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Chicken Dhansak

Chicken Dhansak

4.80 from 10 votes
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Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Cuisine Indian
Servings 4

Equipment

  • 1 Instant Pot or other pressure cooker (Can be cooked in a slow cooker if desired)

Ingredients
  

  • 1 cup dried split peas (if you are not doing whole 30, you can use a mixture of masoor/chana/toor lentils)
  • 1 lb chicken breast or thigh
  • 2 cups squash (I used acorn, can be substituted by other starchy squashes)
  • 1 medium onion
  • 2 tomatoes
  • 4 pods garlic can be substituted with garlic powder
  • A knob of fresh ginger can be susbtituted with ginger powder
  • 3 cups spinach
  • 1/4 cup dried fenugreek/ Kasoori methi optional
  • Lemon Juice
  • Salt
  • Ghee
  • Cilantro leaves and green onions to garnish

Spices

  • 1.5 tsp Garam Masala
  • 1 tsp Turmeric
  • 1 tsp Chilli powder or Paprika
  • 1 tsp Coriander powder
  • 1 tsp Cumin seeds
  • 1 bay leaf

Instructions
 

INSTANT POT INSTRUCTIONS

  • Chop the onions and tomatoes and keep aside. Grind or very finely chop the garlic and ginger.
  • Chop the vegetables that you plan to add to the dhansak - I used acorn squash and spinach. You can add potatoes, others kinds of squash, yams or even eggplant.
  • Put the instant pot in saute mode and add a Tbsp of ghee.
  • Add a tsp of cumin seeds and let them bloom, then add in the chopped garlic and ginger and bay leaf. Follow with chopped onions and tomatoes.
  • Sauté this mix for 5 mins and now add in the chopped chicken. Let the chicken cook on all sides for 5-10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
  • Add in the remaining vegetables at this point. You can also deepen the flavors by adding the dried fenugreek leaves.
  • Add the spices powders - garam masala, turmeric, coriander and chilli powder and constantly stir for a few minutes to avoid burning
  • Wash the lentils and add these instant pot along with 3 cups of water. Close the instant pot lid to sealing and cook everything on manual pressure for 15 minutes.
  • Once done, let the pressure release naturally. Open the lid and add the lemon juice. Finally, garnish with cilantro leaves and chopped scallions.

SLOW COOKER INSTRUCTIONS

  • Add all the ingredients to the slow cooker along with 3 cups of water. Stir to mix well.
  • Cook on HIGH for 5-6 hours
Keyword glutenfree, onepotmeal, whole30
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