Dhansak- A Common Name In Parsi Food World

By Author: Fidos Cafe
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If you are a non-parsi and try to find out something about their food, the first thing you will hear is Dhansak. Dhansak is a very common food preparation is parsi cuisine and is generally prepared with goat meat. However, many people also like its veg version and giving attention to the health, in many places today it is cooked with chicken as well. But the traditional one is that of goat meat.

Dhansak is the prapared where the mutton is cooked with dals, vegetables and chosen spices. It is a slow cooking recipe which requires a long time to get prepared. Also due to excess for protein in the dish (both from lentil and goat meat) it also has a long digestion time. In Parsi community, Dhansak is generally a feast food of Sunday.

Dhansak also forms a part of their ritual. When any close one dies in the community, they eat veg for the first three days and in the fouth day they break the mourning with Dhansak. Dhansak, however, is never prepared for an auspicious occasion.

Today, you can find a number of variations in Dhansak, only veggie, chicken dhansak, in some countries they add pineaaple along with chicken, ...
... and obviously the traditional goat meat dhansak. The main ingredients required for the traditional dhansak is three dals, namely, toor, chana and masoor, goat meat and veggies like brinjal, pumpkin, gourd potato, tomato and fenugreek leaves. One can also use coriander leaves for flavour. It is cooked in special dhansak masala which is a secret combination of 15 chosen spices. All the ingredients are slow cooked for over a long time for an authentic flavour. Dhansak is generally served over brown rice.

If you wanna taste such an authentic dish and also wanna dig into many more parsi items, the best place to visit is Fido's Cafe in New York. Fido's Cafe is founded by a die-hard Parsi serving the authentic parsi food. From a small homely cafe it has now grown up to a full-fledged restaurant. So this weekend, plan a total indian style dinner at Fido's Cafe. Happy eating!