Dal Makhani
Dal Makhani
Rated 5 stars by 1 users
Category
North Indian
Servings
4
Prep Time
10 minutes
Cook Time
1 hour
Calories
308
Dal Makhani is one of the most popular lentil recipes from North Indian cuisine made with whole urad dal (black gram) and kidney beans. Dal Makhani is a delicious, rich & creamy dish.
Author:Cartly
Ingredients
¾ cup whole urad dal
¼ cup rajma
3 cups water for pressure cooking
½ cup finely chopped onions
1 teaspoon chopped green chilies or 1 to 2 green chillies
2 teaspoons Ginger-Garlic Paste
1 cup tomato puree
½ teaspoon cumin seeds
2 to 3 cloves
2 to 3 green cardamoms
1 black cardamom
1 inch cinnamon
1 small to medium tej patta (Indian bay leaf)
½ teaspoon red chili powder
¼ teaspoon garam masala
1 cup water or add as required
¼ to ⅓ cup low fat cream or 2 tablespoons heavy cream
3 tablespoon butter – salted or unsalted
salt as required
1 to 2 tablespoons chopped coriander leaves
½ tablespoon low fat cream or half and half for garnish – optional
For Garnish:
Directions
Wash and rinse urad dal (whole black lentil) and rajma (kidney beans) in a large bowl. Soakovernight or at least for 8 hours.
Drain the water in which the dal and rajma was soaked. Transfer the dal and rajma to a pressure cooker. Add water and salt and stir well.
Pressure cook for 18 to 20 whistles on a high flame.Let the pressure release naturally. The dal and rajma should be completely cooked and you should be able to mash them with a spoon or with your fingers. Keep them aside.
Heat butter in a large kadai,add the whole spices – cumin seeds, cloves, green cardamoms, black cardamom, cinnamon, tej patta. Saute themtill they turn fragrant.
Then add finely chopped onions, green chillies and saute till they change in colour.
Add the ginger garlic paste. Stir again and saute for some seconds till the raw smell of ginger-garlic goes away.
Add the tomato puree and mix. Cook for 2 minutes or until the puree mixes well with masala.
Add garam masala, red chili powder and salt. Mix well to combine. Cook the masalas for a minute.
Once the masalas start releasing oil from the sides, add cookedurad dal and rajma beans. Also add 1 cup water or as required.
Stir and set heat to low. Let it simmer on low heat uncovered for around 25 minutes.
Stir often (every 10 minutes or so) else dal will stick to the bottom of the pot.
When the gravy has thickened enough, then add cream. Dal makhani is not too thick or too thin. It has a medium consistency.
Mix the cream very well. Then switch off the heat.
Garnish with chopped coriander leaves and a few teaspoons of cream.
Dhungar Method - (Optional)
Heat a small piece of charcoal on flame till it becomes red hot. With the help of tongs, keep on turning the charcoal piece so that it evenly burns.
Place hot charcoal in that small steel bowl. Pour melted ghee (around 1 tablespoon) on top of charcoal.
Immediately keep this bowl on top of the dal makhani.
Cover for a minute and allow the charcoal to infuse its smoke in the dal makhni. Remove the bowl. Stir again.
Serve dal makhani garnished with chopped coriander leaves and a few teaspoons of cream with naan, roti, paratha or steamed rice.
Recipe Note
- You may use urad dal only in case you don't have kidney beans or don't like them in your dal makhani.
- You can use bottled or homemade tomato puree. To make the puree, chop and blend a little over 1 cup tomatoes to make 1 cup puree.