Curry Recipes Online
Traditional Indian Restaurant Recipes => Traditional Indian Recipes => Topic started by: tempest63 on August 05, 2023, 12:22 PM
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Cafe Spice Namaste Dhansak
This is the traditional dhansak recipe you can find on the greedy gourmet website, I have compared it to that in Cyrus Todiwala’s Cafe Spice Namaste cookbook, first published in 1988 from where the online recipe originated, and I believe I have corrected the text to rectify any errors and include any omissions on the website.
There is a lot of work to prepare this dish but I will be giving it a go this week whilst I have some time off work.
Ingredients
Dhal
100g toor daal
50g channa daal
50g moong daal
100g masoor daal
1 small aubergine, diced
100g pumpkin (peeled weight), diced
2 tbsp coarsely chopped fresh dill
1 colcasia leaf (arbi), if available
50g fresh fenugreek leaves, or 1 tbsp of dried leaves
6 tbsp prepared tamarind pulp or paste or 2 tbsp concentrate
100g jaggery
2 tbsp chopped fresh coriander stalks
2 tbsp chopped fresh mint stalks
Salt, to taste
For the Wet Masala
5cm piece of cinnamon stick
6 cardamom
6-8 cloves
2 tsp cumin seeds
10 peppercorns
1 heaped tsp coriander seeds
8-10 large dried red chillies
3 x 2.0cm pieces fresh ginger, roughly chopped
10-12 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
30-50g fresh coriander, stalks and leaves
Dry Masala
3-4 cardamom pods
3-4 cloves
2-3 star anise
1 heaped tsp cumin seeds
8-10 black peppercorns
2-3 dried red chillies
2 tsp dried fenugreek
Lamb
2-3 tbsp oil
500g boned leg of lamb, in 2cm cubes, ask your butcher to saw up the bones and give them to you.
150ml water
Chopped fresh coriander and mint to garnish
Salt
Pulao
5 tbsp vegetable oil
4 onions finely sliced
1 tbsp chopped fresh mint
1 tbsp chopped fresh coriander
2.0cm piece of cinnamon stick
3-4 cardamom pods
3-4 cloves
4-5 star anise
500g basmati rice, washed and drained
About 2 tsp salt to taste
Kebab
1 onion, very finely chopped
Oil for frying
500g fresh lean minced lamb
5cm piece fresh root ginger, very finely chopped
6-8 garlic cloves, very finely chopped
2 green chillies, very finely chopped
1 tsp ground cumin
1.5 tsp ground coriander
0.25 tsp ground turmeric
0.5 tsp chilli powder
2 tbsp chopped fresh coriander
2 tbsp chopped fresh mint
1 tsp lemon juice
3 slices of brown or white bread, soaked in a little water, then squeezed out into a ball
Salt to taste
Kachumber
1 large onion, finely sliced
2 tsp chopped fresh coriander
10 fresh mint leaves, chopped
1 green chilli, finely chopped
1 small tomato, deseeded and finely chopped
1tsp white vinegar
Salt, to taste
Instructions
Dhal
Wash all the pulses and transfer to a large heavy-based saucepan.
Add water to cover by 2.0cm, then add all the remaining ingredients and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer, scraping the bottom of the pan regularly with a wooden spatula. When the lentils are fully cooked, puree the entire contents of the pot until smooth, then cover and set aside.
Lamb
First prepare the masalas.
Wet Masala
Heat a large heavy based frying pan or wok, add all the ingredients except the fresh coriander and roast gently for about five minutes, stirring frequently. When the chilies and spices look roasted (i.e., they have changed colour slightly but are not actually discoloured) remove and grind to a smooth paste in a blender, adding the fresh coriander and just enough water to process the mixture.
Dry Masala
Roast all the ingredients gently in a wok or skillet, stirring regularly.
When the spices have changed colour, smell gorgeous and look roasted, remove from the heat and allow to cool.
Transfer to a grinder and process into a fine powder.
Heat the oil in a large heavy-based saucepan, add the lamb and the bones and sauté on a high heat until the meat is well coloured.
Add the wet masala and cook until you see the oil separating along the sides of the pan. Add the 150ml of water, check salt, and cover tightly and cook on a medium heat for 40-45 minutes, stirring regularly and adding a little more water if it looks too dry.
When the lamb is cooked and you have a nice thick, rich gravy, stir the mixture into the puréed dhal. Add half of the dry masala then taste. If it is to your liking, save the rest of the masala to serve with other lamb dishes. Or add the rest of the masala, a little at a time, tasting as you go.
This is your Sak.
Pulao
Heat the oil in a large pan and add half the onions, fry until crisp and golden. Drain well on kitchen paper and set aside with the mint and coriander, they will be used to garnish the rice just before serving.
Add the spices to the casserole and cook over a fairly high heat for 2 minutes, stirring until dark and swollen.
Add the remaining onions and cook gently, stirring frequently until they are a deep brown colour.
Add the rice and cook over a medium heat for 5-6 minutes, turning the rice regularly so that all the grains are evenly heated.
Add the salt, the pour in enough hot water to cover the rice by 2.0cm. Stir for a minute, cover tightly and cook over a very a low heat for 15 to 20 minutes.
Check on the rice every now and again, stirring from the bottom up with a flat wooden spatula. If you need more water add it a little at a time.
The pulao should take approximately 15-20 minutes to cook. When the grains are cooked, set aside but do not uncover the pot.
Sheek Kebabs
Fry the onion in 1 tablespoon of oil until soft. Remove from the heat and leave to cool. Mix with all the other ingredients in a large bowl until thoroughly blended.
Cover the mince mixture and chill in the refrigerator.
Roll the lamb mixture into 2.5cm (1in) balls.
Deep fry the kebabs or, if preferred, place them on a greased baking sheet and bake in an oven preheated to 200°C/400°F/gas mark 6 for about 20 minutes
Kachumber
Mix all the ingredients in a bowl.
Serving the Dhansak
Reheat the rice, lamb and kebabs if necessary.
Garnish the Pulao with the fried onions, mint and coriander, then dot with the kebabs over the top.
Garnish the Sak (meat and lentils) with chopped fresh coriander and mint.
Serve Kachumber on the side.
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First things first, I reckon that Dahl would be a meal in itself! Sounds gorgeous Tempest, thanks for this, it must've been a bit of work :like:
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I had already copied the online recipe to my iPad but there were errors on the website: the dry masala on the site is titled Masala for Final Flavouring. You get the ingredients and the instructions to make it but it isn’t used in the final recipe. Yet there are people posting to the site how good it is.
I dropped the site a line and enquired about the omission but after several months got no reply.
In the end I tracked down a second hand copy of the book and compared them; the recipe above is true to Cyrus Todiwala’s original.
I am giving this a spin over coming days and will report back on how it turns out.
Mrs T63 has previously said that whilst she likes all the many versions of Dhansak I have produced in the past, they have leaned towards a more sweet than sour dish. I am hoping this one will balance out a bit better.
After that the quest continues with the Dhansak from the relatively new Parsi cookbook.
I have already posted the Dhansak Masala for this recipe in the appropriate place.
https://www.curry-recipes.co.uk/curry/index.php?topic=47661.msg186497#msg186497
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it isn’t used in the final recipe. Yet there are people posting to the site how good it is.
Bizarre!
I like lime in dhansak-in lots of things actually!-and always assumed that was where the sour came from, or taramind. Where does it come from in this do you think? Although I see there's a bit of vinegar in the kachumber
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it isn’t used in the final recipe. Yet there are people posting to the site how good it is.
Where does it come from in this do you think? Although I see there's a bit of vinegar in the kachumber
Six tablespoons of Tamarind pulp I would assume. It gives a sharp acidic flavour.
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I missed the taramind in the list! D'oh. Yes that'd be it. I always like to add just a little more for luck.
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That's a good job T63. I've never tried a dhansak so this might be a good excuse to give it a go. The ingredient list appears quite daunting at first glance and would certainly deter lot of people immediately, but when you really examine what is there, and considering that this version is a restaurant dish, I think you'll find that it will come together fairly easily for anyone who can cook already. It will take a bit of time and preparation, but I think you'll end up with a good result. It looks like a fun project for a few people.
The only ingredient I was unfamiliar with was the Colocasia, but then when I looked it up, I find that it is just the Elephants Ear or Taro plant. These are everywhere and as luck would have it, we have one that has grown out of a truck load of landfill we had dropped down in our back paddock by a friend who is a landscaper. He had obviously dug it up from a client's property and transplanted it to ours. We have a large mint plant down there as well that he has given us. This means there is nothing on the list that I don't have easy access to. I might just give it a go as we are in for a few days of poor outdoor weather, and I have a good supply of lamb.
Important Safety Note: Raw or under-cooked Taro (colocasia) is poisonous and can cause skin irritation when handled. Ingesting raw or under-cooked taro (leaves, stems or tubers) can lead to severe symptoms of stinging, burning of lips tongue and throat, causing swelling and breathing difficulty, as well as severe intestinal irritation, nausea and diarrhoea.
I'll be leaving it in the paddock anyway as it turns out the plant I have is not edible. The lobes at the top of the leaf must be joined together above the point where the stem attaches to the underside of the leaf. The leaves of our plant stay apart all the way down to the stem.
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/GI-ScXs8ljI (https://www.youtube.com/shorts/GI-ScXs8ljI)
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I don’t recall ever seeing Colcasia in our Indian grocers though I understand from another website that it can be substituted with Giant Swiss Chard or Spinach, so I would suggest this is more likely to be a food ingredient rather than a spice ingredient.
“Colocasia Leaves – also known as Patra in Gujarati, Pathrado in Konkani, Arbi ke patte, or Alu in Marathi. Make sure to use fresh and green leaves. Sometimes it is hard to find these leaves, especially in the US. So you can substitute it with Swiss chard or spinach leaves. Make sure to use large swiss chard or spinach leaves.”
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Easily the best reply I have ever seen in this forum.
just the Elephants Ear or Taro plant.
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/GI-ScXs8ljI (https://www.youtube.com/shorts/GI-ScXs8ljI)
‘Just’ referring to two things I have never heard of. Thank you sir, that made my evening.
Robbo
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It is also known as Dasheen in some parts of the world. The plant is quite common in ornamental gardens over here, but I've now been instructed that I have to remove it from our paddock as it is also poisonous to many animals and my wife does not want our horses eating it. We can't eat this variety anyway, so I guess it goes.
Some interesting reading about it. https://pubs.ciphi.ca/doi/full/10.5864/d2014-027 (https://pubs.ciphi.ca/doi/full/10.5864/d2014-027)
T63, I'd say you are correct in it being a part of the vegetable content. A spinach, silverbeet or chard would do just fine.
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The ingredient list appears quite daunting at first glance and would certainly deter lot of people immediately,
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/GI-ScXs8ljI (https://www.youtube.com/shorts/GI-ScXs8ljI)
I would make this over a couple of days, meat and lentils first, then meatballs and rice another day.
When we do a curryfest at home we tend to prepare and freeze some of the meat and chicken dishes, where suitable, and make rice and veg etc on the day.
I had no cubed mutton in the freezer so my fist attempt at this will be with goat, though I had minced mutton for the kebabs.
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Does the recipe say how many this amount serves?
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Does the recipe say how many this amount serves?
The website quotes 8 servings, I will come back to you if the book says anything else.
I did find the article on the greedy gourmet website quite an interesting read, but as some are on a quest to find the perfect BIR, I have always wanted to find the best Dhansak. I think this is because I worked with a Zoroastrian engineer back in the late 1990’s and listened to him talking about traditional Parsi food.
https://www.greedygourmet.com/recipes-for-diets/gluten-free/dhaan-saak/
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OK. Great. I was thinking of only doing half as a tester for myself and the Mrs, so that's the plan. I've been out and purchased everything I needed today, and the weather is still looking ordinary for tomorrow, so it'll hopefully be lamb dhansak for dinner tomorrow. They don't sell a packet Dhansak Masala, so I'll be just following the recipe as is except for the Colocasia. The poor bugger at Singh Bros gave me the weirdest look when I asked if he sold dried limes.
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OK. Great. I was thinking of only doing half as a tester for myself and the Mrs, so that's the plan. I've been out and purchased everything I needed today, and the weather is still looking ordinary for tomorrow, so it'll hopefully be lamb dhansak for dinner tomorrow. They don't sell a packet Dhansak Masala, so I'll be just following the recipe as is except for the Colocasia. The poor bugger at Singh Bros gave me the weirdest look when I asked if he sold dried limes.
You should be able to get dried limes from a Middle Eastern or North African outlet.
I will be making up the koftas/kebabs and the actual Sak, i.e., meat and lentils.
Good luck and I hope it turns out worthwhile for the effort you have to put in.
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I'm certainly looking forward to seeing the results of these cook-ups, considering the amount of work it involves! Best of luck, everybody :like:
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I'm certainly looking forward to seeing the results of these cook-ups, considering the amount of work it involves! Best of luck, everybody :like:
I have the lamb on the stove as I type and the meatball mix is made up and in the fridge ready for rolling into balls and frying tomorrow.
I will also cook the lentils tomorrow and combine. The dry masala is made and ready.
I will make the rice when it is going to be eaten. This is a dry run for a Curryfest.
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The lentils and vegetables are cooked and in a pot for the freezer, the goat meat similar as well as the kebabs.
The lentils tasted lovely, the meat tasted equally lovely. The kebabs/koftas had a good flavour but were a bit on the dry side, it could be because I cooked them in the airfryer? I may make up another batch and fry them for comparison.
We’ve decided to put this in the freezer until we have friends around and then I may only use half the lentils and veg as the whole quantity will swallow up the meat.
On the whole I’m rather pleased with the result, but there are improvements that could be gained.
T63
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I'll be able to knock this out in an afternoon and it is dinner tonight. I made up the kebab mixture yesterday and allowed it to sit in the fridge for 24 hours but other than that, the ingredient list is very deceptive. I do recommend doing the kebab mix the day before. This will not be difficult to accomplish in about 4 -5 hours on my own. I started at 11.30 am and at 3.20 pm I have everything ready to finish off and assemble. I've been doing laundry and making home brew (* Note below) at the same time, a few of which have helped along the way. :wink: I only need to cook the kebabs and pilau to be done, reheat and assemble, which I'll do when the devoted female returns to the nest. The Golden Brown Basmati is soaking, the chicks have flown and it's easy sailing from here. :smile: Yeah, right!
The big plus, as I'd quietly hoped, is that the kebab recipe on its own is a winner. I've already deep fried a tester of 6 and they're gone. There was something missing but all they needed was a sprinkle of ground Pink Himalayan Rock Salt. This will be my go-to for lamb (meat) kebabs from now on with one adjustment. Less bread and a little less water to compensate. They are a bit bready with white bread.
Note: Home brewed Brown Ale and Munich Lager. I already knew the Brown Ale is good, but this was my first tester of the Munich Lager I first started about 2 months ago. I'm rather pleased with it, and it will only get better when I refrigerate and "lager it".
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but all they needed was a sprinkle of ground Pink Himalayan Rock Salt
I am, and will remain, eternally grateful that I discovered kala namak when I did, and only wish that I had discovered it 50 years earlier. Yes, it makes a great addition to many a curry, but what it does to egg mayonnaise is out of this world ...
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** Phil.
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Where do I begin? Thank you so much to Tempest63 for an outstanding contribution. This is an astonishingly good meal. Yes, its a lot of work but I managed to make it by myself in one afternoon after the initial preparation yesterday. You really do need to try this. Mrs L was packing a takeaway container for tomorrow's lunch before I even finished mine and that was after she had seconds. When I tried to explain to her earlier in the afternoon what I was making, she was sceptical, but once on the table it was dig in.
Some notes before I post a few photos. As always, I reduced chilli by 1/2 or more and I used my own dried Rajah chillis. I cooked a half quantity of everything except the kebabs, which I did make in full quantity. The amount of kebab in the recipe is balanced enough to the whole dish. I would definitely up the Kachumber (onion tomato salad) by at least double or possibly more. Mrs and I ate all of it but went nowhere near the rest of the dish. In my opinion this dish, if prepared in full, with extra Kachumber, will easily feed 10 to 12 people. I did make a Vegetable and Paneer Navratan Korma as well so this will stretch it out, but I'd recommend this anyway. The amount I cooked today would feed 6 easily.
I followed the recipe almost exactly but there were a few things to note. I thought I would need to do the Wet Masala again after I really over cooked the spices, but it turned out just fine. I was distracted and thought I'd burnt it, but it was ok. Borderline but I went with it anyway, so there is good leeway there. I added a few extra spices to the Pilau Rice as I like Fennel Seed and Fenugreek Seed and my wifey likes Turmeric in everything so in they went. About a tsp of each. I used Golden Brown Basmati Rice which I'd washed and soaked for 2 hours before putting into the pan.
Anyway, the photos aren't great because I was reluctant to do presentation when it was only me an Mrs but here it is. Delicious. I didn't photograph the salad because it's a salad.
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I'll be able to knock this out in an afternoon and it is dinner tonight. I made up the kebab mixture yesterday and allowed it to sit in the fridge for 24 hours but other than that, the ingredient list is very deceptive. I do recommend doing the kebab mix the day before. This will not be difficult to accomplish in about 4 -5 hours on my own. I started at 11.30 am and at 3.20 pm I have everything ready to finish off and assemble. I've been doing laundry and making home brew (* Note below) at the same time, a few of which have helped along the way. :wink: I only need to cook the kebabs and pilau to be done, reheat and assemble, which I'll do when the devoted female returns to the nest. The Golden Brown Basmati is soaking, the chicks have flown and it's easy sailing from here. :smile: Yeah, right!
The big plus, as I'd quietly hoped, is that the kebab recipe on its own is a winner. I've already deep fried a tester of 6 and they're gone. There was something missing but all they needed was a sprinkle of ground Pink Himalayan Rock Salt. This will be my go-to for lamb (meat) kebabs from now on with one adjustment. Less bread and a little less water to compensate. They are a bit bready with white bread.
Note: Home brewed Brown Ale and Munich Lager. I already knew the Brown Ale is good, but this was my first tester of the Munich Lager I first started about 2 months ago. I'm rather pleased with it, and it will only get better when I refrigerate and "lager it".
I'm sold on the kebabs already :like:
Something like me, when home brew met barbecue that time...
(https://i.ibb.co/TWyvCXM/Chevy-Chase-as-Clark-national-lampoons-european-vacation-17715271-848-480.jpg)
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Well done Livo, it pleases me when something I post goes down well.
Your kebabs do look a lot better than mine.
I have split the rice and lentils in half and will add a whole portion of the meat, goat in my case, to that reduced quantity. I often find with Dhansak that half of the veg/lentil dish is left over.
As I haven’t combined the meat and veg I haven’t used the dry masala, how did it work for you?
Our whole concoction is now nestling in the freezer for when we have friends round for a curryfest, so it may be a few weeks before we find out whether it is a hit or not.
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T63, I made a 50% amount for everything, except the kebab mix which I made in full quantity. However, only half was used in the dish assembly so the finished dish was exactly half of the recipe you provided. Well almost. I did use 300g of lamb instead of 250g, so that was the only main ingredient slightly out of scale. All spices were as stated with the exception of cutting back on the dried chillis. I used my own dehydrated Rajah and I deliberately reduced to only 1 in the half quantity dry masala and 3 in the half quantity wet masala. I used 2 medium sized leaves of silver beet instead of colocasia leaf and the aubergine piece was the size of a tennis ball.
I cooked the lentils and vegetables on a very slow simmer for about 90 minutes before blending with the stick blender. Pressure cooker could be used to do it faster.
I ended up adding about 3/4 of the dry masala and I felt it was enough, although adding the rest would probably have been fine. I just followed the instruction and felt it tasted good enough at that point. Out of laziness, I used ginger and garlic out of jars which I'm thankful of, as I would have burnt it when I scorched the whole spices. I hadn't yet put the g&g into the pan. The well cooked spices did not affect the dish and there was no burnt spice flavour.
There is nothing I would change about it when I make it again, and I will be making it again. The proportions were fine and the extra kebabs are already gone.
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Thanks for the feedback.