Dal Makhani

After so many posts, i decided to give myself a Treat. My all time favorite – Dal Makhani. Surprisingly I’ve never tasted this delicious treat till 27 years of my life. One trip down to local Haldiram joint after hiring event, we ordered a simple thali and along with it came this dal. My hubby told if u don’t like it now, don’t push as this dal definitely grows on you eventually. Now this line coming from a pure Bengali whose ,long list of I don’t eat this includes all possible dal and rajma chole etc. I tried this dal few more times till 2 years later i realized this was becoming my favorite. Owing to this lockdown my cravings pushed so hard that i had to give in. Tried it few times, and finally was able to reach the velvety melt in mouth texture of this dal. A tip again here given by foodie hubby changed my perspective. The slow cooked the dal is, the better and original the taste is. Hence don’t run away if you see the cooking time of Dal Makhani or even Egg Tadka.

Preparation time- 10 min
Cooking time – 5-8 hours

Ingredients –

1 cup – Sabut Urad Dal (whole black grain)
1/4 cup – Rajma (Kidney Beans)
[Soak the above in water overnight]
4 medium sized tomato – pureed
1/2 cup – Butter
1 tbsp – oil
1/2 cup – Ghee
Cinnamon- 1/2 “
Black pepper powder – 1/2 tbsp
Kashmiri Red Chilli POwder – 1 tbsp
Cumin Seeds – 1/2 tsp
Green Cardamom – 2
Ginger paste – 1/2 tbsp
Milk- 1/2 glass
Cream- 1 cup
Turmeric – 1 tsp
Salt as per taste
Garam Masala – 1/2 tsp

Method –

Boil overnight soaked dal and Rajma with salt and turmeric. 1 whistle, and simmer for 5 min. In a big vessel, add oil, ghee, butter, then cinnamon stick, green cardamom, cumin seeds, let them crackle. Add ginger paste, sauté, add tomato puree. If you are adding garlic then chop it finely around 1 tsp and add it before adding tomatoes. Add the kashmiri red chili powder, sauté till oil separates, then add the boiled dal. Stir, mix well and let it simmer for at least 30 min. Keep on stirring occasionally. Dal will start thickening, water would be added in intervals in this dal as it tends to get a lot thick. After 1 hour add milk , the texture will immediately become creamy. Let it simmer for 30minutes, add garam masala and black pepper powder to it. Check on salt, add water and let the dal simmer away for at least 2-3 hours. If possible let it cook for at least 5 to get the authentic taste. Add cream only after dal is off the flame and has cooled for at least 3-5 minutes. Garnish with cream, serve with dhaba style onions and hot tandoori roti or just rice.

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