Dal Makhani

Ah, for the love of dal makhani !!

This name, for me, conjures up vivid images of the royalty of Tuli International, Nagpur in the early 90s. Dal Makhani used to be their signature dish and I always longed for that taste ever since I came to this country. This is, again, a very easy recipe. Yes, I have used readymade dal makhani masala ( shock horror!!!) but if the end result reminds me of my childhood favourite dish, who am I to complain 🙂

INGREDIENTS

3/4 cup urad dal ( bengal gram) soaked for 4 hours

1/4 cup rajma ( kidney beans) soaked for 4 hours

1 onion chopped

1 tin chopped tomatoes

2 tbsp ginger garlic paste

2 tbsp dal makhani masala ( readymade or home made- recipe at the end)

2 tbsp butter

METHOD

Pressure cook the dal and rajma till very very soft. Mash well .

Heat oil in a wok, add butter and stir fry the onions till transcluscent. Add tomato puree.

Add 2 tbsp of Dal makhani masala and stir well.

Add boiling water and bring to a boil. Add salt to taste.

Simmer for 30 mins.

Add a dash of cream.

Garnish with chopped coriander.

Serve with hot parathas or steamed rice.

DAL MAKHANI POWDER

Roast and grind to a fine powder the following ingredients-

1 tsp cumin seeds ( jeera)

3 cloves, 3 green cardamoms, 1 black cardamom ( badi elaichi),1 cinnamon, 1 tsp red chilli powder, 2 pinches nutmeg powder, 1 tsp aamchur, 1 tsp kasuri methi, 1 tsp coriander powder) . Store in a dry tight container.