Chicken Dhansak Recipe

What is Dhansak

Dhansak is one of the most popular Indian dishes originating from Parsi cuisine. It originated from the Parsi community who landed in Gujarat, an Indian state, after fleeing the Arab invasion of Persia.

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. You can serve it with Naan or rice.

Generally, dhansak is cooked to show the end of a mourning period. It is traditionally served on the 4th day following the death of a loved one. This is because no meat should be eaten during the first 3 days of mourning. That is why you will not find dhansak at weddings or birthdays.

Dhansak Masala

Parsi chicken dhansak is incomplete without Dhansak Masala. "Dhansak masala," is similar to "garam masala", is the spice blend used to flavor the dhansak curry.

In contrast to "garam masala," which employs more pungent spices, "dhansak masala" uses more aromatic and sweet spices. You can use garam masala but the flavors will not be the same.

Dhansak masala is available in grocery stores or you can purchase it online too. I have shared a homemade dhansak masala recipe in this post.

The best thing about this easy chicken dhansak recipe is that you can fine-tune it to your family's liking. This family-friendly dinner is ready within an hour.

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Scroll down the recipe card for step by step instructions with photos.

Recipe Card

How to make Chicken Dhansak - Step by Step Process

Step1: Cook Dhansak Dal

• Rinse the dal 2-3 times and soak it in water for an hour. Drain off the water. In a pressure cooker, add moong dal (split green gram), toor dal (yellow split pigeon peas), masoor dal (red lentils), onions, pumpkin, brinjal (Auborgine), tomatoes, coriander leaves, fenugreek leaves, mint leaves, turmeric powder and salt.
• Add 3.5 cups of water. Close the lid. Cover and 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 (if you like a bit of texture in the curry). Or grind it to a fine paste using a hand blender.
• If you do not have a pressure cooker, you can cook it in a deep-bottom pan with a lid and cook until the lentils are cooked.

  

Step 2: Prepare Dhansak Masala

• If you have store-bought Dhansak masala, skip this step.
• In a heavy bottom pan or skillet, dry roast coriander seeds, cumin, black peppercorns, star anise, green cardamoms, cloves, cinnamon, and bay leaf on medium-low heat until aromatic. Transfer it to a plate to cool it down to room temperature. Stir continuously to prevent burning.
• Transfer it to a mixer or spice grinder. Add a small piece of nutmeg. Grind it to a fine powder. Homemade dhansak masala is ready.

  

Step 3: Make 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 of prepared dhansak masala. If using store-bought masala use only 2 teaspoon of it. Saute 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. The 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 the chicken turns from pink to white.
• Cover and cook on medium-low heat until the chicken is cooked. Stir it in between as required.
• Add ¼ cup of water or chicken stock, mashed dal, and tamarind pulp. Stir to combine. Cover and cook on low heat for 10 minutes or until it comes to a boil. 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 gravy to your liking.
• Garnish with fresh coriander leaves. Serve with Naan or Steamed rice, and a lemon wedge.

  

Is Chicken Dhansak spicy?

No, it is not a spicy dish. The spices that are used to flavor the sauce are mild and aromatic. It is a mildly spicy, sweet, and sour curry.
However, you can always customize the flavors as per your family's liking and preference. If you want to make it spicy, increase the quantity of spicy chili powder, and if you do not like spicy skip the addition of chili powder.

Recipe Tips & Notes

• If you are making Dhansak masala at home, dry roast the whole spices on low to medium heat. Make sure to stir them often, so they get roasted evenly and to avoid burning the spices.
• Once you add cooked dal (lentils) to the Dhansak curry, stir it at regular intervals. Cooked dal (lentils) sticks to the bottom of the pan if left unattended.
• If you do not have a pressure cooker, cook the lentils with enough water in a pan until the lentils start to break down. Lentils add creaminess to the curry. It is better to soak the lentils in water for at least 2 hours or overnight to reduce the cooking time if you are cooking the lentils in the pan.
• If you have a pressure cooker, you can skip soaking the dal before cooking it. Or just soak it for an hour. The lentil combination that I used in this recipe gets cooked quickly.
• If you do not have a hand blender, let the cooked dal cool down to room temperature. Transfer them in small batches in a mixer/grinder. Grind to a fine paste (Do not add water).
• Chicken Dhansak thickens after some time. Add some water to adjust the consistency of the curry, combine, reheat, and serve.

What to serve with Chicken Dhansak?

• Chicken Dhansak is usually served with Parsi caramelized rice and Kachumber (Parsi salad). Caramelized rice is made with basmati rice cooked with a mixture of spices and caramelized onion.
• You can also serve it with Naan, Roti, Paratha, steamed rice, and salad.

Storage & reheating the leftovers

• If you are planning to store the leftover chicken dhansak, store them within 2 hours of cooking.
• Let the dhansak curry cool down to room temperature. Transfer it to an airtight container and refrigerate. Stays good for 2 days. Label the container with the date of preparation.
• Sprinkle some water over it and combine. Reheat it on the stovetop or microwave until piping hot. Stir it as required to prevent the curry from sticking to the pan.
• You can freeze the curry. Stays good for a month. Thaw it overnight in the refrigerator. Reheat and consume.
• Before reheating the curry check for any signs of spoilage like dark spots, bad taste, or foul smell. If there are any such signs discard the curry immediately.
• Do not refreeze the curry once reheated.

Ingredients and Substitutions

• Chicken - I have used boneless skinless chicken breasts. You can also use boneless chicken thighs or bone-in chicken for this recipe.
• Lentils - I have used a combination of 3 lentils - Moong dal (split green gram), Toor dal (yellow split pigeon peas), and Masoor dal (red lentils). You can use any other lentils like Urad dal (Black gram dal), Moong (Green lentils), or Chana dal (Split chickpeas).
• Vegetables - I have used Pumpkin, Fenugreek Leaves, and Brinjal (Aubergine). You can use any other vegetables like potatoes, squash, etc. If you do not have fresh fenugreek leaves substitute them with dried fenugreek leaves (also known as Kasuri Methi)
• Coriander Leaves, and Mint Leaves - They add beautiful flavor to the curry. Do not skip adding them.
• Onions, Ginger, and Garlic - Basics of any Indian curry. I have used red onions. You can substitute it with yellow onions. If you do not have fresh ginger and garlic substitute with store-bought ginger-garlic paste.
• Tomatoes - I have used fresh tomatoes for this recipe. You can substitute it with canned tomatoes, passata, or tomato paste.
• Flavoring - Turmeric powder, salt, Kashmiri red chilli powder, and spicy red chili powder. Kashmiri red chili powder is not spicy and gives color to the curry, and spicy red chili powder makes the curry spicy. You can substitute both the chili powders with Paprika or Cayenne pepper but add them as per your taste.
• Dhansak Masala - I have used homemade dhansak masala. The ingredients and recipe are shared in this post.
• Tamarind Paste - Tamarind adds a tangy sweet taste to the curry. Substitute it with lemon juice.
• Ghee - Gives richness to the curry. You can substitute it with butter or any cooking oil.
• Oil - I used sunflower oil. You can use any cooking oil with a neutral flavor and high smoke point.

Variations that you can try

• Add pineapple chunks and juice to chicken dhansak - Skip the addition of tamarind pulp and add pineapple chunks and juice. It will add sweet and sour flavor to the curry.
• Make it vegetarian - Skip the addition of chicken from this recipe to make vegetable dhansak.
• Lamb Dhansak - Substitute chicken with lamb.

More Curry Recipes

• Chicken Pathia
• Chicken Madras
• Chicken Balti
• Chicken Chasni
• Dishoom’s Chicken Ruby
• Chicken Tikka Masala
• Kolhapuri Chicken
• Chicken Jalfrezi