Lentils & Beans, Recipe, Vegetarian Curries

Dal Makhani

Posted on by SpiceBox Organics
sookhi-masoor-dal
05
Jan

DALS… Can’t have enough of them! Must-Try recipes from Across India

India is one of the few countries that is blessed with variety in almost every aspect, food being the most obvious one. The unquestionable love and celebration of good food has been bringing people together for many years, and when we think of good food, one of our most loved preparations comes to mind – the quintessential Dal.

From Dal Makhani to Panchratna Dal, it is the undying love for this flavoursome and versatile staple that most Indian households include in our daily diet. And each region in the country has its own favourite way of preparing them.

Dal Makhani

Butter flavoured Lentils

Punjabi food is wholesome and full of rustic flavour. The custom of cooking in community ovens or tandoors prevails in rural pockets even today. The cuisine is characterised by a profusion of dairy products in the form of cream, cottage cheese and yogurt. The dals are a speciality of this type of cuisine, made of whole pulses like black gram, green gram and Bengal gram. They are cooked on slow fire, often simmered for hours till they turn creamy and then flavoured with spices and rounded off with cream for that rich finish. Dal Makhani was a staple in united India before Partition. It was popularized in India following Partition, when many Punjabis migrated to the northern regions of India.

Punjabi_style_Dal_Makhani

Ingredients:

  • ¾ cup Split Black Gram Lentil (Urad Dal)
  • 2tbsp Kidney Beans (Rajma)
  • 1 tsp cumin seeds
  • 2 green chillies
  • 1 small piece cinnamon
  • 2 cloves
  • 3 cardamoms
  • ½ cup finely chopped onions
  • ½ tsp ginger garlic paste
  • 1 tsp chilli powder
  • ¼ tsp turmeric
  • 1 ½ cup fresh tomato pulp
  • ½ cup cream
  • 3 tbsp butter
  • Salt to taste

Instructions:

  • Wash and soak the dals overnight. Drain and add 3 cups fresh water and salt and boil in a pan till the dals are fully cooked.
  • Heat the butter in a pan and add cumin seeds. Then add green chillies, cardamom, cinnamon, cloves. Add onions and saute till golden brown. Add the ginger-garlic paste, chilli powder, turmeric and tomato pulp and cook for 3-5 mins. Add salt.
  • Add the dal and water if required and let it simmer for 10-15mins on low heat. Add cream and mix well.

Garnish with coriander and cream (optional) and serve with Naan bread/Basmati rice.

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