Thursday, August 7, 2014

Dal Makhani - a traditional Indian delicacy from the State of Punjab

Dal Makhani is a favourite at home, in fact we really enjoy the dishes of the Punjabi cuisine. The Dal Makhani, Naan and Chicken Tikka/Butter Chicken is on the menu when we decide to have an Indian meal at a restaurant. Have been making the dal makhani at home for many years now trying to tweak the ingredients and also get the right texture like it is made in the restaurants and yes, get it approved by my food taster:). So finally here is my version of the dal makhani that is a hit at home and will make again. :)

Ingredients for Dal Makhani
Urad dal (sabut) (with the black covering) - 1 cup
Rajma/Kidney Beans - 1 /4 cup
Onion - 1 big (finely chopped)
Tomatoes - 3 medium sized (pureed)
Garlic - 1 tsp minced
Ginger - 1" (juliennes)
Kashmiri Chilli Powder - 1 tbsp
Salt - to taste
Coriander powder - 1 /2 tsp
Jeera/Cummin powder - 1/2 tsp
Garam masala powder - 1/2 tsp
Butter - 1 tbsp
Oil - 1 tbsp
Cream / Well beaten curd - 4 to 5 tbsp ( you may also add about 1/2 cup milk)



Method for making Dal Makhani:
1- Pressure cook the urad dal and rajma in the pressure cooker for approximately 20 minutes with 3 cups of water and salt.
2- Take a pan and add the butter and oil. Now add in the minced garlic, ginger juliennes and chopped onions. Saute for 3-4 minutes till the raw smell of garlic disappears and the onions turn soft. Now add the pureed tomatoes and cook. Add the Kashmiri chilli powder, coriander powder and jeera powder and saute (at this stage you may add 3 to 4 tbsp of water so that the masala does not get burnt).
3-Saute till the tomatoes are cooked and the oil starts oozing from the sides of the masala indicating that it is cooked.
4- Add in the cooked dal and rajma and stir. Add the garam masala powder(I used Badshah brand garam masala powder) and chopped coriander leaves and stir. Add 1/2 to 1 cup water. Cover and cook for 10-15 minutes on low flame. Open adjust the seasoning.
4- Now add the cream and stir( I prefer to keep it low calorie and skip the cream, instead I add 1/2 cup milk or 4 to 5 tbsp of well beaten yoghurt).
5- Switch off and serve hot with rotis, naan or any other Indian bread.

1 comment:

Shreya at Jumbodium said...

Too delicious and yummy yet very much healthy. Daal Makhani is my fav dish with roti specially at dinner..Thank u loads for the wonderful recipe. Loving it.