Recipe- Restaurant Style Dal Makhni

Dal Makhani is a popular classic recipe from Indian cuisine prepared using black urad dal (black lentils), rajma (kidney beans), and some aromatic spices. Dal or lentil is an essential component in Indian cuisine. As we mostly prepare South Indian Konkani recipes at home, split pigeon peas are used to prepare dal. That is, we use toor dal or arhar dal daily to make sambar, dalithoy, dal khichdi, dal fry, etc.

Ingredients

¼ cup Rajma or Kidney beans
1 ½ cups Black sabut urad dal or split urad dal
4 to 5 cups Water

Ingredients for chopping

2 Onions
1 inch Ginger, finely chopped
6 to 8 Garlic cloves, finely chopped
3 to 4 Green chilies, slit or chopped
6 to 8 strands Coriander leaves or cilantro chopped
3 Tomatoes, roughly chopped

Other Ingredients used

2 tablespoon Oil or Butter
1 teaspoon Cumin seeds or Jeera
2 Green cardamom or Elaichi
2 Cloves or Laung
1 Bay leaf or Tej patta
1 to 1 ½ teaspoon Red chile powder
½ to 1 teaspoon Garam masala powder
1 teaspoon Salt
1 to 2 teaspoon Kasuri Methi or Dried fenugreek leaves
¼ to ⅓ cup Heavy cream

Method

COOKING DAL

- In a bowl, wash and soak rajma (kidney beans) overnight. If you are using sabut urad dal, you can wash and soak this in water overnight.

- Next morning drain the water. In the pressure cooker, add soaked kidney beans and urad dal with 4 to 5 cups of water and pressure cook for 4 to 5 whistles, one on high flame and rest all on medium flame. Switch off the flame and let the pressure release naturally.

MAKING OF DAL MAKHANI

- In a blender or mixer, add chopped tomatoes and blend to a smooth puree. Keep this aside.

- In a pan on medium flame, add oil or butter or both. Once hot, add cumin seeds, cardamom pods, cloves, bay leaf, and saute for a few seconds. To this, add onions and saute until translucent.

- Add ginger, garlic, green chile, and saute for 30 seconds to 1 minute.

- To this, add tomato puree, cooked dal, one cup of water, red chile powder, garam masala powder, salt, and mix well. Bring it to a boil. Cover and simmer for 10 minutes on medium-low flame. Keep stirring to avoid it from burning from the bottom.

- Now add kasuri methi, heavy cream, and mix. Simmer it for another 5 minutes or until it becomes creamy and thick. You can check out the making of dal makhani here.

- Easy dal makhani is now ready. Garnish it with more heavy cream, ginger juliennes, and serve with naan, roti, chapatis, ghee rice or brown butter rice, and enjoy.