Curry Recipes Online
British Indian Restaurant Recipes - Main Dishes => British Indian Restaurant Recipes - Main Dishes => Dansak => Topic started by: dazkimber on August 26, 2008, 05:10 PM
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:P :P :P
I have perfected this Chicken Dhansak over about a two year period using this website and hints and tips from local BIR to Portsmouth. I found the best base sause to be
http://www.curry-recipes.co.uk/curry/index.php/topic,1061.0.html
and the following recipe for the finished curry. This will make a large pot of curry enough for two greedy people or probably enough for four if serving a side aswell. When using a reference to a ladle this is as per the curry base details ( about 4 tablespoons ). This has had nothing but rave reviews from everybody that I cooked for. Have even distritued the sauce without the chicken in jars for family
Ingredients
5 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 to 3 Chciken Breasts depending on preference, chopped to preferred size
1 medium onion
4 ladles of curry base as per above link to recipe
1 teaspoon curry powder
1 teaspoon chilli powder
juice of 1 large lemon
1 green chilli
1/2 cup pineapple juice
1 heaped tablespoon mango chutney, chopped into smaller pieces
1 cup split red lentils, drained and washed
2 cloves of garlic, crushed
1/2 teaspoon garam masala
1 bunch fresh corriander
Method
1. 3/4 fill a medium size pot with water and bring to boil, add the lentils and crushed garlic. Boil lentils until soft, skim any scum from top of boiling water during cooking. When lentils are soft use a hand blender to blitz into prefered consistency ( I do not like complete mush nor whole lentils so somewhere in between ). Strain the excess water away through a seive and reserve the cooked lentils
2. While the lentils are cooking chop the onion finely. squeeze the lemon juince into a small mixing bowl and add the curry powder and chilli powder and mix.
3. Heat the vegetable oil in a large wok or similar and fry the onion until golden brown ( was advised by the local BIR that the onions need to look like this for ultimate flavour ), not burnt though add the lemon,curry powder and chilli powder mixture to the wok and fry for about 30 seconds.
4. Add the chicken and fry until chicken is sealed on all edges. Add all the base sauce and leave to simmer for 20 minutes.
5. Add the strained lentils, the mango chutney and the pineapple juice, cook for a further 10 minutes making sure to never let the lentils stick to the base of the wok.Add most of the chopped corriander
6. 1 miute before serving stir in the garam masala. Serve with fresh corriander as garnish.
This works everytime for me, look forward to your views on this one, you simply have to try it
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Hi
And welcome, first of many questions, how many does this serve, one bunch of corriander how much is that.
Have you tried it with with pre cooked chicken.
Cheers
Matt
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As mentioned this serves two very well or four adequetely, served with rice.
Bunch of corriander is the amount you find the the pre packed supermarket packets. Although buying fresh from the local indian store or growing your own is better.
Never used pre cooked chicked, always fresh, so not sure on results from there.
I also forgot to mention in the cooking instructions to add the green chilli ( finely chopped ) when adding the onions to the wok. This can be omitted if too hot
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Never used pre cooked chicked, always fresh, so not sure on results from there.
Pre-cooked chicken is fresh.. i think you mean raw, pre-cooking meats in BIR is a well known practice.
Thanks for the recipe. UB.
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UB
Yes i mean raw, have never cooked with pre cooked meat. I have tried the recipe without meat to make a sauce and is nice but not quite there. Only seems to work to perfection when the chicken is cooked sealed in the initial process, cannot get past the fact that the chicken would be very dry if it was already cooked
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Hi daz,
If you try a boiling method of precooking chicken it will come out really tender and juicy, something like this:
http://www.curry-recipes.co.uk/curry/index.php?topic=158.0 (http://www.curry-recipes.co.uk/curry/index.php?topic=158.0)
You can just boil your chicken pieces in some water and turmeric but if the time permits try the fully flavored version.
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CK
Will give this a go. Having done so much research into the Dhansak flavour and getting near perfection ( in my opinion ) this proces of the pre cook chicken seems to of slipped the net, will def be giving it a go on sat for my next Dhansak experience. Will feedback on Sunday
Daz
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Hi,
This was a lucky find whilst I was looking for a Thai Green Curry with Prawns.
I have had Pat Chapman's first book on Restaurant Curries for years and even joined the Curry Club within its first year. I have been a home cook for many years and keep coming back to curries but always find no matter how many cook books I read and how many recipes I follow I never get that Take Away taste I look for. Well your forum enticed me to try again and I am now blown away. Thanks to Dazkimber, Pete and the suggestion on this forum to precook the chicken in salt and Turmeric I have made the best chicken Dansak I have ever made and would say that in my mind it approached what I would perceive as a good Dansak. I have eaten a lot worse in Indian Restaurants I have to say it was almost as good as my favourite local restaurant. I now have thanks to Pete another 6 portions of the curry gravy in the freezer ready for my next attempt. Now If only I had a Tandoor and could get the Nan Breads....sigh
Thanks again for this wonderful site.
Tequilla6
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sorry pressed the wrong button and posted your recipe... senior moment i'm afraid.
going to make your dhansak this Saturday looks really good, what stage do you addwhere the green chilli?
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Made this for the last three nights as part of my quest for perfection - it was OK but not mindblowing in its original form.
Tip
When cooking the lentils dont add salt as this toughens them - after bringing to the boil simmer very gently for ten mins then test them every couple of mins until just soft but still have their shape. Drain immediately then puree and add to dhansak. This will create a better texture.
When cooking the onions add a pinch of methi.
You dont need to pre-cook the chicken with this dish because if you time it right the method will carry out the pre-cooking for you but I think 12-15 minutes from the time the chicken is added is about right. However I do feel that the pre-cooked chicken added at the end and just heated through gives a better result.
When you add the spices add a pinch of asafoetida and 3 curry leaves this will enhance the flavour.
Be careful with the amount of base you use - 4 ladles for me using CT's latest base was too much start with 3 then add pineapple juice - you can always add more base later or some water if it is too thick.
My first effort using the original recipe was too runny and the chicken ended up overcooked as I had to reduce the sauce down to get the consistency.
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How much Lemon juice would you say that a whole Lemon has? I would like to make this using juice from a bottle as opposed to getting a whole lemon.
Also, when you use 'Cup' as a measurement, am I right to assume you are working on the UK measurement of one cup = 285ml/g? (as opposed to the US 236ml per 'cup')
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May have to give this a try and guess on a few things since I just noticed this thread hasn't been posted in since last year! I REALLY want to master this awesome dish since it's one of my faves in the curry house. I'll try it once and pray it works!
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I love dansak too. its not mentioned much on this site mate. most members are only into hardcore curries! i always cook the red lentils in some butter ghee. add around 1 or even 2 tbs lemon juice, and up to 1 tbs sugar depending on how sickly sweet you like it. use 2 chefs spoons of red lentils per dish. the dd spice mix is good for dansak. cook at a high heat . safron base or sns base would be suitable. lime juice can be added with lemon juice. lots of chilly powder. hope this helps
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Great minds are obviously thinking alike here coz I've been doing this over the last few weeks to try and get it right, for me. I'd pretty much go with all that DD says but try using 50/50 mix of split red lentils and washed moong dahl, they both cook in around 25 mins and you get the smoothness of the red lentils with added texture of the moong dahl, loverly. Also try sizzling a tsp of yellow mustard seeds in the ghee/oil before adding the lentils, gives the finished dahl an extra depth of flavour.
Regards
CoR
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Well I'll be using the SnS-2008 base for sure. I have got all the ingredients in this recipe and the Asafoetida and Methi mentioned by currytester, but haven't got Ghee, mustard seeds or Moong Dahl.
I'll have to muddle through this with what I've got but I will report back my findings and hopefully in future attempts I will be able to introduce your further suggestions.
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Hi Robbo, i will be interested to hear how you get on with the recipe posted on this thread. i have been meaning to try it for over a year now!
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gonna try it tomorrow then will report in! ;D
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How much Lemon juice would you say that a whole Lemon has? I would like to make this using juice from a bottle as opposed to getting a whole lemon.
I suggest it's worth using the real thing, i.e. a real lemon. In my opinion, "lemon juice" from a bottle tastes little better than dish water.
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How much Lemon juice would you say that a whole Lemon has? I would like to make this using juice from a bottle as opposed to getting a whole lemon.
I suggest it's worth using the real thing, i.e. a real lemon. In my opinion, "lemon juice" from a bottle tastes little better than dish water.
I wouldn't know about that, having never tasted dish water.
I find that KTC Lemon Dressing is quick, convenient and more than acceptable and I have seen it used in several BIR kitchens,
Bob
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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?
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;D yes, that's quite funny! lol ;D
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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,
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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.
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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.)
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I prefer Lamb Dhansak to Chicken. Would you say this recipe would work well with lamb?
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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
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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?
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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?
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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!!!
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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!
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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
I guess that a glowing review would be OK, even if you had carried out significant modifications to the recipe. But your feedback starts off as above, making out it's 'not bad' and not as good as your local BIR. The use of a radically different base is mentioned in passing and some people may not realise what a radical departure this is, which is why I made my previous comment.
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I guess that a glowing review would be OK, even if you had carried out significant modifications to the recipe. But your feedback starts off as above, making out it's 'not bad' and not as good as your local BIR. The use of a radically different base is mentioned in passing and some people may not realise what a radical departure this is, which is why I made my previous comment.
Well I clearly stated the changes I made (including the base... hardly a comment 'made in passing') and I've even stated what I find bad about this recipe. Sticking to the original recipe ISN'T going to change the fact I detest the overpowering pineapple juice and excessive use of lentils (which both make this NOTHING like the Dhansaks I have had at my local BIR) but it wasn't all the bad and I do intend to give it another go replacing the pineapple and reducing the lentils... then will report back my findings. If you don't like my opinions, then please feel free to ignore my posts on the matter, as I'm sure any other reader will do if they feel the same as you. ::)
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This is getting interesting. Regarding the regional differences, I've never had a southern curry (if the beer's anything to go by I don't think I'm missing much;D), but all the dansaks I've had have been on the yellow side of the curry spectrum, varying from nuclear sunburst yellow to orange/ochre depending on the amount of turmeric/colouring used. I've always assumed this reflected the fact that the dish features lemon/pineapple and split red lentils which cook out to a yellowy colour but obviously some places make it reddish so there you go.
The amount of lentils in the OP looks excessive, try about 3/4oz (100/125g) or about half a cup, should be enough for two generous portions. Red lentils should cook in roughly 3 times their own volume of water in about 25 mins, there shouldn't be any need to drain and blend them they should be cooked to a sort of thin pur?e (if only cooked for 10 mins they are underdone and like all undercooked pulses can give rise to uncontrollable and potentially embarrassing flatulence :o).
Hope this helps
Regards
CoR
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I've never had a southern curry (if the beer's anything to go by I don't think I'm missing much;D),
***** you went there! I cant even begin to reply to that. That's just such a naughty comment!
Back to the thread...
When i cook chicken breast chunks in a sauce they take about 5 minutes to cook. 30 mins seems crazy! How come they dont overcook?
As for using bottled lemon, Achmal, the door's over there. Show yourself out.
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As for using bottled lemon, Achmal, the door's over there. Show yourself out.
It's what they use in the BIRs though. Well actually they use lemon dressing but it's almost the same thing.
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As for using bottled lemon, Achmal, the door's over there. Show yourself out.
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I find that KTC Lemon Dressing is quick, convenient and more than acceptable and I have seen it used in several BIR kitchens,
Bob
I'm a little surprised at you Nic (chinois),
Read above for what I actually said ,
The use of lemon dressing has been confirmed by parker21 and Secret Santa
Thanks
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Lemon Dressing was on show in The Ashoka kitchen though I don't remember it being used. PP
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Yes i've seen the bottled lemon/dressing being added to madras, pathia and dansak.
I suppose if it's used by places we're trying to replicate i shouldnt be so dismissive, fair point.
I'm a lemon purest, it's my favourite ingredient and it makes me sad when people dont bother to buy the real fruit when it's so easily available :-(
I find it hard not to come to these conclusions when people are wondering why their curries dont taste 100% and i see some people (not everyone) are using such crazy ideas as frozen garlic, bottled ginger, frozen coriander, bottled lemon, frozen base etc. The more of these shortcuts are made, the worse the dish will taste, is the conclusion i cant help but draw.
BIR meat cooking is a good example of bad practice/laziness. The taste of the curry lies in the sauce (which is vegetarian) and cubes of cooked boneless chicken or lamb are added near the end of the whole process. A practical decision but hardly one that optimizes flavour or texture. BIRs ruin lamb so often i dont bother ordering it any more. The chicken's sometimes overcooked too. The meat for tikka main courses is routinely precooked and is noticeably worse than when cooked to order.
It's like a vegetarian offering to cook meat for you: thanks but no thanks. I can do it myself.
BIRs leave precooked chicken at room temperature for hours, overcook lamb, buy low quality ingredients and sometimes overcrowd the pan when cooking multiple portions of one dish. I know we think we should be able to replicate their dishes using the same ingredients & techniques if we're skilled enough at cooking, i just think we shouldnt necessarily think that copying their bad practices with improve our dishes. I guess it's hard to decipher/agree on which ones they are.
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i see some people (not everyone) are using such crazy ideas as frozen garlic, bottled ginger, frozen coriander, bottled lemon, frozen base etc. The more of these shortcuts are made, the worse the dish will taste, is the conclusion i cant help but draw
You make some good points Chinois, but not always ones I agree with.
Firstly, many of us are simply aiming to reproduce BIR curries. We therefore would be well advised to try and replicate the way that they do it, as far as possible. This may or may not produce the BEST curries, but it is the way that BIRs do it! And BIRs use lemon juice/dressing and some undoubtedly use bottled ginger, garlic and curry pastes.
Secondly, you assert that fresh ingredients are superior. Frankly, I can't tell the difference between fresh garlic and frozen garlic, fresh ginger and frozen ginger, fresh tomato paste and frozen tomato paste, etc. Yes, frozen coriander is inferior to fresh. Yes, frozen base is not how BIRs do it (so, arguably, neither should we). However, at the end of the day, it comes down to practicalities (as it does for BIRs). To my mind, from my experience, using the abovementioned frozen ingredients (properly frozen and stored) does not detract from the final curry one iota.
Obviously, I have used both fresh and frozen and have not discerned any difference. If I did, I, for one, would surely not advocate using frozen! I don't believe these things are particularly relevant in reproducing the BIR taste and smell :P
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Chinois, thanks for your detail and ideally I would want to cook everything from scratch but have to agree with CA that although it isn't totally BIR authentic frozen bases etc even frozen green chili paste doesn't seriously make a difference for me. I cant imagine making small enough versions of base so as to be able to use it constantly fresh, but if you have perhaps you could share it with us. Apologies if you allready have done, there is such a wealth of material on the site I can easily be sucked in and not get round to other important things so I haven't looked yet. PP