Topic: Chicken Dhansak BIR Perfect Every Time

[Cory Ander]

 ;D yes, that's quite funny! lol  ;D

[Curry Barking Mad]

I wouldn't know about that, having never tasted dish water.

So you don't partake of the Kingfisher lager when you go to the BIR then?

 ;D No I don't, beer or lager before or after but never during for me,
only ice water during the meal,

[Robbo1979]

Well, I've given this it's maiden trial in the Robbo household and it's not bad.  I wouldn't say at this stage that it's as good as my local BIR, but it's a nice dish and easy to make.  I've made it but there's little things I feel I could do to improve my technique when making it.

I used the SnS-June2008 base and I also took on board a few things throughout this thread rather than stick to the already basic original recipe (a sin really since I usually like to go straight in with the original recipe word for word but this time I felt the feedback this received warranted trying the extras straight away.)

I'm a fan of straight forward measurements for ingredients and some of the original recipe was fairly "a bit of this and a smidgen of that" so here is what I did in proper measurements.

Into a large bowl I added 500g Natural yoghurt and 1.5 tbsp Rajah Tandoori Masala.  I mixed this into a red paste and then added 425g chicken and covered the chicken.  This was marinaded overnight (in this case 24hrs) and then the chicken was removed from the marinade and cooked as per instructions (you need to check your own times for this stage as I got the missus to cook the chicken... yes I was busy so got her to do that bit!)  The chicken was set to the side.

I added 285g Red Lentils, 5g crushed garlic (2 cloves), 2 tbsp Lemon Juice & 1 tbsp Sugar into a pot of boiling water on the hob.  Water about an inch below the rim of the pan before adding ingredients.  After about 10 minutes I removed the contents of the pan into a seive and drained on the side whilst continuing with the recipe.

I chopped one large onion (amount of onion for my preference) and one 3 inch long deseeded Green Chili.

Paste 1.  Into a bowl I added 1 tsp Rajah hot madras Curry Powder, 1 tsp Deggi Mirch (chili powder), a pinch of Asafoetida and 1 tsp Bruce Edwards Spice Mix.  I mixed this into a stiff paste using Lemon Juice.

I put 5 tbsp veg oil into a wok.  Heated on the hob.  Added one large pinch of dried Methi (crumbled between finger and thumb as spinkling into the wok) and then added the chopped onion and green chili.  I fried the onion and chili until the onions were golden brown.

To the wok I then added Paste 1 and mixed in, stirring for 30 seconds.

I then added 225ml SnS-June2008 base and mixed.

Then into the wok went the now drained lentils, 1 heaped tbsp Mango Chutney, 145ml Pineapple juice and about 3 heaped tbsp of fresh chopped Coriander leaf.  This was left to simmer for 10 minutes with the occasional stirring to prevent burning.

In went 1 tsp Garam Masala, mixed in, a small drop of red colouring for colour (in my local BIR this dish is a light red colour) then finally in went the pre-cooked Chicken.  The dish was heated through to my preferred consistency (not too runny.)


For me, I think I should have in hindsight blended the lentils a bit but at the time I thought they looked okay.  This would definitely improve the texture and it's my own fault since I overlooked this part from the original recipe.

So anyway, it was a nice dish, but I've got a long way to go if it is to rival the local BIR version.

[Robbo1979]

Made this twice now and although it IS a reasonably ok curry, it's certainly not BIR standard Dhansak.  That's not to say it's not nice, it is okay and still better than any jarred version, but it just isn't anything like a restaurant Dhansak.

It has something about it that doesn't sit right with me.  Perhaps the amount of lentils is a factor (too many) and perhaps the pineapple juice could be substituted with a sweet juice I actually like (I hate pineapple!!!) so I haven't given up on this completely, but it certainly needs alterations (In my opinion.)

[976bar]

I prefer Lamb Dhansak to Chicken. Would you say this recipe would work well with lamb?

[parker21]

hi robbo try using lemon juice as this is what most Bir use, also if you like a bit of a kick add some green chillies whole late on.
regards
gary
ps i hate pineapple too ;D

[George]

Well, I've given this it's maiden trial in the Robbo household and it's not bad.  I wouldn't say at this stage that it's as good as my local BIR, but it's a nice dish and easy to make.  I've made it but there's little things I feel I could do to improve my technique when making it. I used the SnS-June2008 base...

I still look forward to trying the original Dhansak recipe which opened this thread. It specifically stated that the base recipe used was poppadom_pete's. I don't think his base includes any tomato whatsover. How can the use of the SnS base be meaningful in terms of a review of this Dhansak recipe? The SnS base includes loads of tomato, so won't it lead to an entirely different Dhansak?

[976bar]

Well, I've given this it's maiden trial in the Robbo household and it's not bad.  I wouldn't say at this stage that it's as good as my local BIR, but it's a nice dish and easy to make.  I've made it but there's little things I feel I could do to improve my technique when making it. I used the SnS-June2008 base...

I still look forward to trying the original Dhansak recipe which opened this thread. It specifically stated that the base recipe used was poppadom_pete's. I don't think his base includes any tomato whatsover. How can the use of the SnS base be meaningful in terms of a review of this Dhansak recipe? The SnS base includes loads of tomato, so won't it lead to an entirely different Dhansak?

Hi George,

I don't know what part of the region you are from, but as I have stated previously, I have worked up and down the country over many years, (Giving my age away now!! lol), and I have found that curry houses in the north differ a lot from curry houses in the south. The best Dhansak I ever had was many years ago in Brighton, it was quite a hot dish, it had tomato in it, and I did have it with lamb. So I guess this will turn into another "who has the best Dhansak, just like the Madras and base sauce scenario"

I think we all need to understand the differences up and down the country here. Where someones curry might taste fantastic down here in the south, might taste awful to someone in the North, who has for many years experienced Indian food of a different kind, whether it be BIR or not.

If we take a look at Authentic Indian cookery there are so many different varieties depending upon which area of India you travel to. I'm pretty much convinced it is the same here.........

So while we all banter on about who's base/madras/CTM/dhansak is the best of the best, will we all ever agree? based upon our locations...........and differences in taste?

[Robbo1979]

Well, I've given this it's maiden trial in the Robbo household and it's not bad.  I wouldn't say at this stage that it's as good as my local BIR, but it's a nice dish and easy to make.  I've made it but there's little things I feel I could do to improve my technique when making it. I used the SnS-June2008 base...

I still look forward to trying the original Dhansak recipe which opened this thread. It specifically stated that the base recipe used was poppadom_pete's. I don't think his base includes any tomato whatsover. How can the use of the SnS base be meaningful in terms of a review of this Dhansak recipe? The SnS base includes loads of tomato, so won't it lead to an entirely different Dhansak?

The fact I stated I used the SnS base n my "review" makes my review a valid one thank you very much.  It's then up to the reader to decide on what base they are to use and if they have SnS's base on hand they may read my posts and think about it.

As I have stated, my issue with the recipe is NOT the base flavours.  I just don't particularly like pineapple, which this recipe relies heavily on.  The pineapple is far too overpowering and ruins the flavour.  The amount of lentils is also an issue since the amount specified is not only too much, but again dominates the texture/flavour, which I don't like.  These are VERY SPECIFIC issues that you couldn't confuse with the tomato in the base.

I'm sure the original poster appreciates whatever feedback he receives, albeit good or bad, and so long as they themselves are happy with their recipe, THAT is all they should care about!  After all, if you don't want to hear any negative comments on recipe you came up with, you don't go posting it on a public forum!!!

[Robbo1979]

hi robbo try using lemon juice as this is what most Bir use, also if you like a bit of a kick add some green chillies whole late on.
regards
gary
ps i hate pineapple too ;D

Thanks for the advice buddy!  I haven't given up on this recipe and I will definitely get round to trying your suggestion... and will post my findings afterwards!