Dal Makhani - Butttery & Luscious!!!

Most of us love the combination of Dal Makhani and Jeera Rice.   Recently we had visited Karol Baug a restaurant in Aundh, Pune serving authentic Punjabi Dishes when Upendra Nayak (fondly known as Uppi) our very close friend visited us in Pune.  After eating the starters and soups we did not want to have Roti and Sabzi so decided to order Jeera Rice and Dal Makhani.   What I relished the most was Dal Makhani at this restaurant…. It was so creamy and buttery… I ordered for one more portion and just enjoyed every morsel of this dish….it was divine!!!

I wanted to make this at home for quite some time… Traditionally it is prepared by cooking the dal for hours on charcoal… but in today’s busy life we do find shortcuts to prepare various dishes instantly and quickly with the availability of modern equipment’s in our kitchen.  I recently made this and it turned out very creamy and buttery. It was served with Jeera Rice and Fried Papad. After taking all the efforts cooking the dal, what made my day was when I received great feedback and applauds from my family… My son demanded that I save some Dal so that he could carry it for his tiffin the next day. 

So… get ready to cook with me and don’t forget to make some extra serving of this creamy delightful dal.

Ingredients:

Whole Black Gram (Urad Dal) – 1 ¼ cup

Red Kidney Bean (Rajma) – 1/4th cup

Chana Dal (split brown chickpeas) – 2 tbsp

Kashmiri Chilli Powder – 1 tsp

Turmeric Powder – ½ tsp

Dry Fenugreek leaves (Kasuri Methi) – 1 tsp

Coriander powder – 1 tbsp

Cumin Seeds – 1 tsp

Garam Masala – 1 tbsp

Amchur Powder – 1 tsp

Refined Oil – 2 to 4 tbsp

Butter – 50 gm

Fresh Cream – 2 tbsp

Salt to taste

Bay leaf -1

Asafetodia – ¼ tsp

Onions – 3 to 4  (medium)

Tomatoes – 4 to 5 (medium)

Garlic – 10 to 12 cloves

Ginger – 1 inch piece

Green Chillies – 2

Coriander leaves – 3 tbsp

Water for soaking and cooking

Method:

Wash and Soak all dal’s for around 5 to 6 hours.  Drain them and pressure cook them with around 4 cups of water and ½ tsp turmeric powder on high flame for about 2 whistles.  Reduce the flame of the gas and cook this on low flame for about 40 minutes.  Once the pressure releases completely take a bowl of the dal and add in some water and grind it to a rough paste and keep aside for further use (this helps thicken the dal).  The remaining dal can be roughly mashed with the help of a masher.

In a mixer jar put the ginger, garlic, chillies and make a paste and set it aside.  In the same jar grind the tomatoes to a fine paste.   Heat a Kadai and add in the oil.  Once it is heated, add the cumin seeds and allow it to splutter. Add in the Asafetodia and bay leaf and saute for a second.  Next add in the finely chopped onions and saute it well till the onion changes it’s colour. Add in the ginger, garlic and chilli paste and saute well for a minute. Add the tomato paste and saute well.  Time to add in the spice powders Chilli powder, coriander powder, garam masala, amchur powder and mix this very well till you get a nice aroma.  Ensure you cook the spices on low flame to avoid burning of the spices.

To this mix, pour in the roughly ground dal paste, mashed dal, enough water and add in Kasuri methi, salt and mix well.  Add in the butter and allow this to boil well.  You may cover the dal and simmer it for about 10 to 20 minutes. Stir the dal in between to avoid it from burning.  Add in the cream and some coriander leaves and cook this again for 5 to 10 minutes.  Check the salt and spices and adjust them according to your taste buds.  The more you cook this dal, the more it tastes good!   Add in the remaining coriander leaves, close the dal with a lid and allow it to rest for 10 to 20 minutes before serving.  This dal is best enjoyed with Tandoori Roti / Jeera Rice.

To give it a smoky flavour heat a charcoal untill it is red hot.  Keep it in a bowl and  place this bowl into the dal.  Drizzle some ghee on the hot coal and cover the lid immediately and leave it for some time till the flavours immerse into the dal..

I agree it is a lengthy process and takes quite some time to cook this delicious dal… but it’s worth all the efforts!

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