pineapple out.
That said, I developed this chicken dhansak recipe the way it is most often served, with pineapple.
Hey, you’re making this curry so don’t feel like you have to add pineapple just because the recipe tells you too! If you don’t want pineapple in you chicken dhansak, then leave it out.
Chicken dhansak is even amazing paired with a good beer or two.
What exactly is a dhansak curry?
The chicken dhansak you get when you order at your local curry house is nothing like what you would get in India.
BIR (British Indian restaurant) chicken dhansak is a play on curry that was made popular by the Parsi community around Mumbai.
There, it is usually made with goat meat or mutton and it’s a real party piece.
Traditionally, it is served with brown rice and also has vegetables like pumpkin, aubergine (eggplant) and potato added to the sauce as well. Often, many different varieties of lentil are used to make the sauce along with a long list of spices.
Our curry house style dhansak is a lot less complicated, though it is a sweet and sour curry like the original. Cooked red split lentils are added to the sauce, with lemon juice as a souring agent and pineapple juice and pineapple (sometimes) added for sweetness.
Working ahead.
This chicken dhansak recipe represents the best of curry house style cooking.
In order to get it right, you will need to make a base curry sauce and also pre-cook your chicken. Pre-cooking the chicken not only speeds up the cooking process, it also adds another layer of flavour.
Curry Sauce
Each of the authentic British Indian restaurant (BIR) recipes on my blog require a base curry sauce. There is a link to the recipe in the recipe below. Once this is made, you can make many different curry house style curries in about ten minutes.
Pre-cooked chicken
I pre-cook chicken in two ways. Most Indian restaurants use this method to prepare their chicken for this curry. In this recipe, the chicken pieces are slow cooked in a spiced broth. You could add a couple of tablespoons of the cooking juices to your curry for extra flavour.
You could also add tandoori style chicken tikka to this recipe if you’d like to create tandoori Chicken Dhansak.
Substitutes for chicken…
This chicken dhansak can be made with other ingredients too.
Just like when you go out for a curry and see dhansak on the menu, you can choose what goes into the sauce.
King prawns, lamb, keema, paneer are all good substitutes.
Following are step by step photos of me cooking chicken dhansak…
Always prepare your ingredients before starting. This saves time and it also makes the cooking process easier.
Heat the oil in a pan over medium-high heat and stir in the garlic and ginger paste and turmeric. Fry for 30 seconds.
Add the spices and stir. Then add the tomato puree, stirring again to combine.
Add the lentils and a ladle of the base sauce. Top up the sauce as needed.
Stir in the pre-cooked chicken.
Bring to a simmer and add more base sauce if looking dry. If too saucy, cook it down.
Stir in the pineapple juice, pineapple pieces (if using) and lemon juice. Season with salt to taste and garnish with the chopped coriander (cilantro).
Here are some more curry house favourites you might like to try!
Chicken Tikka Masala
Chicken Korma
Chicken Madras
Lamb Rogan Josh
Lamb Vindaloo
Chicken Chilli Garlic
Chicken Patia
Lamb Bhuna
Delicious served with Basmati rice.
Dig in!
How To Make Chicken Dhansak
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp ghee or vegetable oil
- 1 tbsp garlic and ginger paste
- 1/2 tsp ground turmeric
- 1 tbsp mixed powder
- 2 tsp chilli powder (more or less to taste)
- 70ml (1/4 cup) tomato puree
- 90g (1/4 cup) red split lentils (rinsed and cook until soft - about 30 minutes)
- 250ml (1 cup) approx. heated base curry sauce
- 350g (11oz) pre-cooked chicken
- salt and pepper to taste
- 100ml pineapple juice
- 2 - 3 tinned (canned) pineapple rings - cut into pieces
- Salt to taste
- Juice of one lemon
- 2 tbsp chopped coriander (cilantro)
Instructions
- Heat the ghee/oil over medium heat. Add the turmeric and the ginger and garlic paste and let sizzle for about 30 seconds. The turmeric will darken in colour as it cooks.
- Stir in the remaining ground spices and fry for a few seconds in the oil.
- Add the tomato puree and stir to combine with the spices. Bring to a simmer and then add about one ladle of base sauce. The base sauce should be added as required. If the curry is looking dry, add more base sauce. If too saucy, cook it down.
- Add the cooked lentils and stir it all up. Be careful as lentils will burn to the bottom. Stir often and reduce the heat if necessary.
- Now add the chicken pieces and the pineapple juice and pineapple pieces. Remember to add more base as required.
- Season with salt to taste and squeeze the lemon juice over the top. Garnish with the chopped coriander and serve.
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Nutrition Information:
Yield:
2Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 728Total Fat: 35gSaturated Fat: 11gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 22gCholesterol: 74mgSodium: 705mgCarbohydrates: 88gFiber: 17gSugar: 48gProtein: 23g
This data was put together using a program. It may not be correct but is a good guide.
Ewan
Saturday 23rd of July 2022
I'm going to try this. What type of tomato puree do you use? Tube of Tomato puree? Passata? Blended fresh tomato?
Dan Toombs
Tuesday 26th of July 2022
Use some passata blended with a little bit of water. Thanks Dan
Rob
Friday 11th of February 2022
Hi Dan. Your recipe's are amazing. Everyone so far has been spot on. And I like the way you encourage us to "adjust as necessary". But in the Dhansak recipe you mention adding pineapple juice twice; once a 60 ml dose, and later a 100ml slug? Is this right? PS, I'm getting your "Bible" for my birthday. (If availble! It's not at Amazon) Is there a problem with it? All the best, Rob
Dan Toombs
Tuesday 15th of February 2022
Hi Rob Thank you for noticing the mistake with the pineapple juice. The 60ml should not be there - just the 100ml added with the pineapple pieces, I have amended the recipe. Unfortunately my book is out of stock everywhere at the moment as it sold out over Christmas. New stocks are arriving by mid March after a couple of delays caused by Covid related shipping problems. I do have a few books here, I could sign one and send it to you but the cost would be £25 to include UK shipping. If you would like one please write to my wife [email protected] and she will handle. Dan
Michael
Sunday 21st of November 2021
Hi Dan, your chicken dhansak says “yield: 4” at the top above the title, but at the bottom, just above the calorie count, it says “yield: 2, serving size: 1”. Which is correct? Thanks!!
Dan Toombs
Monday 22nd of November 2021
It just serves 2 - sorry for the confusion. You can double it easily. Thanks very much. Dan
Peter Levene
Wednesday 19th of May 2021
Hi Dan, really enjoying your recipes, but unclear about one thing that features in all of them - 'tomato puree'. What is this? The only tomato puree I know is a thick paste either in a jar or a tube. Do you water this down or do you use a tin of smashed up chopped tomatoes or passata?
Dan Toombs
Thursday 20th of May 2021
I use passata that is widely available in all supermarkets and I add a tiny bit of water to thin it out. I am glad you are enjoying my recipes and hope this helps. Thanks very much Dan
Russell Barnes
Tuesday 11th of May 2021
When you say 90g of Red Lentils - is this 90g cooked weight or 90g raw weight?
Dan Toombs
Tuesday 11th of May 2021
This is the cooked weigh but add more or less to taste. Thanks Dan