Dhansak: Parsi Dal and Vegetable Medley

Dhansak – in which legumes, vegetables and aromatic spices come together in a celebration of Persian and Gujarati flavors. The name tells us as much: “dhansak” comes from dhan (Persian for “seed” – legumes) and sak (Gujarati “shaak” – vegetables).

This recipe is a meatless take on the dhansak template, with plenty of vegetables and a freshly prepared dhansak masala.

Before I made my own, I had only had dhansak in Parsi restaurants. The dish was consistently delicious (standouts: Soda Bottle Openerwala and the now-closed Daddy’s Deli Bangalore) – but no two offerings tasted alike. So in my first attempt at preparing dhansak, I searched earnestly for a solid recipe. Youtube videos, blogs, old books. The challenge compounded. I found as many variations as the number of recipes. There were pretty wide differences in

With a few trials and adaptations, based partially on what I usually have in stock (sorry, patthar ke phool), I have finally settled for the recipe as I lay out below.

Note: I am fairly flexible about the dals as well as the vegetables that go into dhansak – whatever is in season or in my pantry is fair game. The main consideration is that the quantity totals should tally. For example, if the only dal I have on hand is toor, I would put in enough of it so that the overall quantity of dals remains the same. If I skip the potato or eggplant, I would add more pumpkin or chayote. If going beyond the listed ingredients, I would pick substitutes from a similar flavor profile – for example, masoor would be swapped with yellow moong, not rajma; pumpkin with butternut squash, not capsicum.

You Need:

[For 4-6 people]

To boil together:

• Toor dal – 3/4 cup [buy here]
• Masoor dal – 1/4 cup [buy here
• Chana dal – 1/4 cup [buy here]
• Pumpkin – 2 cups, cubed
• Bottle gourd or chayote (chow chow) – 1/2 cup, cubed
• Eggplant – 1/2 cup, cubed
• Potato – 1/2 cup, cubed
• Tomatoes – 1 cup, cubed
• Turmeric powder – 1 teaspoon [buy here]
• Bay leaves – 2

For the dry dhansak masala powder:

• Coriander seeds – 1 tablespoon
• Cumin seeds – 1 teaspoon [buy here]
• Fenugreek seeds – 1/2 teaspoon
• Mustard seeds – 1/2 teaspoon
• Peppercorns – 8
• Dry red chilies – 1 or 2
• Cinnamon stick – 1-inch stick [buy here]
• Cloves – 2 [buy here]

For the tempering:

• Salt – to taste
• Tamarind – coin-sized ball
• Tomatoes – 1
• Onions – 2 medium
• Green chili – 1 (optional)
• Garlic – 8 small cloves / 3 big cloves
• Ginger – 1-inch stick
• Cinnamon stick – 1 small
• Ghee – 2 tablespoons

For garnishing:

Kasoori methi, coriander leaves

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How To Make Vegetarian Dhansak:

1. Boil the dal and veggies

Wash the dals (toor + masoor + chana) together in several changes of water till the water runs clear. Soak the dals in three cups of water for 30 minutes.

While the dals soak, chop the veggies (pumpkin + eggplant + potatoes (peeled) + chow chow / bottle gourd + tomatoes) into bite-sized chunks.

Tip: Place the eggplant and potatoes in salted water till ready to use, to prevent discoloration.

Drain the soaking dals and place them in a pressure cooker, along with all the chopped vegetables. Pour in three cups of water. Add a teaspoon of turmeric powder and a couple of bay leaves.

Give it all a stir. Lock the lid of the pressure cooker and boil till the dals and vegetables have softened to mashable consistency. In an Indian-style cooker, this takes boiling on high heat till the first whistle, and then further simmering on low heat till the cooker lets out two more whistles.

Let the cooker stand till it has let out its steam naturally. Unlock the lid.

Blend the dals to the consistency you like: use a whisk for coarse texture, a blender for fine texture. Or, do what I do: blend a fourth of the boiled dal and veggies in a blender and mash the rest using the back of a ladle.

2. Make the dry dhansak powder

Dry roast these whole spices on low heat, one by one, in a thick-bottomed pan or tava: a tablespoon of coriander seeds, a teaspoon of cumin seeds, half a teaspoon each of fenugreek and mustard seeds, a few pepper corns, a dry red chili or two, a small cinnamon stick and two cloves.

Let the spices cool.

Dry grind them in a spice grinder.

Dhansak masala powder is ready. Keep aside till it’s time to use.

3. Make the tempering

Soak a coin-sized ball of tamarind in half a cup of hot water. After twenty minutes, mash the tamarind into the water, discard the roughage and seeds if any.

Grind together an inch stick of ginger, garlic cloves and half an onion.

Slice the remaining onion finely.

Heat two tablespoons of ghee in a thick-bottomed pan. When the ghee is hot, set the heat to medium and slide in the sliced onions along with a cinnamon stick.

Fry the onions for five minutes.

Then add to the pan the ginger-garlic-onion paste.

Stir continuously while the onion paste browns and becomes fragrant.

Add a tomato, either chopped or pureed, and a slit green chili if using.

Stir and cook for 3-4 minutes, or till the tomato turned a deeper hue.

Now is the time to put in our freshly made dhansak masala powder.

Stir and take the pan off the heat.

4. Put it all together

Mix together the boiled dal and vegetables (step 1) with the tempering (step 3).

Pour tamarind water into the dhansak.

Tip: If the tempering is stuck to the pan it was prepared in, use tamarind water to deglaze that pan first and then pour that into the dhansak.

Bring to a boil. Add water to thin it out if you like, and adjust salt.

Dhansak is ready.

Serve dhansak hot, garnished with fresh coriander leaves / kasoori methi.

Dhansak is typically paired with Parsi brown rice and kachumber salad.

Meal below (clockwise from left): berry pulao, aloo stir-fry, kachumber salad, dhansak, grape chutney.

Notes:

Like the idea of vegetables and dal boiled together? Then you would also enjoy poi saag toor dal, mooli sambar, pumpkin masoor dal with chili garlic relish.