Dal Makhni
Dal Makhni. One of the most indulgent and a very famous dal preparation from India; Delhi, India to be precise.
Ingredients
- 1 Cup Black Urad Dal / whole black lentils
- ⅓ Cup Rajma / kidney beans
- 1 Black cardamom
- 1.5 Cup Pureed red tomatoes
- 1 tbsp Ginger paste
- 1 tbsp Garlic paste
- 3 tbsp Kashmiri Red Chili Powder
- 3 Cloves Garlic
- 4 tbsp Butter
- ¼ tsp Garam masala
- 2 tbsp Cream/ Whole milk
- 2 tbsp Store bought tomato paste (Optional )
Instructions
- Soak 1C whole black urad dal and 1/3 C Rajma preferably overnight. Next morning, rinse well and add to a pressure cooker along with 5 cups of water, 1 tsp salt and 1 whole black cardamom. Pressure cook until soft and cooked completely.
- Once the steam is released, gently smash the boiled lentils and leave as such in the pressure cooker or transfer to another wide bottomed cooking pan.
- With the flame on, add 1.5 C puréed ripe tomatoes, 1 tbsp each ginger and garlic pastes, 2 tsp Kashmiri red chili powder and 2-3 tbsp butter.
- Keep cooking and stirring every now & then on low flame for up to 45-50 minutes. Slow cooking is a must here for a good dal makhni as we all know.(Optional - mid way you can add 1-2 tbsp of store bought tomato paste and stir)
- After about 45 min, in a separate pan, heat 1 tbsp butter, add 2-3 smashed & finely chopped garlic cloves and let them brown a bit. Add 1 tsp Kashmiri chili powder, mix well and transfer to the cooking dal immediately. Be careful to not burn the chili.
- Give the dal a good mix and keep simmering for another 15 min. If you feel the dal has thickened, feel free to add in about 1/2-1 cup hot water and simmer for another 10 minutes.
- Towards the end, add about 1/4 tsp of good quality garam masala and 1-2 tbsp cream/ whole milk and simmer for 5 more minutes.
- Stir well and the dal is ready to be served hot with rice/ parathas/ nan. Add a dollop of ghee/ butter towards the end while serving.