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Freddie Mercury Late 20th Century dinner hard

Freddie's Chicken Dhansak

Freddie's documented favorite curry - a traditional Parsi dish with aromatic spices, lentils, and vegetables

Freddie's Chicken Dhansak
Prep: 45 min
Cook: 90 min
Serves: 4
#parsi #curry #chicken #dhansak #indian #spicy #traditional

Instructions

Make Dhansak Masala

  1. Toast the spices: Add all the whole spices to a hot, dry pan. Toast until very fragrant, about 2-3 minutes.

  2. Grind: Let cool completely, then grind to a fine powder in a spice or coffee grinder. Store in an airtight container.

Prepare Ginger-Garlic-Chili Paste

  1. Blend: Add peeled ginger, garlic, green chilies, salt, and oil to a blender. Blend until it forms a thick paste consistency.

Marinate the Chicken

  1. Marinate: In a bowl, combine chicken chunks with oil, salt, turmeric, Kashmiri chili powder, 2 tablespoons of the dhansak masala, and 1 tablespoon of the ginger-garlic-chili paste. Let marinate for at least 30 minutes.

Prepare Vegetables

  1. Prep vegetables: Chop the onion, cube the butternut squash and aubergine into similar-sized pieces.

Cook the Curry

  1. Sear chicken: Heat ghee in a large, heavy-bottomed pot. Fry the marinated chicken pieces until well-colored and slightly caramelized. Remove and set aside.

  2. Build the base: In the same pot, add the chopped onion and cook until softened, about 5-6 minutes.

  3. Add aromatics: Stir in the remaining ginger-garlic-chili paste along with some Kashmiri chili powder and turmeric. Cook for 2-3 minutes.

  4. Deglaze and combine: Add a splash of water to deglaze the pan, scraping up any browned bits. Add chopped tomatoes, soaked lentils, cubed vegetables, remaining water, salt, kasuri methi, and bay leaves.

  5. Long simmer: Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for about 1 hour until lentils and vegetables are very tender.

Finish the Dish

  1. Final spicing: Stir in 1 tablespoon of the dhansak masala and the seared chicken. Add chopped coriander.

  2. The crucial addition: Stir in the tamarind paste - this transforms the dish from good to extraordinary, giving it the signature sweet-and-sour flavor.

  3. Final cooking: Simmer for another 10 minutes until chicken is heated through and flavors are well combined.

Prepare Sides

  1. Kachumber salad: Finely chop cucumber, tomatoes, onion, garlic, and coriander. Season with lemon juice and salt.

  2. Serve: Serve the dhansak hot with naan bread and kachumber salad on the side.

Chef’s Notes

This is probably the best curry you’ll ever make! Very thick, spicy, and fragrant from the homemade masala, but crucially quite tangy. The tamarind at the end really elevates this dish, they don’t call this dish “Indian sweet and sour” for nothing. Because it’s so thick with lentils, rice is optional and naan is more than enough for a complete meal.

Peter Freestone noted: “His favorite curry was chicken dhansak, a chicken curry made from vegetables and lentils.”