Photgrapic Evidence - Dhansak weekend

[Cliffrodo]

Well after literally hours of instruction I think Greybeard has imparted enough IT skills for me to downsize my photos and post as evidence of a weekend well spent.

Scotch Bonnets one pan dhal recipe followed by CA's chicken dhansak. So serious I even visited Tesco's as opposed to my usual Saturday Morrison's run (other supermarket chains are available) and bought, as suggested a £1.69 pot of Panch Poran.

I then made SB's dhal which I found fairly simple and straightforward, the only concern was the depleting pan content as I sampled 20+ tasting spoonful's during the cook.

Then onto CA's dhansak, followed to the letter with the exception of the addition of Tamarind paste and an increase of chilli powder (half a tsp. up to a full tsp.). I did use pineapple syrup and pieces despite the majority of commentators opting to omit. Each to their own I suppose.

Really pleased with the resulting dish, perhaps a little runny for my taste and next time I would like it to be a little hotter, I'll use the deggi mirch instead of Kashmiri chilli. I think that's the right way round for extra heat? I could even use chopped Kashmiri chilli's as I've still got an industrial sized bag left from my first spice order.

Anyway just to show the work involved here(hopefully) is a photo reproduction of my efforts....

[Greybeard]

Well done Cliff, that looks stunning.

Dhal is very, addictive, I am amazed that our forefathers actually managed to get any into another curry dish ....

Dheggi will definitely give you that extra kick you are searching for.

Don't worry about the Kashmiri chilli's - I have gone through 2/3rds of a bag in a few months and I don't have Vindaloo regularly.

[Cory Ander]

Then onto CA's dhansak, followed to the letter with the exception of the addition of Tamarind paste

Just as well you omitted it, since there is none in the recipe. Perhaps you used (or were thinking of) someone else's recipe?

Thanks for your write-up and photos, all looking good

[ScotchBonnet]

It all looks very tasty, indeed. Just how much was lost to sampling between the photo at 10 minutes and the one at 20?

[TikkaTom]

Thanks for the photos Cliff, tasty looking food!

[Cliffrodo]

Thanks for the comments. Re CA's recipe I did follow word for word but ADDED tamarind paste. Grammar was never my strong point!

[seafret]

All looking most excellent Cliffrodo.

[Cory Ander]

Ah, got what you mean/meant now

[Greybeard]

Well Cliffrodo, that did not last long once it hit our plates. Your Dhansak was a bit hotter than my attempt, and like the Dhal I had to add a touch of water as it would not reheat properly in the curry station as it was quite thick. None of this microwave mamby-pamby when it comes to reheating guest curries in this house - they get the 5 star treatment .

The pineapple was a nice addition, I have not added this to a Dhansak before but it worked surprisingly well with the lentils. I didn't pick up on the Tamarind, but that could be because I am geared towards lemon / lime for the sour component in curries. The Dhal was nicely spiced, again a tad hotter than I make it, but none the worse for that.

OH score 9/10, and I'll concur.

[ScotchBonnet]

I'll likely be doing more dal and dansak myself as I just got a 2Kg bag of red lentils for £2.50 (which works out cheaper per portion than an accompanying glass of milk). I used to do a decent vegetable dansak so might brush up on that recipe - need to make it again and actually weight things before I chuck them in.