After a hat-trick of sweet recipes, I thought I should post something spicy for a change. I am at my mom's place right now and she won't let me cook anything elaborate, so I browsed through my Drafts and found this one waiting to be beautified and posted :-)
I had made this months ago when I had invited some friends home for lunch on a Sunday. Dal Makhani is a sumptuous dish full of nutrition from dals/lentils and the cream on top to finish just makes this a super-hit with everyone! :-) It goes very well with both rice and roti varieties alike. I generally make a simple Garlic Rice or Jeera Rice and they make a good pair.
Dal Makhani |
Let me take you through a pictorial first :-)
Rajma and Black whole Urad dal soaked in water overnight |
Tadka with butter, zeera and red chillies |
Onions fried |
Tomatoes mushed up |
Add spices, cooked dal and finish with cream :-) |
What I Used -
Rajma / Red Bean- 1/2 cup
Whole Black Urad Dal - 3/4 cup
Onions - 1 medium
Tomatoes - 2 medium (Using additional Tomato puree greatly enhances the taste)
Fresh Cream - 4 tbsp + 1 tbsp
Spices To Temper - Tadka - Thalikka -
Butter - 1 tbsp
Jeera - 1 tsp
Red chillies - 4
Ginger-Garlic paste - 1 tsp
Turmeric / Haldi - 1/4 tsp
Red chilli powder - 1 1/2 tsp (I used Kashmiri variety for a rich color)
Dhania powder / coriander powder - 3/4 tsp
Cinnamon, cloves, cardamom spice mix - 3/4 tsp (you can get them pre-made from your Indian store or powder them yourself using your dry spice grinder)
Kitchen King Masala - 3/4 tsp
Salt - taste
How To -
- Soak the lentils overnight with enough water. Drain the water and pressure-cook the dals with sufficient (fresh) water for 4-5 whistles (It's okay to over-cook than to under-cook the lentils) .You could add salt as well. Wait for the pressure to get released naturally.
- Take a kadai, melt butter and add jeera. When they crackle, add red chillies and then add ginger-garlic paste.
- Add finely sliced/chopped onions and let them turn brown.
- Add chopped tomatoes and let them turn mushy.
- Add the spice powders - turmeric, red chilli powder, coriander powder, kitchne king and the cardamom-cinnamom-cloves spice mix.
- Add the water/ stock from the cooked dal and then slowly add the lentils and lower the flame. Let the dals absorb the flavors form the masalas. Close with a lid for about 5-7 minutes.
- Tip : I like to mash up about 4 tbsp of cooked dal and then add to the gravy. This gives thickness to the gravy and also a good flavor to Dal Makhani as such :-)
- Check for salt.
- Add cream and mix well and you can see the gravy coming together as a thick, creamy mixture :-)
- Serve hot. You could add another tablespoon of cream just before serving! :-)
Isn't it inviting ?? |
My favorite dal. Looks super yummy.
ReplyDeletedelicious subji
ReplyDeleteFor sure fav one ...looks so yum
ReplyDeletewow..comfort food!!
ReplyDeleteJoin my ongoing EP events-Rosemary OR Sesame @ Now Serving
so yummy my favourite dhal
ReplyDeletegreat-secret-of-life.blogspot.com
Healthy and delicious! Thanks so much for your sweet comment and joining in my blog. Need to browse your other post...
ReplyDeleteHey DV,
ReplyDeleteWhat a coincidence :) I wrote my own variation of Dal Makhani in my blog this week as well. Would have tried yours if I had seen it first :) Anyway, next time.
First time at your space.
ReplyDeleteHttp://realhomecookedfood.blogspot.com