The protein cooking time listed in this recipe has been updated.
As of December 2025, we’ve revised cooking times for all our proteins to reflect improved food safety guidance.
Check out the latest recommended times in our Cooking Guidelines.
Cheat’s chicken dhansak
Pssst – we’ve got a speedy shortcut to suppertime stardom! Sizzle chicken, tomatoes and onion wedges with cardamon, then add our ready-made curry sauce and pre-cooked lentils. A short simmer and a sprinkling of coriander and lemon make it a cinch to serve with fluffy rice. We won’t tell if you don’t!
SWK: Source of fibre
SWK: High protein
Plants 4
quick cook
Serving size
Ingredients
- 1 handful of fresh coriander
- 320g baby spinach
- 1 unwaxed lemon
- 280g basmati rice
- 230g lentils (Cereals Containing Gluten) (Rehydrated lentils, water, tomato paste, salt, antioxidant: ascorbic acid)
- 500g Slimming World medium curry sauce (Chopped Tomatoes (70%), Caramelised Onions, Water, Tomato Paste, Ginger Paste, Garlic Paste, Garam Masala (2.5%) (Coriander Seed, Cumin Seed, Cinnamon, Ginger, Black Pepper, Cloves), Onion Powder, Coriander, Salt, Ground Spices (Star Anise, Cardamon, Cayenne Pepper), Acidity Regulator: Lactic Acid)
- 600g diced chicken breast
- 3 onion
- 400g baby tomatoes
- 1½ x green cardamom powder (green cardamom powder)
Nutritional Information
Calories: 547
Protein: 50g
Carbs: 84g
Fat: 3.5g
Ingredients
- 140g basmati rice
- 160g baby spinach
- 250g Slimming World medium curry sauce (Chopped Tomatoes (70%), Caramelised Onions, Water, Tomato Paste, Ginger Paste, Garlic Paste, Garam Masala (2.5%) (Coriander Seed, Cumin Seed, Cinnamon, Ginger, Black Pepper, Cloves), Onion Powder, Coriander, Salt, Ground Spices (Star Anise, Cardamon, Cayenne Pepper), Acidity Regulator: Lactic Acid)
- 230g lentils (Cereals Containing Gluten) (Rehydrated lentils, water, tomato paste, salt, antioxidant: ascorbic acid)
- 1 handful of fresh coriander
- 1 unwaxed lemon
- 2 onion
- 200g baby tomatoes
- 300g diced chicken breast
- ¾ tsp green cardamom powder (green cardamom powder)
Nutritional Information
Calories: 598
Protein: 53g
Carbs: 93g
Fat: 3.7g
Cheat’s chicken dhansak
Pssst – we’ve got a speedy shortcut to suppertime stardom! Sizzle chicken, tomatoes and onion wedges with cardamon, then add our ready-made curry sauce and pre-cooked lentils. A short simmer and a sprinkling of coriander and lemon make it a cinch to serve with fluffy rice. We won’t tell if you don’t!
Cook time:
20 mins
Cuisine:
Indian
Food group:
Poultry
Cooking Instructions
Before you start
- 1 medium saucepan
- 1 large non stick frying pan
Boil the rice
- Cook the rice in boiling water for 10-12 mins, then drain.
Start your curry
- Meanwhile, peel the onions and cut each into 8 wedges.
- Spritz a large non-stick frying pan with cooking spray and put it over a medium-high heat. Fry the onion wedges, tomatoes and chicken for 5-7 mins.
- Sprinkle in the cardamom and cook for 1 min.
Spice & simmer
- Pour in the curry sauce and lentils and their water, then stir well and simmer for 5-7 mins until the chicken is cooked through.
Add your final touches
- Finely chop the coriander.
- Add the spinach to the curry and cook for 2 mins to wilt.
- Stir in half the coriander, and squeeze in the lemon juice (to taste). Serve with the rice, and sprinkle over the remaining coriander.