Dhansak

Now a nostalgic probasi Calcuttan, the Parsees for me have always been a symbol of an age when Calcutta was still very much a boxwallah 'brown sahib' sort of city. Calcuttans of a certain type, never spoke Hindi, always ate using heavy silver cutlery and were educated at schools and colleges that just happened to be a stone's throw away from each on grand old Park Street in the days when Flury's was still spelt with an apostrophe s.

Everything about the Parsee community is old world. The old-fashioned clothes of the middle-aged aunties and white vests of the old uncles; their quaint manner of speaking; their hairstyles and their homes and of course the way they keep referring to 'the good old days'.

On any trip back home one of my 'must-take-back items' is invariably a small packet of Mini Engineer's sister-in-law's dhansak masala powder. Dhansak is the best known Parsee dish in India. This wholesome, very filling meal in itself is basically a big dish of lentils, lamb and vegetables cooked with a blend of spices that isn't very different from the sambhar spice blend.

Most Parsee families used to eat dhansak as standard Sunday lunch. These days as the Parsee community continues to decline sharply due to small families and a religion (Parsees are Zorastrians, originally from Persia) that does not allow new converts, the hearty dhansak Sunday lunch is unfortunately becoming a thing of the past. We may not be Parsees, but we can enjoy the recipe, so here goes...


The Recipe

Just a note: This IS a tedious dish to prepare, but if you are patient you will be well rewarded!


1/2 kg lamb cubed
2 medium white onions sliced fine

Make the following into a smooth paste in a spice grinder:
6 garlic cloves
half inch piece of fresh ginger
8 dry red chillies
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp coriander seeds
cinnamon
2 cardamoms
4 peppercorns

Other Ingredients:
1 tsp tumeric powder
1/3 cup toovar dhal (an Indian lentil called Pigeon Peas in some indian grocery stores)
1/3 cup moong dhal
1/3 cup masoor dhal (all these lentils are easily available from an indian grocery supplier)

1 aubergine quartered
4 pieces of red pumpkin (squash)
2 tomatoes chopped
a handful of spinach

the juice of 1 tablespoon tamarind pulp soaked in hot water and then strained
salt to taste
vegetable oil


Fry onions till brown. Add the ground spice paste and the coriander-cumin powders.
Add tomatoes, cook 5 minutes.
Add the dhals, spinach, aubergine, pumpkin and mix well. Add the lamb.
Add 6 cups of water and salt. Bring to the boil. Simmer till the lamb and lentils are cooked.

Add tamarind juice to lamb and lentil mixture. Cook another 10 minutes, add a little water if it has become too thick.

Sprinkle one onion diced fine and fried crisp brown with a few chopped coriander leaves before serving.