With corona virus spread around and India having a nationwide lock down, everyone is trying to contribute their little part in preventing the spread of the pandemic. Being stuck in houses does gets boring but we should be always grateful for we being the privileged ones staying in safe. As a plus point to this lock down, it’s lovely to see people try their hands at cooking. Everyone’s missing the restaurant food and the one dish that’s the most common order at any fine dine – Dal Makhani, is being missed the most.

The smooth, velvety and creamy dal is everyone’s favorite. Being loaded with cream and butter as the name suggests, this is not an everyday dal but an indulgence once a while won’t be harmful. Don’t reduce the butter or cream in the recipe else you won’t get the creamy texture. Let me tell you once you try my recipe, you’ll like it more than the ones served at restaurants.

Servings: 6
Calories: 325 per serving
Preparation Time: 9 hours (including soaking time)
Cooking Time: 1.5 hours

Ingredients:

• ¾ cup whole Urad Dal (whole black lentil)
• ¼ cup Rajma (kidney beans)
• 3 cup Water
• 2 tsp. Ginger Garlic paste
• 1 Onion, pureed
• 4-5 Tomatoes, pureed (1 cup)
• ½ tsp. Cumin seeds (jeera)
• 6 Cloves
• 3 Black Cardamom
• 1 inch Cinnamon
• 2 Bay Leaf
• 2 Green Cardamoms
• 5 Black Peppercorns
• 1 tsp. Kashmiri red Chili Powder
• ¼ tsp. Turmeric Powder (Haldi Powder)
• 1½ tsp. Coriander Powder (Dhaniya Powder)
• ½ tsp. Ginger Powder (Sonth)
• 1 tsp. Mango Powder (Amchoor)
• 2 Pinches Nutmeg Powder/ Grated Nutmeg (Jaiphal)
• ½ tsp. Garam Masala
• 2 tsp. Kasoori Methi
• 1 tbsp. Oil
• 6 tbsp. Butter
• ⅓ cup Cream + 2 tbsp (to garnish)
• 2 tbsp chopped Coriander Leaves (Hara Dhaniya)

Optional for giving Dhungaar:

• 1 small piece of Charcoal
• 1 tsp. Ghee

Method:

1. Soak the urad dal and rajma in enough water overnight or for roughly 8-9 hours.
2. Drain the water from the soaked mix and rinse it a couple of times with water thoroughly and drain the remaining water.
3. Heat a pressure cooker on the flame add the dal mix with 3 cups water, 1 tsp. salt, 1 bay leaf, 1 black cardamom, ½ inch cinnamon and 3 cloves.
4. Pressure cook with the whistle for 7-8 whistles on a medium flame.
5. Once you hear 7-8 whistles, switch off the flame and let the pressure release from the pressure cooker before opening it.
6. Once the pressure is released, check if the dal and rajma is done. You can check that by mashing some dal and rajma from the back of your spoon. It should mash easily and there shouldn’t be much resistance. If they are a little undone, give 1-2 whistles more, depending on the doneness and keep the cooked mix aside.
7. In a pan, heat up 1 tbsp oil and 2 tbsp ghee or butter and add in the remaining whole spices.
8. Once the spices start releasing aroma, add in the cumin seeds and let them splutter.
9. Once the cumin seeds splutter, add in the onion paste and lower the flame to medium.
10. The onion paste will start turning golden in about 4-5 minutes, now add the the ginger garlic paste and saute till the raw smell goes for about 4-5 minutes.
11. Now add in the turmeric powder and red chili powder along with a dash of water and saute for 2 minutes. Then add in the tomato puree.
12. Saute the masala covered on medium flame till most water evaporates, the masala starts releasing oil on the sides of the pan and the color takes a brownish red tinge. Keep stirring the masala in between. It’ll take almost 10 minutes to cook the masala completely.
13. To the prepared masala, add in the dal mix and stir. Add in the coriander powder, ginger powder, mango powder, nutmeg powder, garam masala and stir.
14. Add in some water to adjust the consistency and the remaining butter.
15. Once the dal comes to a rolling boil, bring the flame to low and cook covered for 45 minutes to thicken the dal. Keep stirring in between to avoid the dal sticking to the bottom.
16. Meanwhile dry roast the kasoori methi and crush it with your hands. Once the dal is done, switch off the flame, add in the kasoori methi and fresh cream to finish off.
17. To infuse a smokey flavor in the dal, you can additionally do dhungaar. For that heat up the charcoal on flame using tongs till it is red hot. Place a clean steel bowl in the dal and place in the charcoal. Now pour in the ghee and immediately cover the dal makhani. Let it infuse for around 2 minutes and then remove the bowl and discard the charcoal.
18. To get the perfect creamy texture, ensure that you make the dal makhani before hand and let it cool before serving.
19. To serve, re-heat the dal makhani, adding in some warm water if required to adjust the consistency and add in the chopped coriander leaves. Serve it garnished with a dollop of butter, some fresh cream with naan, rice or roti.

Notes:

1. Do not skip or reduce the amount of cream and butter in the dal makani to maintain the authentic taste.
2. Do not hurry remove the pressure from the pressure cooker after 7-8 whistles, else you’ll land up with undercooked dal.
3. Cook the dal with the masala on low flame for at least 30 to 45 minutes to make it all blend and get a creamy and velvety texture.
4. Preferably use a heavy bottom pan to cook the dal and masala. Keep stirring in between to avoid the dal makhani from sticking to the pan.
5. The dhungaar tecnique is totally optional but it adds another dimension to the flavors. However, avoid using this in case your family isn’t much fond of smokey flavor.