One Pot Chicken Dhansak

One pot chicken dhansak is a delicious home made lentil curry infused with spices that is so easy to make. Filling and providing a huge amount of your daily protein requirement it also comes in at only 437 calories too!  

If you're a lover of a good curry then you're going to love this one pot chicken dhansak recipe.

It's just packed full of flavour. I've managed to get that flavour from a handful of store cupboard spices rather than an endless list of ingredients which I've seen in some comparable dhansak recipes.

There's hints of cinnamon and chilli and the spices aren't overpowering making it a mild curry suitable for anyone!

Regular followers of Neil's Healthy Meals will know that I'm all about making my own recipes from scratch.

I try to make my recipes as easy as possible for anyone to follow along. This one pot chicken dhansak is designed to do just that.

You'll find this an easy chicken dhansak recipe which is restaurant quality.

This chicken dhansak has heaps of flavour but doesn't use the long list of spices to create the dhansak sauce that you would normally find in an Indian restaurants curry.

Tender chicken with lightly spiced thick red lentil sauce make all in one pot which takes just over an hour in total. A perfect family weeknight curry!

I spent ages perfecting my dhansak to make it as near as possible to the chicken dhansak that was my staple "go-to" curry whenever my friends and I went out to our local curry house in Dundee!

Ah, those were the days! 😉

When I went out for my first ever restaurant curry I'd just started work as a Kitchen Porter, part time, at a local hotel in Dundee in order to fund my university studies beer money.

Looking up and down the curry menu I had no idea as to what to order. It was so exotic and new to me, with options like "sag aloo" and "chicken jalfrezi".

I settled on a chicken dhansak because it sounded really tasty and because I recognised the ingredients!

I could see it was a lightly spiced red lentil based dish. And of course it had chicken!

That probably wasn't very adventurous of me but it became what I would order every time, just because I loved it so much!

So I'm hoping today that when you give my one pot chicken dhansak recipe a try you find it just as delicious as I did that first time.

Of course this one though is much more healthier made with far less oil that you would normally find in a traditional Indian restaurant curry.

Not that I'm against one of those once in a while, but I like to eat curry every week so it has to be a healthier version or I would be the size of a house!

Dhansak is one of our curry house favourites here in the U.K.

You'll find some Dhansak recipes have pineapple chunks added into them.

As a personal preference I do not like pineapple chunks in my Indian cuisine!

However if you do then add them in at the end of the cooking process once the chicken is cooked.

Also if you don't have any chicken to make this recipe it is possible to use goat meat instead.

Ingredients

• Sunflower Oil
• Cardamom Pods
• Mustard Seeds
• Dried Chilli Flakes
• Cinnamon Stick
• Onion
• Ginger & Garlic Paste
• Tomatoes
• Red Lentils
• Chicken Stock
• Salt
• Chicken Breasts
• Fresh Coriander

See recipe card for quantities.

Substitutions

• Sunflower Oil - you could use vegetable oil or ghee.
• Cardamom Pods
• Mustard Seeds
• Dried Chilli Flakes
• Cinnamon Stick
• Onion
• Ginger & Garlic Paste
• Tomatoes - fresh tomatoes are best but you could substitute with tinned or tomato passata.
• Red Lentils
• Chicken Stock
• Salt
• Chicken Breasts - I prefer breast meat but you could also use chicken thighs or chicken pieces. Or even leftover roast chicken.
• Fresh Coriander - optional for garnish.

How To Make Chicken Dhansak

Detailed instructions for this chicken dhansak recipe are in the recipe card below. But here is a quick step by step guide of how to make the best chicken dhansak curry:

1. Heat oil over a medium heat.
2. Fry spices. Stir to prevent burning and sticking to bottom of the pan.
3. Add onion and ginger-garlic paste. Cook until softenned.
4. Add tomatoes. Cook until softenned.
5. Puree into a lovely thick sauce.
6. Add lentils and chicken stock. Simmer.
7. Add chopped chicken. Let chicken cook.
8. Serve garnished with chopped coriander.

FAQ's

What To Serve This Chicken Dhansak Recipe With?

As this chicken dhansak is made with lentils it's quite filling on its own.

You just need to serve it with a few tablespoons of boiled brown rice or naan bread. Why not make my home made naan breads?

What does dhansak taste like?

This is a mild creamy tasty curry. The addition of lentils makes the tasty sauce. It has a slight tomato taste. If you want it spicier then add a little more hot chilli powder.

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Other Popular Curry Recipes You Might Also Like

• Cauliflower dhansak is a rich and filling medley of delicious flavours. Vegan, gluten free and low calorie too, you’ll find yourself coming back again and again for another spoonful of this satisfying curry.
• Chicken curry in a hurry is quick, delicious and packed full of taste. On the table in under an hour and it serves up to four. There's a video showing you how to make it too. It's so easy!
• Skinny lamb curry is great when you want to enjoy the full flavours of a lamb curry without the guilty feeling of adding to your waist line. You’ll love the taste of the tender lean lamb marinated in it’s delicious curry sauce!

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5 from 2 votes

One Pot Chicken Dhansak Recipe

One pot chicken dhansak is a delicious home made lentil curry infused with spices that is so easy to make.

Prep Time15 minutes mins

Cook Time1 hour hr

Total Time1 hour hr 15 minutes mins

Course: Dinner

Cuisine: Indian

Servings: 4 people

Calories: 437kcal

Author: Neil

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Equipment

• Casserole pot
• Measuring spoons
• Chopping board
• Kitchen knives
• Kitchen scale
• Measuring jug
• Wooden spoon
• Blender

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoon sunflower oil
• 6 cardamom pods crushed with skin removed
• 2 teaspoon mustard seeds
• 1 teaspoon dried chilli flakes
• ¼ cinnamon stick
• 1 large onion chopped
• 1 & ½ tablespoon garlic and ginger paste
• 6 tomatoes roughly chopped
• 300 g red split lentils
• 600 ml chicken stock
• 2 teaspoon salt
• 750 g chopped chicken breasts
• Freshly chopped coriander

Metric - US Customary

Instructions

• Gently heat oil
• Add spices and gently fry for about 1 minute until the seeds start to pop, stir to prevent any burning of these spices.
• Add the onion and ginger and garlic paste and cook until the onion is softened for about 5 to 7 minutes.
• Add chopped tomatoes and cook until softened for about 10 minutes and keep stirring regularly.
• Carefully remove these cooked ingredients to a blender or use a stick blender to blitz to a paste and then return to the pan.
• Add the lentils and chicken stock, bring the curry to the boil and once boiling turn down to simmer for about 15 to 20 minutes until the lentils have softened. Add extra boiled water from a kettle if necessary then add the salt to taste.
• Add the chopped chicken and cook the chicken within the lentil mixture for about 15 minutes until the chicken is cooked through.
• Serve garnished with chopped coriander.

Cook ModePrevent your screen from going dark

Nutrition

Calories: 437kcal | Carbohydrates: 38g | Protein: 36.7g | Fat: 15.8g | Cholesterol: 71.2mg | Sodium: 865.7mg | Sugar: 6g | Vitamin A: 450IU | Vitamin C: 26.4mg

Nutrition Label

Nutritional information provided below is calculated using paid for online tools and the exact ingredients and quantities used above.

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