Some like it hot

Strangely, mine’s a dhansak. By and large, when I order a curry, that’s my order. The younger members of the family tend to go for the butter chicken, chicken korma or the dreaded chicken tikka masala but I like to express my sophistication with a dhansak. It is a rich and aromatic curry that is characterised – or should be – by a distinct tang of sweet and sour fruit, preferably with tamarind. It is also full of lentils and generally ends up as a greeny brown sludge, quite hot and perfectly palatable. It always comes with rice, which is worth remembering when you order. And that’s why it shouldn’t really be my thing.

There are two approaches to eating a curry. Having spent a couple of months in India as a student and being, although greedy, relatively fastidious in my food, I incline to the thali approach. A thali is a small tray with various dishes – a little dhal, some rice, a few vegetarian dishes, a little meat, a few pickles and some form of bread – and one has a personal mini-buffet.

My friend Sam has a different, monotheistic approach. He deposits a portion of rice into the middle of his plate. On top he piles a portion of curry, preferably of a searing “vindaloo strength”. There is little other variety, save for a couple of poppadoms, which he grinds in his hands and sprinkles over the curry. He then stirs this with intensity of purpose into an amalgam that he ingests with gusto.

It is clear that the dhansak, albeit with a little extra spicing, should be Sam’s sort of thing, a sort of slurry with rice, while I should go for more varied fare – a little lamb tikka, some dhal and aloo gobi with a little lamb pasanda perhaps – rather than this amenable Gujarati hotpot. But there you are: I am a dhansak man. And now I have started to do my own and, although I say it myself, the results are pleasing.

Tamarind is not hard to find in Shepherd’s Bush in west London,nor the mutton that I normally use and whose potent aftertaste deserves the vigorous tang of the tamarind but venison, should you be able to get it – and preferably strong flavoured venison at that – is even better.

Rowley Leigh is the chef at Le Café Anglais
rowley.leigh@ft.com
More columns at www.ft.com/leigh

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Venison dhansak

Well-sealed garam masala will keep for a week or two and the saffron is optional.

As indicated below, mutton – or even lamb dressed as mutton – will substitute very well for the venison.

THE GARAM MASALA

Ingredients
1 dsp cumin seeds
½ tsp cardamom seeds, removed from their pods
½ dsp black peppercorns
5 cloves
½ tsp fennel seeds
A pinch of saffron threads
A pinch of grated nutmeg

Method
● Roast the first five ingredients in a dry frying pan until they give off a heady aroma and start to brown.
● Stir them constantly as they burn very easily. Remove them to a grinder, adding the remaining spices and grind to a powder.

THE DHANSAK

Ingredients
300g red lentils
300g moong beans
3 tbs ghee or a mixture of sunflower oil and butter
400g butternut or other squash, peeled and cut into cubes
1.25kg lean venison, cut into small cubes
3 onions
6 cloves garlic
1 dsp finely chopped ginger
3 green chillies
200g peeled and chopped tomatoes
1 large dsp tamarind extract, diluted in a cup of hot water
3 bay leaves
3 strips lemon peel
½ cinnamon stick

Method
● Soak the lentils and moong beans in water, preferably overnight.
● Heat a third of the ghee in a frying pan and sauté vigorously the well-seasoned squash. When well-coloured, add the garam masala, stir together briefly and remove from the heat. Heat another third of the ghee in a heavy casserole and fry the seasoned meat in batches until well coloured, reserving the meat in a separate bowl.
● Finely chop the onions, garlic and ginger and stew gently in the casserole with the remaining ghee.
● Once soft, add the chillies and tomatoes and season well with salt, pepper and a teaspoon of sugar. Simmer for a moment before adding the diluted tamarind pulp and the meat. Simmer together briefly and then add the squash and the drained lentils and moong beans.
● Add the bay leaves, lemon peel and cinnamon. Bring to a gentle simmer, cover and cook for an hour and a half or until the meat is perfectly tender.
● The dhansak is best when reheated and served with pilaff rice, some poppadoms and a lime or mango pickle.