This recipe is for the UK restaurant take on Dhansak, a popular curry house choice for years. It’s basically a spicy hot, slightly sweet and sour dish cooked with lentils to create a thick, unctuous sauce. While this recipe uses lamb, beef and chicken also work extremely well – if you’re using chicken, remember to reduce the cooking time. Dhansak is often made with pineapple, which gives you the sweet and sour elements in one fell swoop, but if you’re not a fan of the fruit you can leave it out and substitute a good sprinkle of jaggery (Indian sugar) and a teaspoon of tamarind concentrate. We use our new Dhansak blend to make the curry, so you don’t need to worry about assembling a dozen spices, but in addition to the blend a teaspoon of Garam Masala is essential just to balance the curry. This great curry for Wintertime is warming and filling, and best served with your favourite Indian bread (we particularly like a nice Naan with this!) and a veggie side dish.

Prep Time: 10 minutes Cook Time: 90 minutes

01.

Ingredients

500g Lamb Neck Fillet, diced
1 large onion, finely chopped
1tbs garlic/ginger paste
4 tomatoes, finely chopped
6 green finger chillies, finely chopped
2-3 tbs red lentils
3-4tsp Dhansak curry blend
1tsp Garam Masala
1 small can pineapple chunks in natural juice
1tbs tomato puree
Ghee/Sunflower Oil

02.

Method

First fry the onion, garlic/ginger paste, tomato and chilli in ghee or sunflower oil for 15-20mins, and then add the Dhansak blend, tomato puree and lentils. Continue frying until a spicy aroma is coming from the pan (a few minutes), then add the lamb and stir until it is well coated with the spice paste. Now add the pineapple (with the juice) if using, and then some water – bear in mind the lentils will take on a lot of the water, so keep an eye on the dish and add a little more if necessary. The sauce needs to be thick, but still nice and liquid. Let your Dhansak bubble away on a low heat for an hour, then add the Garam Masala and give it a good stir. Another half hour of simmering, and your Dhansak is ready to enjoy!