Why this recipe works
Dhansak is a nutritionist's idea of a meat dish. Alongside the mutton sit three or four lentils, toor, masoor, chana and moong, plus vegetables like pumpkin and fenugreek greens. That means the meat's protein arrives with a large dose of plant protein and fibre, and the dish is finished sweet-and-sour with tamarind and jaggery.
Ingredients
Method
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1
Cook the mixed dals and vegetables until soft, then blend to a thick puree.
Why blend them: pureeing the dals and vegetables gives dhansak its characteristic thick, smooth body and folds all that fibre and plant protein through the dish.
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2
Brown the mutton with onion, ginger-garlic and the dhansak masala.
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3
Combine meat and dal puree and simmer until the mutton is tender.
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4
Balance with tamarind and jaggery for the sweet-sour finish.
An honest word
Dhansak is one of the more wholesome ways to eat a meat curry: the mountain of dal and vegetables means real fibre and plant protein alongside the mutton's. The levers are the oil and the fattiness of the meat, so use leaner mutton and a modest hand with the oil. Traditionally served with caramelised brown rice, it is a genuinely balanced, hearty one-pot meal.