“Understand this, dhansak is never cooked on auspicious days,” says Rukshana Lelinwala, a Parsi friend, when I ask her to tell me more about her community’s iconic dish.
Expecting some interesting story that usually accompanies the dos and don’ts of cooking a particular dish, I am disappointed that there are no angry gods, curses or old wives’ tales responsible for this taboo. It is a prosaic reason.
“Making dhansak is time-consuming and whoever is cooking on that day can’t be bothered with a labour-intensive process. Secondly, we normally have dhansak on the fourth day of mourning. On the first three days we have only vegetarian dishes and the dhansak signifies that mourning is officially over,” she says, adding, “For the thoroughly non-vegetarian Parsi, who keenly feels the pain of being vegetarian and therefore undernourished for three days, the dhansak offers solace.”
Weekend feast
It is also a popular Sunday meal. Lelinwala’s friends often land up on that day unannounced, sure to find her serving it. But Lelinwala threatens to stop making it a Sunday affair, as it keeps her tied to the kitchen for far too long. But she fondly remembers lazy afternoons when, “drinking beer, binging on dhansak and sleeping it all off before sallying forth to catch a play or a movie was de rigueur,” is how Lelinwala describes the Sunday routine. She says dhansak tastes much better the day after it has been made. “We always make enough of it, so that there are leftovers for the following day or two.” The family grumbles if there is nothing left over, she chuckles.
Hushmoin Patell Corporate Chef, Batlivala & Khanabhoy
Dhansak is always served with kachumber . “We slice onions thinly, add malt vinegar and mix well by hand. We also add radish, cucumber, spring onion and top it with slices of lemon.” Lelinwala describes the preferred method of eating the dhansak . “We serve ourselves a little rice, lots of the dal and mop up the the plate with a lemon rind.”
Perfect meal
Hushmoin Patell, corporate chef of Batlivala & Khanabhoy Restaurant, says dhansak is popular in his restaurants. “I have not tampered with the recipe. It may be a rather ‘plain-looking’ dish but, once you taste it, you realise the complexity of flavour. As it is a dish that marks the end of mourning, the idea is not to make it look ostentatious. The meat, dal , rice and veggies suggest a feast, but it does not look like a celebratory meal.”
Like the sambar or rasam , the dhansak is instantly recognisable, but tastes different in every household. “The ingredients are the same; only the ratios may differ,” explains Patell. “While we normally use toor dal, masoor dal and moong dal , sometimes people add val dal which gives it a slightly bitter undertone. The vegetables that are added or omitted also make a difference to the taste. At other times, the sweetness or tartness in the dish varies depending on the amount of malt vinegar and jaggery used.”
But, no matter what it tastes like, declares Patell, the dhansak for him, like it is for most other Parsis, is inextricably linked with rambunctious family gatherings and holiday food.
Dhansak
Dhansak is a complete meal of scented brown rice, a spiced preparation of several types of lentils cooked with meat and vegetables, fried minced lamb kebab that is served with a kachumber salad. For a vegetarian version, cut out the meat.
Ingredients (for dal)
1 kg lamb cut into chunks
2 medium onions, finely sliced
6 garlic cloves, chopped
2 tbsp dhansak powder
1 tbsp Parsi sambar powder
(If the readymade powders are not available, make a paste of a 2-inch piece of fresh ginger root, 10 dry red chillies, 4 tsp cumin, 4 tsp coriander seeds, 2-inch piece of cinnamon stick, 6 cardamoms, peeled, 15 black peppercorns)
1 1/2 tsp turmeric powder
2 tsp dhania jeera powder
1/2 cup toor dal
1/2 cup moong dal
1/2 cup masoor dal
2 medium brinjals, cut into fours
150 gm piece of red pumpkin, cut into four pieces
1 small bunch of methi
2 large tomatoes, chopped
1 tbsp tamarind pulp
1 tbsp grated jaggery
2 1/2 tsp salt
3 tbsp vegetable oil or melted ghee
Method
Heat oil or ghee in a deep pan and fry onions till brown. Add spices, turmeric powder and dhania jeera powder and cook the masalas well, add tomatoes and cook until the oil separates. To this, add the mutton chunks and cook until all the water from the meat has dried up. Add the lentils and vegetables and mix well. Gradually add six cups water and salt; bring to boiling point. Cover and cook on a slow fire till meat is tender and the lentils are cooked well. Remove pan from fire.
Extract tamarind pulp. Remove meat from the dal and keep aside. Mash dal through a colander in another pan then return the meat to dal . Add tamarind juice and jaggery to this and cook on low heat for 10 minutes, add extra water if dal is too thick. Before serving sprinkle over dal 1 finely sliced onion, fried brown, and finely chopped fresh coriander.
