Dal Makhani

Submitted by jas kaur

"The easiest and most delicious dal makahni--true Punjabi style. I saw several recipes and was very surprised to see the use of cardamoms and cinnamon, whereas the actual dal served in Indian and Mughlai restaurants does not contain garam masala. This dal needs to be soaked overnight, so plan ahead."

 

• Ready In: 1hr 15mins
• Ingredients: 9
• Serves: 4-6

ingredients

• 1 1⁄2 cups Urad Dal (whole black beans)
• 1⁄2 cup red kidney beans (rajmah)
• 350 -400 g whipping cream, chilled
• 4 tomatoes, pureed
• 6 garlic flakes
• 1 teaspoon cumin seed (zeera)
• salt
• red chili powder
• 4 tablespoons clarified butter (ghee)

directions

1. Wash and soak the kidney beans and the dal together in huge bowl.
2. If you see a scum or froth on the surface this is due to humid climatic conditions. Wash the dal thoroughly with water if this happens to avoid the sour taste of dal.
3. Drain the dal in a pressure cooker; add finely chopped garlic. Salt to taste and red chili powder. Add enough water fill almost 2/3 of pressure cooker.
4. Leave it on high for about 15 minutes, then slow down the flame for about 20 minutes. This simmering will help the dal thicken and cook properly.
5. In the meantime, prepare the tempering (tadka).
6. Heat oil in a wok. Add cumin; let it splutter but make sure it doesn't burn. Add the puréed tomatoes. Let it simmer for about 4-5 minutes. When the tomatoes start leaving oil on the sides of the pan it means the tadka is ready.
7. Add this steaming tadka to the dal and let it simmer for a while uncovered.
8. When the dal thickens to the consistency you want (I usually let it simmer for about 10 minutes or more--we like really thick dal that can be poured on the plate that's the actual consistency of dal makhani) add the cream; cook for a minute turn off the flame.
9. Serve with hot naan or paranthas.

Reviews

[nnandita]

Fantastic recipe ! I made this for dinner the other day and it tasted like the dal which is made at a restaurant. Thanks for the recipe . Can you please post Punjabi rajma recipe.