Dal Makhani

Introduction:

"Dal Makhani" is a very famous dish from punjabi cuisine. The whole black urad dal is cooked with kidney beans in a rich, creamy gravy and excellent for every party dinner. This tastes awesome with hot chapatis and rotis. So let's make ur weekend lunch and dinner special by cooking dal makhani for your family.

Ingredients:

For dal

Whole black urad dal: 1 cup

Kidney beans(Rajma): 1/4 cup

Onions: 1 cup (chopped)

Green chillies: 1 tsp(minced or paste)

Ginger: 1 tsp(chopped)

Garlic: 5-7(chopped)

Tomatoes: 2 (pureed)

Fresh Yogurt: 1/4 cup(beaten)

Fresh cream: 1/4 cup(beaten)

Red chilli powder: 1 tsp

Turmeric powder: 1/4 tsp

Corriander powder: 1 tsp

Garam masala: 1/4 tsp

Cumin seeds: 1/2 tsp

Asefoetida: 1/4 tsp

Butter: 3 tsp

Salt: to taste

For garnishing:

Onions: 1(cut into rings)

Lemon juice: 2 tsp

Fresh cream: 2 tsp

Chopped corriander leaves

Preparation time: 10 hours(for soaking the dal)

Cooking time: 20 mins

Serves for: 2 persons

Method:

Soak the dal and rajma in 3 cupsof water for 6-7 hours or overnight. Strain and wash th soked dal and pressure cook it with 3 cups of water, 1/2 of salt, 1/2 of ginger and a pinch of soda bicarbonate. Cook for 2 whistles on  medium flame. Sim the gas and cook for 5-6 mins. Put off the flame and let the pressure to get released by itself. Meanwhile, prepare all the vegetables for the tadka.

Heat butter in a pan. Add cumin seeds and asefoetida in it. Add onions and garlic into it. Saute till the onions are translucent. Now add all the spices into it and saute for another minute. Add tomato puree, green chilli paste and ginger into it. cook on low flame till the oil separates. Add beaten curd into it and continue to cook for 2 minutes stirring occasionaly.

Open up the cooker and check whether dal is properly cooked. Add the boiled dal and rajma in the tadka and cook on low flame for 5 mins. Add cream into it and cook for 5 mins. Put off the flame. Take the dal in serving bowl. Garnish it with lemon juice, cream and onion rings. You can add a spoonful of butter also.

TIPS:

1. The most important point is that the dal and rajmas should be properly cooked and get softened in the cooker. So cook it accordingly.

2. Dal makhani is thick in consistency. so you need not to add extra water into it. The amount of water used for pressure cooking the dal will be sufficient.

3. Cook the dal on low flame. Then only the gravy gets more creamy.