I'm no expert on this dish but i'm sure there's someone out there who is. As with many dishes there are regional variations as well as a chef's own interpretation of a dish.  I have sampled a spoonful of friends' dhansak dishes while dining out at different restaurants which gives me an idea of what to expect based on my samplings.  But one thing i do know is a tasty dish when I eat one, whatever it might be called.  And this dish from CBM delivers just that - flavour in quantity and with plenty of depth.  Maybe one of the  dhansak experts on the site who actually cooks rather than just comments, would care to try it and then provide some constructive feedback. 
CBM has put up two videos on dhansak, one from Little India and the other from the Fatima restaurant.  The recipe i used to make my dish the other night is from CBM's second e-book (and no i'm not on commission  ;D).  I would say that the Little India recipe has a lot in common.
Anyway, the ingredients without giving too much away;



In went the spices, sugar, tomato paste and lemon juice for the initial singing followed up by half the base and a good heaped chef's of pre-cooked lentils.  Looks pretty thin here but it was in fact nearing the end of the first reduction 



So in then went the remainder of the base, the chopped pineapple followed by the tikka



Heat down and now left to simmer until reaching the right consistancy with the coriander being added just at the end of cooking.  The end result:



Again, looks quite fluid but in reality, the dhal hides the thickness of the sauce as the close ups show:





Decided to have these with it rather than rice, just for a change:



So here it is ready to serve:



The lighting for some reason made the dish look a shade darker in the last two pics:





Obviously the taste of the lentils was instant.  But depending on to how they are prepared they can be used to add more flavour to the dish.  Mine were prepared using Colin Grigson's friend's recipe, which calls for simple minimal spicing which produces great almost "meaty" tasting dhal with just a hint of spice.  A lovely dish in its own right.
Then came flooding through the sweetness immediately followed by heat which proceded to linger throughout the eating of the rest of the dish.  The sour lemon hit did happen but was much more in the background than i expected.  Maybe next time i need to up the lemon juice a  little just to bring the flavour on.  Inspite of the inclusion of tomato paste, which I know is a "no no" for some dhansak eaters, I thought it did little more than add to the colour.  Taste wise all 2tbs were not evident and had disappeared into the depths of the dish itself.  The pineapple, of which there was very little did add a sweet and sour note all of its own on the odd occasion when you happened across a piece.  Not a complex dish compared to some but it certainly had a different flavours within as well as an overall morish taste with no lack of depth.  A keeper for sure.

CH great looking mate

Love Dhansak one of my favourite curries. As is happens we just did a food tasting with Dhansak last weekend went down a storm.

best, Rich

Hi

good choice of dahl!! Colin's friends recipe is a winner in our household and doesn't usually last long enough to hit the dhansak?

Ed

Sorry to disappoint you George, but the success of the dish prompted my review, not your comments.  The dish was cooked and eaten on Friday and Saturday, long before your critique

Quote from: George on November 06, 2013, 06:32 PM
Was this post triggered by my critical review of a CBM dhansak a few days ago? Mine was from Fatima restaurant which I thought is in the first CBM eBook. But the ingredients used in your attempt look very similar, so now I'm confused. Is your recipe from the second CBM eBook?

The recipe was taken from the second book.  I didn't look to see if there was a dhansak recipe in book one.  Look at my ingredients and look at the Little India video, they're even more similar  :  I watched the Fatima video which did nothing to encourage me to cook the dish unlike the aforementioned.

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It does look good but until it's possible to transfer tastes and smells via a website, we'll never know.

Unfortunately, for the moment George, that's the best I can do until we have the above solution.  Not only did it look good, but it tasted good IMHO.  Others who cook may want to give it a try and see for themselves.  They are more than entitled to disagree with my assessment.

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(My lentils) were prepared using Colin Grigson's friend's recipe, which calls for simple minimal spicing which produces great almost "meaty" tasting dhal with just a hint of spice.

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I used the CBM recipe for his lentils, which seemed fair. Perhaps your attempt tasted better because you ditched his lentils and used a much improved recipe for lentils, instead. Perhaps the heading should have been "Chicken Dhansak courtesy of Colin Grigson". Colin's lentils include quite a bit of garlic and that's one ingredient I think was lacking in the CBM Dhansak which I tried.

The recipe required cooked dhal of which i had some already in the fridge so i wasn't about to cook up any more.  It certainly was not a case of ditching as you suggest.  It's pure conjecture on  my part that the lentils added a little bit to the overall affect.  Having just looked at CBM's dhal recipe, the spice volume is probably greater when scaled up and it had the addition of ginger and sugar but lacks onion and coriander.  I'd be surprised if the recipe didn't deliver equally tasty dhal but with a different flavour.  I would say that either could be included in a dhansak with any detrimental or positive effect being barely noticeable.  And no, it still remains CBM's dhansak recipe as he simply says add cooked dhall, no specification as to whose.  I simply chose to provide the additonal information / recommendation.

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Then came flooding through the sweetness immediately followed by heat which proceded to linger throughout the eating of the rest of the dish.  .... Not a complex dish compared to some but it certainly had a different flavours within as well as an overall morish taste with no lack of depth.  A keeper for sure.

You write well but it reads a bit like the sort of professional reviews in a self-promoting advert promotion in some newspapers. Are you a recruiting seargent for CBM?
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I'll take that as a backhanded compliment    The obvious remedy if you don't don't like my writing style George is not to read my reports.  I'm sorry if you find it irritating that i try and give a little bit more info than simply off the cuff negative remarks

Quote from: George on November 04, 2013, 09:26 PM
I'm sorry to say I disagree. I tried the CBM dhansak from Fatima restaurant this evening and it reminded me of some of the worst dhansaks I've had from BIRs. It lacked any of the interesting flavours which, for me, make a really good dhansak.

Maybe it would be more helpful to everybody if you expanded on your negative comment above instead of simply underlining it with more negativity by going on to say

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I hope the restaurant which Phil recommends can make a dhansak which tastes a lot better than the one from Fatima restaurant, as written down by CBM.

Finally, CBM doesn't need recruiting agents.  His work which remains here for all to see and benefit from, speaks volumes without any help from me.  Whilst he may no longer take an active part, and many of us remember the reasons why, he has the respect of many many members for his contribution to the cause, unlike one or two others.

Quote from: loveitspicy on November 06, 2013, 07:47 PM
Got my RESPECT at least he has made a significant contribution to understanding and making bir curries

Yours, mine and many more I believe for the reasons you quote.  Respect has to be earned, it doesn't get accorded with a title.  Some could do well to remember that.
Chances of now getting back on topic