Family Recipe: Dhansak

Image Source: iFood - India's best foods

A staple of all the Irani restaurants, Dhansak is one of the most flavorful dishes out there. Here's our family's version of the vegetarian Dhansak. Enjoy!

First, the paste:

1. 1/3 cup toor dal
2. 1/3 cup urad dal
3. 1/3 cup chana dal
4. 1/3 cup red masoor dal
5. 100 gms Eggplant
6. 100 gms Pumpkin
7. 50 gms Bottle gourd
8. 5 pcs spring onions
9. 1 carrot
10. 1 bunch of fenugreek leaves
11. 1 small potato
12. 5 garlic cloves

Boil the toor dal, urad dal, chana dal, red masoor dal, eggplant, pumpkin, bottle gourd, carrot and small potato. Retain the water. Add the rest of the ingredients and blend them into a fine paste.

Then, the spice mix:

1. 2 tbsp shredded coconut
2. 1 tsp ginger
3. 10 garlic cloves
4. 1 tomato
5. 1 medium-sized onion
6. 1/2 cup cilantro
7. 1/4 tsp cumin seeds
8. 1/4 tsp whole coriander seeds
9. 4 green chillies
10. 2 tbsp dhansak spice mix (Mangal Dhansak is recommended)

Grind the above ingredients into fine paste.

Making it come together

1. Add the spice mix and saute in 1 tbsp oil for 2 minutes.
2. Add the vegetable paste and a some salt
3. Cook until the ingredients mix and give a nice aroma.

Recommendations

• It goes well with bread but we recommend it with brown rice garnished with fried onion strips and some lemon juice.

Places we love: Any Irani cafe you would find at the street corners of Mumbai.