Parsi Chicken Dhansak

Ingredients

• 900g bone-in chicken curry pieces
• 2 tbsp ginger-garlic paste
• 1/2 cup toor dal
• 1/4 cup masoor dal
• 1/4 cup chana dal
• 1 small pumpkin (about 200g), peeled and cubed
• 1 small eggplant, cubed
• 1 potato, cubed
• 1 cup chopped fenugreek (methi) leaves
• 2 tomatoes, chopped
• 1 large onion, sliced
• 2 green chilies, slit
• 3 tbsp dhansak masala
• 2 tbsp tamarind pulp
• 2 tbsp jaggery
• 3 tbsp oil or ghee
• juice of 1/2 lemon
• salt, to taste
• caramelized basmati rice and kachumber salad, to serve

Before you cook

• Marinate the chicken with 1 tbsp of the ginger-garlic paste and a pinch of salt for at least 30 minutes.
• Rinse the toor, masoor, and chana dal together in a sieve.

Steps

1. Combine the rinsed dal, pumpkin, eggplant, potato, fenugreek leaves, one chopped tomato, and green chilies in a pot with 4 cups water.
2. Bring to a boil, then simmer for 30 minutes until the lentils and vegetables have completely broken down.
3. Blend or mash the lentil-vegetable mixture until smooth, keeping some stock aside to loosen it later.
4. Heat the oil in a separate pot and fry the onion over medium heat for 10 minutes until deep golden.
5. Add the remaining ginger-garlic paste and dhansak masala and cook for 2 minutes until fragrant.
6. Add the marinated chicken and sear on all sides for 5 minutes.
7. Stir in the remaining chopped tomato and cook for 3 minutes.
8. Pour in the blended lentil-vegetable puree and stir to combine.
9. Simmer for 25 minutes until the chicken is cooked through, thinning with hot water if the mixture is too thick.
10. Stir in the tamarind pulp and jaggery, then taste and adjust the sweet-sour-spicy balance.
11. Finish with the lemon juice and serve over caramelized rice with kachumber salad.