Slow Cooker Chicken Dhansak

A curry that has it all, chicken, lentils, fragrant spices and tempting sweet and sour notes, Slow Cooker Chicken Dhansak is full of flavour. A really satisfying dish and perfect for fake-away night!

Origination of Chicken Dhansak

Dhansak takes inspiration from both India and the Middle East. It fuses the traditional use of spices in curries with the use of sweet and sour aspects from fruit which is commonplace in Persian cuisine. This creates a dish which has interesting layers of flavour, as well as texture.

Dhansak was originally made from richer, tougher meats such as mutton or goat, however it has evolved to satisfy more modern tastes and chicken is widely used instead.

It also included a blend of lentils which were cooked long enough to be broken down thickening the curry, perhaps so it stretched that bit further amongst people! Fruit was added to introduce a sweet, tart aspect and vegetables such as tomatoes, potato, onion and squash were also included.

Dhansak curries contain an array of spices to create an enticing aroma. It’s now a favourite on restaurant menus and the long cooking time means it turns out beautifully in the slow cooker as well.

Why Make This Recipe?

• A delicious option for fake-away night.
• It’s full of vitamins from healthy vegetables and pulses.
• Freezes well so a batch can be stored for future meals.
• Dhansak curries are usually made to a medium heat but it’s easy to alter the heat of the curry to satisfy all palates.

Equipment

• Frying pan and stove.
• Slow Cooker, this was cooked in a Crockpot TimeSelect Digital 5.6L Slow Cooker .

What You’ll Need

Exact ingredient quantities can be found in the recipe card at the bottom of the page.

Chicken– Chicken thighs.

Lentils– Chana dal are one of the traditional choices of lentils, they are larger and look like split peas. Red lentils are an excellent alternative.

Vegetables– As well as onion and garlic, potato and butternut squash add a fresh, sweet flavour.

Fruit- Pineapples are added as they are tart and sweet and hold their shape over long cooking times so are perfect to combine in savoury recipes. A tin of pineapple chunks in natural juice is used.

Spices– The mix of spices creates an amazing fusion with the meat, vegetables, fruit and pulses. It includes garam masala, turmeric, ginger, fenugreek, cumin, coriander and chilli. Green cardamom pods bring a fresh, citrus note.

Seasoning- Salt, stock, sugar.

In traditional dhansak recipes Asafoetida can also be added. This is not always available in shops so I have imitated the flavour with a combination of garlic and onion granules and celery salt. If you do have it at home you can use a small amount of this instead.

Liquid- Tinned chopped tomatoes and tomato puree make up the base of the sauce along with the pineapple juice and water added with the stock cube.

Oil– A small amount of vegetable or light olive oil to fry the vegetables and ground spices in.

How To Make It

1. Chop the onion, potato and butternut squash into 1-2 cm cubes. Fry these over a medium heat in a little oil for 2-3 minutes. Add a small amount of water to further sweat the vegetables for a few minutes. Then add the herbs, spices and garlic and fry for 3 minutes. This step serves to soften the vegetables and add depth of flavour, however if you are pressed for time it can be omitted and the raw ingredients added to the slow cooker instead!
2. Remove the vegetables from the heat and add to the slow cooker. Place the remaining ingredients in the pot except for the lemon and mix well. Cook for 6 hours on high or 8 hours on low.

Once cooked through squeeze over the juice from the lemon, stir well and serve.

Serving Suggestions

As Chicken Dhansak contains meat, pulses and vegetables it’s quite a substantial curry so I never go to any lengths with the side dishes. A bowl of plain basmati rice and a little lime chutney work perfectly to supplement the flavours of the curry.

If you are having a fake-away night with friends you may also want to serve up an alternative dish. Slow Cooker Lamb Rogan Josh or Slow Cooker Beef Madras are both bold enough to be ideal partners for Chicken Dhansak.

Recipe Variations

Lentils. The use of split red lentils will make a smoother sauce as they will more easily breakdown when cooking. Other options to Chana are whole tinned chickpeas, or Toor Dal.

Meat. Chicken breast can also be used in this dish but be aware it does need a shorter cooking time to avoid it drying out and keep the pieces fairly large.

Instead of chicken why not try chunks of lamb?

Vegetarian Dhansak. Omit the meat from this recipe to make a delicious vegetarian dhansak. There are plenty of vegetables and lentils to provide sustenance. If doing this you should also change the stock cube to vegetable.

Vegetables. Alternatives vegetables could be sweet potato and courgette or pumpkin.

Top Tips

Fry the spices. Pre-ground spices (rather than whole) are used in this recipe as this is an easier and quicker option. Saying that, it’s still good to heat them for a short time with the onions, garlic and vegetables so their flavour fully permeates and their aroma is as pungent as possible.

Size of the vegetables. Cut the potatoes and squash in cubes of around 1-2 cm to ensure they cook through in the allocated time, once cooked they should be very tender in the sauce.

Cooking times. This dish is perfect for a long slow cook as it gives time for the lentils to really break down into the sauce and the vegetables to become nicely softened.

Storage

Any leftovers can be transferred to an airtight container or bag and stored in the fridge for up to three days or freezer for up to three months. Allow to thaw and reheat thoroughly.

FAQs