Dhansaak!!!

I must've been in my early teens when we visited Pune with some relatives. I still hadn't been weaned off rolled chapatis with jam, a boiled egg and a banana for dinner. Believe it or not I hated food and to get me to eat was a big ordeal for my poor mother. One afternoon my Uncle suggested a Parsi lunch at Dorabjee, a Parsee eatery which was pretty well known then for its Dhansaak.
My dormant taste buds hadn't quite awakened then and my first experience at eating Dhansaak was a very forgettable one.

By the time I was fifteen I'd discovered a love for food and had begun to indulge in many a gastronomic adventure. As I grew older I was even open to culinary experiments and often found myself in the kitchen.

It was only years later in Mumbai that I started frequenting the many Parsee Restaurants in the Fort area (Jimmy Boy, Cafe Britannia, Mocambo, etc.) and learnt to appreciate a hot meal of brown rice with mutton dhansaak.

Last week, suddenly, I found myself craving for the Parsee delicacy. Living in Eindhoven, what I miss most about Mumbai, barring the people, is the food. Six months ago such a craving would have me hop onto a train or drive to Fort or even pester Kalpana(our cook) into making some at home. Kalpana, who has probably never eaten in a fancy restaurant, let alone a Parsee one, can make pretty good Dhansaak at home. She learnt to make it at another Maharashtrian home in our vicinity where she worked for a few years.
This time I had no alternative but to try my hand at cooking it myself.
Fortunately my spice rack was equipped with some Dhansaak Masala from a recent trip to India. (Badshah and Mangal both make pretty good Dhansaak Masala.)

So with a little help from the recommended recipe on the Mangal Masala packet, Sanjeev Kapoor's website and Kalpana, I successfully made my first Dhansaak!
This recipe is definitely tried and tested(or tasted) and definitely worth the 3 long hours in the kitchen.

So here it is:

Lamb Dhansaak

Ingredients:

250 gms boneless lamb( you can also use mutton or chicken)
1/2 cup tur dal
1/2 cup masoor dal
Oil (2 tbs spn)*
Onions Chopped (2 large)
Ginger-garlic paste(1 tbs spn)
Black Peppercorns (10)
Split green chillies (2)
Turmeric Powder (1/2 tsp)
Red Chilli Powder (1 tsp)
Tomatoes ( 2 large, chopped)
Potato (1 large, cubed)
Small Brinjals (4, cubed)
Red Pumpkin (150 gms, cubed)
Methi leaves (a handful, chopped)*
Mint Leaves ( 12, chopped)
Dhansaak Masala (3 tbs spn)
Tamarind Pulp ( 1 tbs spn)
Salt (to taste)
Coriander leaves (chopped finely)

*[You can use ghee instead of oil. I usually use olive oil for cooking]
*[Kalpana sometimes substitutes methi with palak leaves]

Method:

Wash and soak the dals in water for half an hour.
Heat the oil in a pressure cooker/pressure pan and sauté the onions until they're golden brown. Add the ginger-garlic paste and sauté for another 2-3 minutes. Toss in the green chillies and sauté for a minute.
 Add the lamb pieces and continue to sauté until the lamb is slightly browned. Now, add the peppercorns, turmeric and red chilli powder. Add 3 cups of water and then add the dals, pumpkin, potato and brinjals and bring the mixture to a boil and cook for another five minutes. Now, add the methi leaves, mint and tomatoes and cover the pressure cooker and cook (6 whistles and then simmer for ten mins).
After the pressure has eased, open the pressure cooked and remove the pieces of lamb from the mixture. Add the Dhansaak masala, tamarind pulp and salt to taste to the mixture and bring to a boil. Allow it to cool slightly and then blend the mixture to a pulp.
Transfer the mutton and the pulp to a pan and bring to a boil. Garnish with corriander. Serve hot with brown rice.



Parsee Brown Rice


Ingredients:

Uncooked Basmati Rice (1 1/2 cups)
Onions (Sliced, 2 large)
Cinnamon ( 2 inch stick)
Cloves (8-10)
Oil ( 2 tbs spns)
Sugar (3 tbs spns)
Salt (to taste)

Wash and soak the rice for 30 mins. Heat oil in a non-stick pan and sauté the onions till brown. While you sauté the onions in another pan caramelize the sugar by cooking it on medium heat with a tablespoon of water until it turns brown while stirring continuously. Once the sugar caramelizes add 4 cups of water to it and keep aside.
Add the cloves and cinnamon to the onions and fry them for 2-3 minutes. Now, add the drained rice and sauté it for another 2-3 minutes or until the water dries. Now add the caramel liquid and salt to taste and continue to cook on low heat until the rice is ready.