Dhansaak ni Daar

The authentic Dhansaak has mutton and veggies and daal. The rest of the method is similar as I have given below but mutton is cooked and then removed and then daal and veggies are ground and then added back to the mutton. It's been ages since I have had mutton ; also, mutton & daal combo is a bit overwhelming for me. So I have made the vegetarian version of the most popular parsi food - Dhansaak.

Dhansaak ni Daar
Ingredients
1/4 cup toor daal
1 tbsp vaal daal
1 tbsp yellow moong daal
1 tbsp masoor daal
1 tbsp chana daal
1/2 tsp turmeric powder

1 small eggplant, cut
1 small piece of dudhi/bottle gourd, peeled & cut into chunks
1 small sweet potato, peeled & cut into chunks
1 small piece of red pumpkin or butternut squash, peeled & cut into chunks
1 tomato, cut into chunks

Grind to a smooth paste
1/4 cup cilantro/coriander leaves
1 tbsp coconut
2 kashmiri chilies or any other dry, mild chilies
1 green chili
1/2" ginger, peeled
2 cloves, garlic
1 tsp dhansaak masala

Tempering
1 tbsp oil or ghee
4-5 curry leaves
1 tsp cumin seeds
2 green cardamoms
3 cloves
2 star anise/baadiya

Garnish

1 tbsp kasoori methi

Garnish (optional)

Deep fried browned onion

Suggested Accompaniment

Brown Rice
Tareli Kolmi


Method

1. Soak all the daals in water for 1/2 hour. Then pressure cook daals with veggies adding 1 1/2 cup water & turmeric powder.

2. Grind the daal along with veggies. Let it cool down a bit. You may need to use a towel on the top of the lid of the blender to avoid hot liquid from coming out.

3. Heat oil or ghee in a saucepan. Add whole spices & curry leaves for tempering. Now add the ground masala paste and saute for 7 minutes.

4. Now add the ground daal and veggie mixture, salt to taste and 1 cup water.

5. Bring to boil. Simmer for 5 minutes. Crush the kasoori methi by hand and sprinkle over the simmering daal.
6. Serve along with brown rice and tareli kolmi & lemon wedges.

Note

1. When kept for a long time, this daal gets thicker. You may need to add more water and bring to boil again to adjust the consistency.

This post is my entry to RCI - Parsi cuisine hosted by me!
RCI event is started by Lakshmi of Veggie Cuisine.