3.6/5 rating (105 votes)

Lamb Dhansak

Lamb, Lentil and Vegetable Stew

Heat Medium
Serves 4
Dietary Info LACTOSE-FREE
Prep 20 mins
Cook 1 hr

A rustic Parsi, one pot lamb stew cooked with lentils, vegetables, tamarind and spices making a hot, sweet and sour dish.

Hari says
This Parsi dish is basically a rustic, one-pot lamb stew cooked with lentils, vegetables, tamarind and spices (the 'dhan' means grain or lentils and the 'sak' is to stew). And it’s smashing.
It’s typically eaten with the whole family as a weekend meal, and you can see why. It has tang from the tamarind, heat from the chillies and sweetness from the vegetables that all come together creating a pretty special balance of flavours. Something for everyone, really.
Top Tip:
If you haven’t got the time to make this in the evening, then you can slow cook it so it’s ready when you get in.

Ingredients
Method

500g leg of lamb, trimmed and cut into chunks

Lentil and vegetable mixture

60g toor dhal split
60g masoor dhal split
60g urid dhal split
1 small aubergine, chopped into large chunks
½ small pumpkin, chopped into large chunks (you could also use butternut squash or sweet potato)
1 medium onion, chopped in chunks
15 fresh mint leaves, chopped

Dry Spices

1 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp coriander seeds
4cm stick cassia bark
4 green cardamoms
4 whole black peppercorns
1 tbsp dry fenugreek leaves

Wet Paste

6 cloves garlic
3cm piece of ginger
2 chillies

Masala

2 tbsp oil
2 medium onions, diced
3 tomatoes, diced
1 tsp salt
1 tsp turmeric powder
1 tbsp tamarind paste
Handful of coriander, chopped

Method

Lentil and vegetable mixture

Put all the lentils, vegetables, onions and mint into a pan with 1L of water and some salt. Bring this to the boil and leave to simmer for 20 minutes until the lentils have cooked through.

Dry spices and Wet paste

Place all the dry spices into a spice grinder and blend to a fine powder.
Place this powder into a blender with the garlic, ginger and chillies and grind to make an aromatic paste. Add a splash of water to loosen if required.

Masala

Heat the oil and start to fry the diced onions until they are golden brown (approx. 20 minutes).
Once the onions are browned add the spice paste along with the turmeric and fry for a few minutes until golden.
Add the tomatoes and tamarind then stir for about 5 minutes until the masala is thick and glossy.
On a high heat, stir in the lamb and coat with the masala. After about 5 minutes add the cooked lentil mixture and leave this to simmer on a low heat for about 30-40 minutes. Make sure you stir occasionally as this can catch the bottom of the pan.
Once the meat is tender check the seasoning and adjust if required.
Throw in the fresh coriander to serve.

Nutritional information

Typical values*	per Serving
Calories	84
Fat (g)	2.7
of which saturates (g)	0.2
Carbohydrates (g)	12
of which sugars (g)	3.5
Fibre (g)	1.7
Protein (g)	4.2
Salt (mg)	0.51

*Based upon calculated values, supplied by myfitnesspal.com. The values here may not be 100% accurate because the recipes have not been professionally evaluated.

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“ Thank you for printing this recipe for my delicious Lamb Dhansak ”

Comments

Comments (21)

Peter
14 July 2019 at 07:53 | #
Hi
I used chicken instead of lamb and obviously doesn't need as long to cook
I found the lentils a little hard ,any comments ?
Pete
reply
- Hari Ghotra
  07 September 2019 at 13:19 | #
  Hello Peter you really need to check the lentils are getting nice and soft before you add to the masala. Lentils, varieties etc can vary a little so just check them and if they are hard cook for longer. Does that help? Thanks Hari
  reply
Rosie
04 July 2019 at 19:07 | #
Hi Hari, I live in rural Portugal and often have to adapt recipes to fit the ingredients that are available. Could I make this dish using chana dhal and red and green lentils? Also lamb isn't that common so could I substitute beef?
reply
- Hari Ghotra
  08 July 2019 at 09:34 | #
  Hi Rosie Yes you can but I would soak the chana and green lentils as these require a little more cooking. Yes you can sub beef for the lamb, the beef (depending on the cut may not need as long cooking. I would recommend using stewing steak or chump. Does that help?
  reply
Billie
15 January 2018 at 05:25 | #
Hi! I'm so excited to try this, but I'm a beginner, so I was wondering how I would adapt this to a slow cooker.
reply
- Hari Ghotra
  17 January 2018 at 13:07 | #
  Hi Billie Yes you sure can in fact the recipe for the slow cooker is in my new book https://www.harighotra.co.uk/shop/easy-indian-slow-cooker-cook-book Here is a link to adapt this recipe too https://www.harighotra.co.uk/blog/news/top-ten-slow-cooking-recipes Hope this helps
  reply
nic
19 November 2017 at 14:37 | #
hey Hari

i made a chicken version on stove in the end not in slow cooker and i found it too sweet with not enuf sharpness/sour taste coming thru - what can u suggest ? ( i do not have a sweet tooth at all!)
i added more tamarind and even lemon juice to try to sour down more , i always ask for one with no sugar when i'm out - i love dhansak and want to perfect it - any advice would be most welcome - maybe not add sweet potato, or /and use tinned tomatoes not fresh ( as maybe more bitter) or less onions as i notice in another of your recipes you suggest using less when its chicken not lamb?- any advice most welcome !!!! i so wanna like this and get it perfect !- i have left it for my tea tonight to see if flavours get more sour if i leave it a while ! i will send u picture when i serve it ( though assume will ahve to do that via facebook and not this site?)
thanks in anticipation of some expert tips!!
reply
- Hari Ghotra
  24 November 2017 at 08:25 | #
  Hi Nicci
  I don’t like to add sugar either and this dish isn’t usually that sweet but it depends on the ingredients used. Ok a few points which might help:
  1. Remove the cassia from the dry blend
  2. Increase black pepper to double the amount
  3. Increase the ginger and chillies used
  4. Don’t use sweet potato or squash stick to aubergine and maybe turnip.
  5. Cook your onions until they are dark brown - about 20-30 minutes
  6. Double the amount of tamarind or even use 3 tbsp
  7. make sure you season it enough - this maybe why that balance is wrong.
  
  I hope this helps. Let me know how you get on as I would love to hear how you get on and to get this right for you. Thanks so much for your patience too! Hari
  reply
nic
17 November 2017 at 20:58 | #
hey Hari
i cant eat lamb , can i make with chicken - i would like to do in slow cooker , how long would i do it on low? and if i did with prawns how could i do that one ?

thanks ! n
reply
- Hari Ghotra
  18 November 2017 at 07:32 | #
  Hi Nic Yes you can make this with chicken. You can use chicken on the bone (thighs) or boneless. On the bone 6 hours off the bone 4-6 hours. Hope that helps - please share some pictures. Thanks so much! Hari
  reply
Kate
01 October 2016 at 06:08 | #
Hi Hari I cooked the Lamb Dhansak yesterday it was delicious. I also made some naan too they were great. My husband has asked for a Jalfrezi next week. I can't wait to try more recipes. Thank you.
reply
- Hari Ghotra
  04 October 2016 at 17:40 | #
  Hi Kate that's great - so pleased you enjoyed it. Would love to hear what you think of the Jalfrezi too. Thanks so much for using the website! Thanks Hari
  reply
Karen
28 August 2016 at 13:09 | #
Hi, made this yesterday evening and I was delighted with the results and so was my partner. He is quite a connoisseur when it comes to Dhansak, as this is his favourite when we have a takeaway and he thoroughly enjoyed it. We will be having a second helping this evening and I am going to attempt to make some sag aloo to go with it. This was so easy to follow and I don't think that we will be eating takeaways again! Many thanks Hari! Karen.
reply
- Hari Ghotra
  30 August 2016 at 09:01 | #
  Hi Karen Well I am very happy to hear that your partner enjoyed this and i'm more happy to hear that you are turning your back on takeaways. Indian food cooked fresh is healthy, tasty and so much fun to cook. Please do keep in touch and let me know if you cook anything else from the website. If you like lamb dishes then do try the thariwalee lamb too. Thanks so much for using the website. Hari
  reply
Keith
10 December 2015 at 21:45 | #
Thanks Hari, this now makes perfect sense and I look forward to cooking it! Keith
reply
Keith
08 December 2015 at 19:11 | #
Hi Hari
I noticed that onions are in the first batch of ingredients, to fry in stage 2, but are also in the masala ingredients along with the tomatoes. Is this correct? Do I add more onions at stage 6/7 above?
reply
- Hari Ghotra
  08 December 2015 at 22:12 | #
  Hi Keith This dish is in two parts and I'm sorry if the recipe isn't very clear - I will look at trying to reword it. The first part stage 1 includes boiling the lentils, vegetables including the first lot of onions to form the lentil and vegetables that are key in this recipe. Stage 2 is the masala stage so here you need to fry the onions that are diced. Does that make sense? I will rephrase the method to make it more clear - thank you so much for your feedback. Hari
  reply
Hari Ghotra
11 August 2015 at 12:16 | #
Hi Amz
It's a tricky one because you dont want to triple up on the spices - I would just use twice as much - with regards to onions I would use about 7 or 8. I know its seems a lot but they will cook right down and with this dish the thicker the masala the better the flavour. Hope it helps. Let me know how you get on. Thanks Hari
reply
Amz
05 August 2015 at 21:03 | #
Hi Hari,

Just a quick question. I would like to make this dish for a family feast. It needs to feed 12 people, so should I multiple the ingredient by 3. Because 9 onions seems like a lot.
reply
Hari
14 March 2015 at 14:53 | #
Hi Jeff, it really won't take 3 hours. It does depend on the cut but let it simmer away until you are happy with the lamb. You may well need to add water to this as it does thicken up. Let me know how it goes -good luck. Cheers Hari
reply
Jeff
14 March 2015 at 14:11 | #
Hi, have your Dhansak cooking, looks and smells gorgeous! not convinced that Lamb will be melt in the mouth in just 40mns to an hour though? more like 3hrs!
reply