Chicken Dhansak is a popular Parsi curry, where chicken is cooked with lentils, spices, and vegetables to make a rich, flavorful sauce. Make this restaurant-style dish at home with this easy recipe. Best enjoyed with naan or steamed rice.
I’ve shared my tried and tested chicken dhansak recipe with easy steps anyone can follow. If you love curries, save this one. It’s a weekend favorite in my home.
You might also enjoy other classic Indian curries like Chicken Pathia, Chicken Jalfrezi, Chicken Dopiaza, and Chicken Madras.
What is Dhansak?
Dhansak is a famous Indian curry from Parsi cuisine. The Parsi community brought it to Gujarat after leaving Persia, and over time, it became one of the most loved Indian dishes.
Dhansak is made by cooking meat, especially mutton (goat meat) or lamb meat, with a mixture of lentils and vegetables. This is a wholesome meal perfect for weekends.
Traditionally, Dhansak is prepared on the 4th day after a death to mark the end of mourning, as meat is not eaten during the first three days. For this reason, it is never served at weddings or birthdays.
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Quick Look: Chicken Dhansak Recipe
⏱️ Prep Time: 10 minutes
🍳 Cook Time: 35 minutes
🕒 Total Time: 45 minutes
👥 Servings: 6
📊 Calories: ~318 kcal per serving (approx.)
🔥 Cooking Method: Cook lentils + veggies → mash → sauté onion → add spice mix + chicken → cook → add mashed dal & veggies → simmer
🌶️ Spice Level: Medium
👩🍳 Flavor Profile: Mildly spicy and slightly sweet with a tangy touch
⭐ Difficulty: Easy to Medium, perfect for a weekend family meal
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Disclaimer: AI summaries may contain errors. Please check the original Chicken Dhansak recipe for accurate steps.
Why You’ll Love Dhansak
- Family-friendly: Mild flavors make it a curry everyone can enjoy, even kids.
- Filling and comforting: A complete meal with meat, lentils, and veggies.
- Nutritious and easy: Packed with protein and simple to cook at home.
Ingredients and Substitutions
The best thing about this easy chicken dhansak recipe is that you can fine-tune it to your family's liking, like this chicken balti or chicken tikka masala. This family-friendly dinner is ready within an hour.
Dhansak Masala
👉 See the recipe card at the end of the post for full ingredients, quantities, and a printable version.
This Parsi chicken dhansak is incomplete without dhansak masala, a spice blend similar to garam masala but milder and sweeter. While garam masala can be used as a substitute, it won’t deliver the same authentic flavor. For this recipe, I’ve shared my homemade dhansak masala. It's easy to make and requires fewer spices.
Chicken Dhansak Ingredients
👉 You’ll find the complete ingredients, quantities, and a printer-friendly recipe card at the end of this post.
- Chicken: I used boneless, skinless chicken breasts for this chicken dhansak recipe. Thighs work just as well, and you can even use bone-in chicken for extra flavor. Substitute chicken with lamb for lamb dhansak.
- Lentils: Dhansak is all about the lentils. I used a mix of moong dal (split green gram), toor dal (pigeon peas), and masoor dal (red lentils). Don’t worry if you don’t have all three; other options like urad dal, whole green moong, or chana dal (split chickpeas) also work.
- Vegetables: Pumpkin, brinjal (aubergine), and fenugreek leaves are my go-tos. If you can’t find fresh fenugreek, just swap in kasuri methi (dried fenugreek leaves). Potatoes or squash also make great additions.
- Tomatoes: Fresh tomatoes give body and tang, but canned, passata, or even tomato paste are easy substitutes, like we used in Dishoom’s chicken ruby.
- Flavoring: Turmeric, salt, Kashmiri red chili powder (for color, not heat), and regular red chili powder (for spice). No Kashmiri chili? Use paprika or cayenne instead, adjusting the heat to your liking.
- Tamarind Paste: Adds that signature tangy-sweet note. Lemon juice works if tamarind isn’t handy.
- Ghee: For richness and aroma. You can use butter or oil, but ghee gives the best flavor.
- Oil: I used sunflower oil. Any neutral, high-smoke-point oil will do.
How to make Chicken Dhansak
Step 1: Soak the lentils. Rinse moong dal, toor dal, and masoor dal 2-3 times. Soak in water for 1 hour, then drain.
Step 2: Cook the lentils & veggies. In a pressure cooker, add the soaked lentils, onions, pumpkin, brinjal, tomatoes, coriander leaves, fenugreek leaves, mint leaves, turmeric, and salt. Add 3.5 cups of water. Cook for 4-5 whistles.
Step 3: Mash the dal. Once pressure is released, mash with a ladle for texture, or blend smooth with a hand blender.
Tip: No pressure cooker? No problem. Just use a deep pan with a lid and cook the lentils until they’re nice and soft.
Step 4: Make Dhansak masala. Dry roast coriander seeds, cumin, black pepper, star anise, cardamom, cloves, cinnamon, and bay leaf on low heat until fragrant. Cool, then grind with a small piece of nutmeg into fine powder. (Skip if using store-bought masala.)
Tip: Transfer your Dhansak masala to an airtight container in the fridge, and it will stay fresh for up to 6 months, ready whenever you want to make this parsi curry.
Step 5: Sauté the onions. Heat 2 tablespoon of ghee and 1 tablespoon of oil in a heavy pot. Add onions and sauté until soft and translucent.
Step 6: Add ginger-garlic paste and cook for 2 minutes, until the raw smell disappears.
Step 7: Cook the spices. Add Kashmiri chili powder, hot chili powder, and 3 teaspoon of homemade dhansak masala (or 2 teaspoon store-bought). Sauté for 30 seconds. Add 2-3 tablespoon of water and cook until the oil separates. Repeat this process (adding water) and cook for 3-4 minutes for a rich masala base.
Tip: Cooking the masala properly is the key to the best chicken dhansak. Cook it, stirring continuously until the oil separates from the spices. This brings out a rich, smoky flavor, just like in restaurant-style Dhansak.
Step 8: Add the chicken and salt. Sauté until the chicken turns white on the outside. Cover and cook on medium-low heat until the chicken is cooked. Stir it in between as required.
Step 9: Add lentils & tamarind. Stir in the mashed dal, ¼ cup water or chicken stock/broth, and tamarind pulp. Cover and cook on low for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the curry comes to a boil.
Step 10: Finish & serve. Check seasoning and adjust salt or spice. Thin with water if needed. Garnish with fresh coriander. Serve chicken dhansak hot with steamed rice, naan, and a lemon wedge.
Recipe FAQs
Dhansak is a mild, sweet, and tangy chicken curry, flavored with aromatic spices. You can easily adjust the heat by adding more chili powder for spice or skipping it for a milder curry that your whole family will love.
Traditionally dhansak is served with Parsi caramelized basmati rice and Kachumber (Parsi salad). You can also enjoy it with naan, roti, paratha, steamed rice, or a simple salad.
Recipe Card
Chicken Dhansak Recipe
Equipment
- 1 Heavy bottom pan or skillet
- 1 Deep bottom pot
Ingredients
For Dhansak Dal
- ¼ cup moong dal split green gram
- ¼ cup toor dal yellow split pigeon peas
- ¼ cup masoor dal red lentils
- ½ cup onions
- ¾ cup Pumpkin
- ½ cup Brinjal Aubergine
- 1 cup tomatoes
- ½ cup coriander leaves
- ½ cup fenugreek leaves
- ¼ cup mint leaves
- ½ teaspoon turmeric powder
- salt to taste
For Dhansak Masala
- 1.5 tablespoon coriander seeds
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 1 teaspoon black peppercorns
- ½ star anise
- 4 green cardamoms
- 6 cloves
- 1- inch cinnamon
- 1 bay leaf
- a small piece of nutmeg
For Chicken Dhansak Curry
- 1 cup onions finely chopped
- 2 tablespoon ginger-garlic paste.
- 2 teaspoon Kashmiri red chili powder add as per taste
- 1 teaspoon spicy red chili powder add as per taste
- 3 teaspoon prepared dhansak masala if using store bought add 2 teaspoon masala
- 600 g boneless skinless chicken breasts cut into cubes
- salt to taste
- 1 tablespoon tamarind paste (or tamarind pulp) substitute 2 teaspoon lemon juice
- coriander leaves
Instructions
Cook Dhansak Dal
- Rinse the dals (moong, toor, masoor) 2–3 times and soak in water for 1 hour. Drain.
- In a pressure cooker, add the soaked dals, chopped onions, pumpkin, brinjal (aubergine), tomatoes, coriander, fenugreek, and mint leaves. Sprinkle in turmeric and salt. Mix well.
- Add 3.5 cups of water. Close the lid. Cook on medium heat for 4-5 whistles. Remove from heat.
- Once the pressure is released, mash the dal with the back of the ladle. Or grind it to a fine paste using hand blender.
- If you don’t have a pressure cooker, use a deep-bottom pan with a lid. Cook the lentils on medium heat, stirring occasionally, until they are soft and fully cooked.
Prepare Dhansak Masala
- In a heavy-bottomed pan, dry roast coriander seeds, cumin, black peppercorns, star anise, green cardamoms, cloves, cinnamon, and bay leaf on medium-low heat until fragrant. Stir continuously to avoid burning.
- Transfer to a plate and let it cool to room temperature.
- Transfer the spices to a mixer or spice grinder. Add a small piece of nutmeg. Grind everything into a fine powder. Your homemade Dhansak masala is ready.
Cooking Chicken Dhansak
- Heat 2 tablespoon of ghee and 1 tablespoon of oil in a pot over medium heat.
- Add onions and sauté until onions are transparent.
- Add ginger-garlic paste and sauté for 2 minutes or until raw smell from ginger and garlic leaves.
- Add Kashmiri red chili powder, spicy red chili powder, and 3 teaspoon homemade Dhansak masala (or 2 teaspoon if using store-bought). Sauté on medium-low heat for 30 seconds.
- Add 2-3 tablespoon of water and combine. Cook the masala until it starts to release oil from the sides. Addition of water prevents the masala from burning. Repeat the process and cook for 3-4 minutes or until the masala starts to release oil from the sides.
- Add chicken and salt. Sauté until the color of chicken turns from pink to white. Cover and cook on medium-low heat until fully cooked, stirring occasionally.
- Add ¼ cup of water, mashed dal and tamarind pulp. Stir to combine. Cover and cook on low heat for 10 minutes. Stir it in between as required.
- Taste the gravy and adjust the salt and spices as per taste. You can add water to adjust the consistency of the curry to your liking.
- Garnish with coriander leaves. Serve chicken dhansak with Naan or Steamed rice, and a lemon wedge.
Video
Notes
- Dry roast whole spices on low-medium heat, stirring often to avoid burning.
- Stir cooked dal regularly, it can stick to the pan.
- No pressure cooker? Cook dal in water until soft in a pan/pot. Soak lentils for 2 hours or overnight to reduce cooking time.
- With a pressure cooker, soaking is optional, lentils cooks quickly. Still I prefer to soak them for at least an hour.
- No hand blender? Let dal cool, then grind in small batches in a mixer/grinder without water.
- Curry thickens over time. Add water to adjust consistency before serving.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Preeti
I’ve made this chicken dhansak recipe many times, and each time I’m amazed at how comforting and flavorful it turns out. The mix of tender chicken, lentils, and spices creates such a warm, satisfying dish that you’ll love every bite.