C46 Chicken Dhansak

This was adapted from numerous restaurant recipes. A Dhansak typically has pineapple added to provide the sweet element, but this is not done everywhere. This version uses both pineapple and some sugar. Dhansak should be hot, sweet and sour and always contains lentils (or another type of dhal). This is a recipe update but the original can be located here.

Ingredients

For 1	...Continued
2 - 3 tbspn oil	1 tbspn tomato purée
30 gm onions (prepared weight)	1 portion c41 pre-cooked lentils
1 tspn green chilli (chopped)	1 portion c41 pre-cooked chicken
½ tspn ginger (grated)	¼ tspn salt
½ tspn garlic (crushed)	2 tspn caster sugar
2 tspn c41 dhansak spice mix	1 tbspn fresh coriander
1 tspn methi (see note 1)	1 tspn worcestershire sauce
1 tspn chilli powder (or to taste)	1 tbspn lemon juice
½ tspn garam masala	1 pineapple ring (or 8 chunks)
300 ml c46 curry base sauce (see note 2)	50 ml pineapple juice

Preparation

Slice the onion.
Grate the ginger, crush the garlic and mix together with a little water to make a thin paste.
Chop the coriander.
Cut the pineapple ring into 8 pieces.

Cooking - 8½ min

Heat the oil in a suitable pan and cook the onions and green chilli, stirring regularly, for 2 min.
Add the ginger/garlic paste and cook, stirring, for 30 seconds.
Add the c41 dhansak spice mix, methi, chilli powder and garam masala and cook, stirring, for 1 min, adding a little c46 base sauce if needed to prevent drying and burning.
Add the tomato purée, pre-cooked lentils and 40 ml of c46 base sauce and cook, stirring regularly, for 1 min, adding a little c46 base sauce if needed to prevent drying..
Add the c41 pre-cooked chicken, salt, sugar and 80 ml of c46 base sauce and cook, stirring regularly, for 3 min, adding c46 base sauce as needed to maintain your desired sauce consistency.
Stir in the coriander, worcestershire sauce, lemon juice, pineapple chunks and pineapple juice and cook, stirring regularly, for 1 min adding a little c46 base sauce if needed to maintain your desired sauce consistency.

Serving

Serve with rice and garnish with freshly chopped coriander.

Notes

(1) Methi (Kasuri Methi) is dried fenugreek leaves and can be purchased at some supermarkets or any Indian outlet.
(2) Dilute the c46 base sauce with 200 ml of water and heat before use. If defrosted from frozen, warm and briefly blend to restore the original colour and consistency.

The main ingredients

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The finished meal

Methi

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