Quote from: Domi on April 26, 2010, 09:11 PM
Anyone know how this recipe compares to UB's recipe?

The UB recipe is good, though you have to be really careful with the tamarind paste as twice now I've overdone the mixture. The problem is the recipe makes out that you have to make a whole load of the pathia mix, where in reality you only need a little bit, and there's little value in making a load of it. This recipe doesn't have a sour element, but it still looks great.

Quote from: Razor on April 26, 2010, 08:09 PM
Gezh,

Are you going to make the base, spice mix and precooked chicken as well?

Ray

Hi Ray. Yes and no... I'm going to use your suggested spice mix, as I have everything on hand. Chicken, I'm going to make chicken tikka, marinading it tonight, as chicken tikka pathia is my fave. Base, I'm afriad I always just use whatever I have on hand, which at this moment is CA's.

I'm not experienced enough in this yet to understand the difference that different bases can make, for me it's more what you put into the final cook.

Yum, going to try this tomorrow night :-)

I need to buy a new bag of lentils to make some more of CA's super tarka dhal (and my great dansak!).

What lentils would you recommend? I'd rather buy something authentic from the asian grocer, than the usual "Tesco red split lentils".

Should they be red, yellow, split, whole, etc?

Quote from: George on April 26, 2010, 09:57 AM
Many thanks for what looks like a good recipe. I appreciate the way you've explained some of the rationale in your thinking - well set out.

George, I hope someone tries this out and gets back with the results. As I understand it, you live very close to me, so you should be expecting the same from a Dansak as myself.

Sorry if I wasn't clear... yes I meant cooking pilau rice with all the seeds and spices. Although my point remains the same, the cheap Tesco rice just wasn't good enough.

Incidentally, I cooked a Biryani tonight, using a recipe from this forum, and WOW, what a taste sensation. So I think my new rice might be great after all :-)

Oh I use the recipes here... the simple one provided by PeterandJen, and the more thorough one provided by C.A. Both tried, tested and trusted methods.

Until now I've just been using Tesco own brand basmati rice. It's not good... comes out very sticky and soggy, no matter how carefully I follow the recipe. So, over the last couple of weeks I've done a lot of reading here and some experimenting.

I went to my local indian grocer, and the chap told me the best rice they do is Fudco Dehraduni Basmati. I hadn't heard this mentioned here before, but bought 2Kg at ?5. A bit pricey, but I want to experiment. Instant success with the cooking... finally I can produce fluffy, separated rice, the way the rest of you describe. However I'm not convinced on the flavour, it seems to emit a slight waxy, plasticy taste, a little like what you might  expect from long grain rice. It still doesn't taste like pilau rice from the local.... in fact the grains once cooked are much longer than anything I ever get served from a BIR.

Anyway, back to topic, just a heads up... Tesco are currently doing a deal on a Pakistani rice - Salaam Apna Basmati - 5Kg for ?5 - which is a great price, if it's any good. It says it's aged, and all that bumph, so who knows. Just wondered if anyone has tried it?

Any comments, tips, welcome :-)

Quote from: 976bar on March 17, 2010, 02:34 PM
Being from London myself this seems more the Dhansak I know and love. I will try this tonight but with fresh lentils and let you know how it turns out.

Some pictures of yours would have been good

Yeah I know sorry, I got so carried away with the cooking and eating, I forgot about the camera 

The tarka dahl is pretty intense in itself, so I'm sure it really contributes to this dish. If using plain lentils, you may need to up some of the spice mix, but I'll have to try that another time.

Hope it turned out well!

I've tried a couple of the Dansak recipes in this section, and they have not really been much like the type of Dansak I get served in London. There has been some discussion on regional variations, and clearly there must be, as I am sure I have never had a Dansak with pineapple chunks in!

So today I had a go at making it the way I know it, and I think it turned out incredibly well, I'm very pleased with it. This recipe takes various elements of other people's and combines them. Also, the cooking method is the bog standard cooking method repeated on this site countless times, so I won't detail it too much.

Serves one big belly or two small bellies

Preparation

Lentils. I make regular portions of C.A.'s Tarka Dahl, and as C.A. himself recommends in his Dansak recipe, I use a ladle of this. It's best if it's thick, not watered down too much into soup. Of course you could prepare some fresh lentils, but I can't vouch for the difference it will make to the flavour.

Sweet and Sour. All BIR menus describe Dansak as Hot, Sweet and Sour, and it's an important part of the taste. I created a simple mix which did the trick for me:
1 heaped teaspoon sugar
3 level teaspoons lemon jiuce
1 heaped teaspoon mango chutney.

Base sauce. My favourite base is the Bruce Edward one, but of course you can use your own preference. 2-3 ladles needed, depending on amount you want to make.

Spices. All down to personal taste... I used:
1 tsp Rajah Madras Curry powder
half tsp Garam Masala.
1 tsp Rajah Chilli powder
1/3 (third) tsp Amchoor (mango) powder.
Small pinch dried methi leaves.

Meat. I had leftover chicken from a roast, and this was great. Prawns go fantastically in a Dansak too. Either way, mine was precooked and unspiced.

Other ingredients
Some finely chopped onion and pepper, optional
Garlic/Ginger paste, 1 heaped tsp
Tomato puree, 1 tablespoon

Cooking. The usual cr0 style:

- Heat oil.
- Fry onion and pepper, if using.
- Add G/G paste once oil is up to temperature. Fry and stir 1 min.
- Add spices, then tomato puree, fry 2 mins, careful not to burn.
- Gradually stir in the base, as described on almost all recipes on this site!
- Add the Tarka Dahl, sweet/sour mix, and chicken.
- Stir together and simmer gently while you make the rice.

Done!