Dhansak: Ingredients like sambhar, but not the sequence

10 July 2015

A sketchy summary, just to remind me that it ain’t as complicated as it seems.

Basic steps:

1. Pressure cook Dal mix + Veggies mix + masala; mash it all up
2. Saute in ghee whole garam masala, onions until brown; add wet masala mix; bhuno, add tomatoes etc mixture; bhuno
3. Add cooked mashed dal + veggies and simmer together
4. Add tamarind and jaggery and simmer

Simple! and you see why it’s like sambhar in ingredients but not sequence?

And now for some details, where the devil dwells:

Step 1

• Dal mix – tur, chana, masur, mung, urad all equal quantity, but just a bit more of the tur. (I pre-soaked the dals, though the recipe didn’t say so)
• Veggies mix: pumpkin about 50 g; 2/3 brinjals (though I think I should have used one large bhartaa variety); spring onions; methi leaves about 1/4 bunch
• Cook all together in pressure cooker, for about 5 min after steam builds up.
• After opening cooker, mash up the whole mix. (I used a potato masher/ricer)

Step 2

• Ghee with chopped onions, cinnamon, cloves, cardamom, star anise (I only added half a star anise–figured there was enough of the other stuff in the dhansak masala).
• Make paste of ginger-garlic paste, dhansak masala*, coriander, cumin, chili, turmeric powder
• Finely chopped tomatoes, coriander, mint, curry leaves, methi leaves
• Bhuno

Step 3

Step 4

*I made it, way too much of it.